Watched a very fine version of Shakespeare's The Tempest over the CNY break. I got the DVD from my colleague Doreen. All the many virtues of the RSC are on display in the production, filmed in January 2017 in Stratford, but above all the visuals are stunning with loads of digital jiggery-pokery enhancing the performance. The funny thing is that this kind of thing in a movie doesn't exactly cut the mustard as you take it so much for granted (as in the case of Julie Taymor's film) but on stage it genuinely impresses in an appropriately magical manner.
I suppose you can judge the strength of any performance of the play based on how convincing the respective Ariel and Caliban are. In this case both are sensationally good, and their relationships with Simon Russell Beale's unusually thin-skinned Prospero lie at the emotional heart of the play. Indeed, I was surprised at just how much raw, painful emotion the cast found in the play and brought to vivid hurtful life.
Oh, and they found lots of comedy too. So it's all good.
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