Synetic's wet world of The Tempest |
In the director's notes for the play, Paata Tsikurishvili explains the decision to let the actors slip, slide, and splash through water as they wordlessly tell the story of the wizard Prospero and his fantastical island filled with unforgettable images of magic, mystery, love, revenge, and redemption.
"For me, water has all the versatility appropriate to Prospero's island story: the potential for hilarious silliness, combined with sadness, mystery, danger, and most of all, a quality of literal and figurative reflectiveness," Tsikurishvili says.
The sets, musical score, and staging work perfectly to create what is clearly one of the award-winning Synetic's strongest efforts ever. All the acting performances are commendable, but as might be expected by those familiar with the play, a wordless version allows 3 characters to truly stand out - the drunken buffoon Stephano, the tragic monstrosity Caliban, and, most especially, the loyal spirit Ariel (an other worldly costumed mix of silver Ozian flying monkey and David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust period), played respectively by Synetic stalwarts Irakli Kavsadze, Vato Tsikurishvili, and Dan Istrate.
Stephano tackles his bottle |
The monstrous Caliban mourns his dead mother |
Ariel receives support from Prospero |
I agree. And I'm equally certain that this latest production will leave you speechless with awe and admiration for what you have just witnessed. Oh, and by the way, if you're worried about your theater-going attire, if you sit in the front rows you will be given rain gear. Trust me, take it. You'll need it.
Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
The Tempest is running at the Synetic's Crystal City Underground (which, so fortunately for us, is really an extension of our Crystal Plaza Apartments basement) theater until March 24. You really don't want to miss this unique production. But if you need a little more convincing here is what DC Theater Scene had to say about the staging. And here is a by-the-numbers account of the water involved from The Washington Post. Finally, here is the visual trailer for the play. (If you are receiving this post by email, just click here to view the trailer.)
No comments:
Post a Comment