In his director’s note, Chanticleer Shakespeare Company Artistic Director Blake Ellis writes that “this production (like all theatre) is about connection, between language and music, between artists and audience, and between all of us gathered in the same space for a brief, shared moment.” It’s a powerful statement, and one all art should have in its sights. However, in its second outing, Chanticleer Shakes doesn’t quite connect the dots for a fully compelling “The Tempest.”
Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” follows Prospera (Jaqueline Antaramian), a deposed ruler living in exile on a remote island with her daughter, Miranda (Lauren Mackenzie Skemp). Using her command of magic, Prospera conjures a storm that shipwrecks her enemies, setting in motion a series of encounters among nobles, servants and spirits. As old betrayals surface and new relationships form, Prospera must ultimately decide whether to pursue vengeance or forgiveness.
At the center: Prospera
Antaramian’s Prospera is a compelling figure from her first appearance center stage. Her voice and presence seem made for a complex heroine with an authoritarian, matriarchal bent. She uses her wits and magic to survive a harsh environment for decades, yet in doing so oppresses the island’s original inhabitants, Caliban, Ariel, and various other sprites. She is both colonialist and refugee. Oppressor and victim.
Within the world of the play, Prospera is the only character who isn’t truly experiencing anything new. She is at the end of her period of discovery, while everyone else is still encountering novelty . . . new people, new experiences, new emotions and new ambitions. This sets Prospera apart from all others, which leaves a heavy weight in that magical cape…