Theatre Alba

The Tempest
Edinburgh Evening News 04/09/2006
MARTIN LENON

The Tempest ***
Brunton Theatre

KENNETH Branagh made Shakespeare sexy again. So much so that more and more companies have dared to tackle his difficult and great works with confidence and even gusto.

For the most part, Theatre Alba pulled it off with style and aplomb. True, there were a few weak performances: Emma Laidlaw's Miranda needed a little more subtlety to fully realise the duality of her character and Robert Williamson's grotesque Caliban teetered precariously on the cartoony, but the rest of the cast helped to keep them afloat with the buoyancy of their own performance.

Sam Laydon, in particular gave additional depth to a strong, yet understated Ariel, but it was Keith Hutcheon who cast the most persuasive spell as the overbearing, but compassionate Prospero.

Thanks to Charles Nowosielski's solid, clear direction, the overarching motif of justice being done came through loudly. Prospero's concluding speech asked the audience to give him, his daughter and his countrymen freedom to leave the island by simply applauding. They were more than happy to do so.