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Cuing the elements

Even the weather contributes to a solid, straightforward Tempest
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By Steffen Silvis
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
July 25th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Jan Tříska, right, shown here with Pavel Kikinčuk as Trinkulo, literally throws himself into the role of Caliban.
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The timing was impeccable. As the final gong sounded, announcing the beginning of Shakespeare’s The Tempest in the castle courtyard behind Dalibor Tower, a sudden wind rose up out of what had been a stiflingly hot day. The actors in the first scene, sailors caught in a ship capsized by a storm, suddenly found themselves having to project their voices over soughing tree limbs that aped the cracking of masts and yards.
By the second scene, the great Prospero (Martin Huba), wielding his staff in command of the weather, seemed to conjure up the black clouds ominously scudding over St. Vitus. Yet when this darkness finally fell, it only brought an appropriate pebble-dashing of rain, rather than a Lear-like “hurricano.”
In a play of such elemental power as The Tempest, the elements last Friday night played their part. Yet, even without this attempt by Gaia to stage-manage, director Jakub Korčák’s production is a finely constructed piece of work. Korčák has chosen a classically Romantic approach to the play rather than exploring it conceptually or realistically — which is wise, as any outdoor staging of a play will always necessarily default to amphitheatrical form. Voices and gestures, as well as comic business, must be large to reach the cheap seats in the rear. It is theater at its most basic: words and movement.
For English speakers who know their bard, you will be presented with a straightforward production of The Tempest, complete with the masque of the three goddesses, a portion of the play often sadly cut from modern stagings. Korčák has gathered together a strong Czech cast, including a few very well-known actors, to populate the stage. His production also boasts a simple but elegant scenic design from one of the country’s most renowned scenographers, Jaroslav Malina, who has turned the entire stage into a ship using masts, rigging and the designer’s favorite material, fabric.
Many of the actors are swapping parts with each other during the run, so the performances I saw may not be the ones available on any given night. However, the one constant is the one reason why many people seek out this production — Jan Tříska’s Caliban.
At first, the casting of the veteran actor as the monstrous mooncalf seemed counter-intuitive at best. But Tříska’s performance is revelatory. He throws himself into a punishing physical score with complete abandon. Tříska’s divine madness, best seen in Švankmajer’s recent film Šílení, is also here in abundance, particularly when he menacingly hops around Miranda like an unleashed satyr, wagging his tongue, while staining his face with smashed raspberries. It’s a great turn from a great actor.
That other veteran of the Czech stage and screen, Huba, is a commanding Prospero, though he trades roles occasionally with Jan Novotný to play Prospero’s malignant brother, Antonio, the role Novotný played Friday.
As Prospero’s beautiful daughter, Miranda, Zuzana Kajnarová struck a hoydenish note at the top that at first seemed wrong. But as her performance grew, her choice made perfect sense. Her Miranda is hardly the demure virgin of most Tempests, but a strong-willed young woman, who nonetheless is completely thrown into girlish wonderment by her discovery of men. Like Tříska, Kajnarová puts in a dynamic physical performance, though her voice at times failed her.
Rounding out the cast is Filip Čapka as the lothario Ferdinand; the gender-split spirit Ariel taken in turns by Adrian Jastraban and Marika Procházková; Pavel Kikinčuk and Tomáš Pavelka’s clowns, Trinculo and Stefano, and Oldřich Navrátil’s befuddled Gonzalo (a nice contrast to the actor’s excellent Iago in this summer Shakespeare festival’s Othello, though he’s the only reason to see that production).
As this romantic tragicomedy, set on an enchanted island populated by spirits, reached its joyful conclusion, the elements again cooperated. The evening had once more become still, crickets had overcome the production’s musical score, and moths arrived at the very moment Prospero freed Ariel from bondage. No special effects could have created an evening quite so impressive.

Steffen Silvis can be reached at ssilvis@praguepost.com


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