The Tempest triumphs as it takes the UK by storm

Following its run at the RSC's Courtyard Theatre the company is preparing for its 5-city tour, which starts off in Richmond, followed by Leeds, Bath, Nottingham and then Sheffield, where the tour ends on April 26.

Shakespeare would have been proud. Michael Billington from The Guardian gave the production five stars and said, “Myths and metaphors create a stunning African Tempest” and “Honeyman's brilliant production from Cape Town's Baxter Theatre Centre … combines racial politics with visual playfulness in a way that liberates this all too-familiar play.” Charles Spencer from the Daily Telegraph enthused, “This is as moving and beautiful production of Shakespeare's great play as you likely to encounter, continually inventive, bursting with spectacle and deep emotion, and proving, yet again, that Shakespeare is our contemporary.” He continues, “Magical, magnificent and deeply felt, this is not a Tempest to miss.”

“Janice Honeyman's co-production with the Baxter Theatre Centre of Cape Town triumphs … perhaps only a South African company could temper it so powerfully with a recognition of the vital necessity of truth and reconciliation to enable all the land's people to move on,” is what the Financial Times had to say, with “Janice Honeyman's electrifying vision of the play returns Shakespeare's darkly lyrical text to the tropics” and “… bursts with excitement and visual brilliance” from The Stage.

Cape Town audiences and local critics were equally complimentary when this historic production was sold out at the Baxter Theatre earlier this year, with theatre-lovers clamouring to see the show. Zane Henry from The Argus wrote, “Janice Honeyman, her cast and crew have done an excellent job and deserve all the plaudits, locally and internationally, the production will most likely garner.” He went on to say, “Honeyman and co deserve all the applause. They survived the storm of expectation and delivered a triumph.” The Cape Times called it “a rousing success”, Die Burger described it as an “Extraordinary fantasy spectacle” and The Writing Studio simply said “If there's one storm you can surrender to with pleasure, it's the exceptional The Tempest, now raging with spectacular fury at the Baxter.”

The South African High Commissioner in Britain saw the production in Stratford and she was overjoyed. She said, “Shakespeare must be smiling from era to ear these days every time The Tempest is performed by a proudly South African cast at Stratford-upon-Avon. The production and performances are unparalleled as the audience is bounced back and forth between reality and the delightfully dramatic fantasy garnered from the wealth of African mythology and symbolism to enhance the content. To see two world renowned grand masters of Shakespearian drama, John Kani and Antony Sher, lend their fame, artistry, gravitas and sheer excellence to the younger cast members is to watch the baton being passed to the next generation of South African actors to occupy world stage with irrepressible confidence as our new cultural ambassadors.”

South African-born RSC Associate Artist Janet Suzman could not contain her excitement and pride. “What a relief - I can be enthusiastic for once! I usually find something to groan about, be it the acting or the direction or the interpretation, but, hey, this time I am completely won over.
I sat there swelling with pride. I even shouted ‘Yes!' as if a goal had been scored. Well, it had; I always like my Shakespeare to have some political context.”

Suzman directed the Baxter's production of Hamlet which launched the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company's year-long Complete Works Festival in April 2007 which, at the time, was also met with great public and media acclaim.

While on tour the company will also perform the Young People's Shakespeare: The Tempest, a condensed and distilled version of the production created for families, younger people and schools' audiences and featuring younger members of the ensemble performing some of the key roles. Luke Ellenbogen (recent Fleur du Cap Best Props award-winner for Raiders: Rasputin's Rectangle) plays Prospero, with Alex Halligey as Miranda, Nkosinathi Gaar as Gonzalo, 2007 Brett Goldin Bursary recipient Omphile Molusi as Caliban and 2008 Brett Goldin Bursary recipient Thami Mbongo in the role of Ariel.

The Tempest transfers to the Richmond Theatre in London from March 19 to 28, then to the Leeds Grand Theatre from March 31 to 4 April, followed by the Bath Theatre Royal from April 7 to 11 and Nottingham Royal Theatre from April 14 to 18. The tour ends off at the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre from April 21 to 25.