by William Shakespeare
seen at the Playhouse Theatre, Sydney Opera House on 9 September 2015
John Bell directs his last production for The Bell Shakespeare Company, which he founded in 1990. The cast is
Brian Lipson - Prospero
Eloise Winestock - Miranda
Damien Strouthos - Caliban and the Bosun
Felix Gentle - Ferdinand
Maeliosa Stafford - King Alonso
Robert Alexander - Gonzalo
Hazem Shammas - Antonio and Stephano
Arky Michael - Sebastian and Trinculo
Matthew Backer - Ariel
Set and costumes designed by Julie Lynch, lighting designed by Damien Cooper, and music composed by Alan John.
Some unusual decisions have been made for this production, most of which turned out to work extremely well. Perhaps the least satisfactory was the doubling of roles, which detracted from the impact of the final tableau. However, cast doubling is apparently part of the company style, and the performances were in all cases excellent.
