By Louise
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVtdtBbUwK4
Available until: Forever
I almost didn’t want to watch this because I knew that when
I did, it would all be over. But I also really wanted to watch it because I
knew it would be brilliant and it was.
Mostly, TSMGO have presented Shakespeare’s First Folio plays
in order (as far as we can be sure of the correct order). I think the only
changes they made were posting the three parts of Henry VI in
chronological order (Part I was actually written last) and now swapping the
order of Henry VIII and The Tempest and ending with a more
popular work. I think both these decisions are really good. Henry VI
makes more sense in order and although there is something to celebrate at the
end of Henry VIII, it’s not a very well-known play and although it has a
beautiful ending, it ends quite quietly. The Tempest definitely ends
with more of a bang.
The Tempest has so many amazing moments. I don’t think I can tell you about most of them because I’d like you to watch the play and be surprised just like I was, but it’s a really special and emotional show and post-show discussion. There’s also a beautiful and moving flashback to some of the actors who have appeared in past shows.
TSMGO have set out to perform plays on Zoom. The Tempest
has a lot of effects which are more like film special effects, but all
creatives from all the different types of entertainment are struggling at the
moment and they all want to do what they love best and share it with other people
and the effects are so beautiful. The play starts with a storm and a shipwreck which
sounds very difficult on Zoom, but this is TSMGO so there is a storm and a
shipwreck! It’s really impressive and it’s convincing and it’s beautiful.
That is something really special that TSMGO do. Even when they’re dealing with
ugly emotions, they create something beautiful which we want to look at. The
words of a play are the most important thing because they tell people a lot
about what needs to be on the stage or the Zoom screen. Sometimes they say that
directly, sometimes it’s more like a vision you get in your mind from reading the
play, but theatre is a visual art too and the TSMGO actors and creatives have
done everything they can to make their Zoom screens beautiful and they’ve
succeeded.
Of course, we hear lots of beautiful things too. Shakespeare
has written beautiful language, but the TSMGO actors don’t just say the words.
They read them and feel them and believe them and then they share them with us.
It’s hard to believe they only spend a few days working on it and that there’s
not even a proper run-through because everything comes together so beautifully.
I really liked Shakespeare before TSMGO, but TSMGO has given me a much greater
understanding of the plays and I think they will be so useful for GCSE students.
Even when the theatres open again. Whichever play I’m studying, I know where I
can find a good production. Drama students can watch the plays and see the
characters every moment they’re onstage and I think they could learn so much about
performance from some really brilliant performers.
The Tempest is a beautiful and triumphant end to the
First Folio. A lot of actors were returning to TSMGO, but David Collins was
making his TSMGO debut in the role of Prospero. He gives a fascinating
performance that shows you not just about Prospero the powerful and formidable magician,
but he also shows so much about Prospero the dad and he made me think about how
it must feel to see Miranda growing up. There are a lot of things about
Prospero which I’m not totally okay about, but I feel like I understand him a
lot better now. (Maybe I also understand why my dad doesn’t like my sister
Imogen’s boyfriends very much.)
Another TSMGO debutant(e) (they are non-binary so I’m not
sure which ending to choose) is Betsy Bowman who plays Ariel. They are a very
remarkable performer with many talents to surprise you with, but they are also
a wonderful actor. Ariel is beautifully-characterised and there are so many
wonderful details in Mx Bowman’s performance (I hope that’s the right title)
that show Ariel is a spirit, like the tiny movements of their head.
Doireann May White has played some very varied TSMGO roles
and it is lovely to see her return as Caliban. She shows Caliban’s
vulnerability as well as the reasons why he is seen as a monster. Yolanda Ovide
is a delightful Miranda who seems to have a lot more fun than a lot of Mirandas.
Ollie Orchado is a charming Ferdinand and it is lovely the way Ferdinand and
Miranda interact onscreen, when they aren’t speaking as well as when they are.
I also really liked the little gang of Gonzalo (Lynsey
Beauchamp), Sebastian (Dafydd Gwyn Howells), Alonso (John D. Huston), Stephano
(Alex Phelps), Adrian (Ian Doescher) and Francisco (Victoria Rae Sook, so
different from her Viola in Food of Love Productions, one of the many great
things about seeing the same actors in different roles is that you can see what
a great range they have as actors). They not only act the roles well, they make
them really distinctive as individuals. They remind me a bit of the Mechanicals
in A Midsummer Night’s Dream because they are so funny, but these are
BAD Mechanicals. I love the effort the actors have made with their costumes and
make-up too.
There is also a lot of beautiful music with songs written by
Stephen Leask (who has played many roles for TSMGO including Falstaff and
Chewbacca… that wasn’t autocorrect, he really did play Chewbacca for TSMGO) and
Michelle Kelly, who gives a lovely performance as Iris. There are singers and
musicians, there is movement choreographed by Victoria Rae Sook and Enric
Ortuno, who has also been TSMGO’s Fight Director. There are so many lovely
people, effects, props and ideas in The Tempest. Including, of course,
Robert Myles and Sarah Peachey, who started the whole thing off a very long time
ago in March. They have achieved miracles and they deserve every accolade anyone
gives them.
It is very sad that the First Folio is coming to an end and
if anyone is hoping for the Shakespeare play which TSMGO haven’t done (which I
don’t think we’re supposed to mention so I won’t because they’ve given me the
best eight months ever), I don’t think that’s very likely to happen.
But it is possible there might be something wicked this way
coming in December…
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