The Tempest (St. Ann's Warehouse) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (62)
See it if you LIVE for innovative Shakespeare adaptations and all-star ensemble casts.
Don't see it if don't enjoy non-traditional Shakespeare productions, or Shakespeare in general.
See it if You enjoy watching an exceptionally talented ensemble perform and appreciate modern takes on Shakespeare.
Don't see it if You hate modern takes on Shakespeare or traveling to Brooklyn to see better-than-Broadway performances.
See it if you think that Shakespeare can still speak to us today intelligently and if you want to see truly amazing acting and inspired directing
Don't see it if you are already familiar with Donmar Warehouse's productions. It's the same gimmick of Henry IV and Julius Ceasar
See it if You like Shakespeare.ingenious staging, innovative approaches to classics, a wonderful evening of theater.
Don't see it if Theater in the round,travelling to Brooklyn,women actors playing traditional men's roles.
See it if you like the story of "The Tempest", you like modernized Shakespeare stories with original text, you want to truly experience a performance.
Don't see it if you severely dislike Shakespeare, you don't want a modern re-telling, you don't like prison stories, you want a direct, clear-cut story. Read more
See it if If you want to see Shakespeare with modern twist done right.
Don't see it if Don't like Shakespeare
See it if you love Shakespeare, great acting, the women of Donmar Warehouse, the beautiful St. Ann's Warehouse space, you're alive and it's still on..
Don't see it if you don't like non-traditional interpretations of Shakespeare (takes place in a women's prison)
See it if See an exceptionally talented actress in Harriet Walter and a great ensemble cast; experience Shakespeare in a non traditional presentation.
Don't see it if you are a Shakespeare purist; you prefer extravagant sets; the prison setting sometimes intrudes on the story yet also defines it .
Critic Reviews (26)
"The multi-racial all-female cast is wonderful. Walters is a formidable Prospero, delivering Shakespeare’s words with command...The prison metaphor serves 'The Tempest’s' themes of freedom well. It also reflects the freeing of actresses from conventional casting constraints. Occasionally, I felt that the production’s high concept got in the way of the play itself. But in the end, Lloyd, Walter, and the ensemble deserve our praise and admiration for their theatrical vision and fortitude."
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"Intense, original, and layered...All the inmates as performed by this stellar ensemble, find themselves confined in an environment that strips them of all the stereotypical feminine shackles...The parallels to Shakespeare are profound, and setting this play within those walls only shines more light on the roles we all play in order to survive...Some of the thrill was dampened due to the sameness of the exercise...I got the sense we were saying goodbye to Walker and the trilogy with love."
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“'The Tempest' is about a private individual, but perhaps even more absolute power–the power of the ruler of a tiny island, Prospero (Walter)...This production, set like the rest of the trilogy in a women’s prison, highlights how limited, how constrained, and how ephemeral that power is…The prison conceit doesn’t always prove effective, but it really hits home in 'The Tempest’s closing moments, which prove resonant and unexpectedly touching."
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"The formidable Harriet Walter, as directed by the equally formidable Phyllida Lloyd, is delivering the most astonishing reinterpretation of a famous William Shakespeare speech you might ever hope to witness…Walter is giving her devastating performance in the third of the all-women Bard trilogy…There is so much clever in the Lloyd approach that it’s hard to know where to start…Lloyd is full of additional surprises, too...Foremost are the delightful performances she plucks from the cast."
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“This extraordinary production is the third in Phyllida Lloyd’s fearlessly original Shakespeare series. One can only pray there will be more…The concept unequivocally works…Not for a moment does one lose the pathos, comedy, complicated relationships, or magic embedded in ‘The Tempest.’ These are consummate actresses–intelligible, defined, impassioned, and decidedly un-highbrow…Walter is riveting…A visual treat, emotionally captivating and intellectually fascinating."
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"A thoroughly satisfying 'Tempest.' Take your pick on what to admire the most: the joy of seeing a repertory company tackle multiple plays, the insight offered by an all-female cast and what that says about the play at hand, the ever-rich multiplicity of Shakespeare or simply great actors doing great work with a singular focus. It’s all there...This layering of performance and character upon character unlocks new meaning...It’s all delivered by an exceptional cast."
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"Remarkable…A brisk two hours that fly by…The entire cast is almost too good to be true. So good in fact, that they make you forget how superb the remarkable Harriet Walter is as Prospero…The production is proof that it doesn’t take a massive bankbook to create great art…It’s not dazzling, until it is—when the lights go out and we all bring forth the starlight with our tiny lights in the darkness. It is magic right there, it is community, it is joy, it is beauty—it is what theater is all about."
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“This is great theater. It has everything–terrific performances, surprise, spectacle, insight. If you can nab a ticket, even if you’ve seen 'The Tempest' before, you need to go. You’ve never seen it done like this…The cuts and some rearranging are judicious and it’s worth it for the surprising tableaux...Walter’s Prospero commands with dignity...It’s brilliant conception and direction by Lloyd, and unforgettable theater."
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