Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone; Perhaps try both?

The Tempest, in its oscillation between comedy and tragedy, hardly possesses the comedic intention of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; that said, the production of The Tempest directed by Des McAnuff at the Stratford Shakespeare festival makes it a pretty point in Act 2 Scene 2 that humor can still be used incredibly effectively, even if there are no Bottom jokes to milk. Note, for instance, the sheer outlandishness of Trinculo’s costume: he looks straight out of Alice in Wonderland! He wears an oversized ruff, an out of place red phrygian cap, and a nonplussing red tunic-black baggy breeches combo--not to mention the overwhelming use of whitening makeup on his face, a feature that harkens to a sort of Tim Burton/Johnny Depp stylistic niche. Simultaneously considering the director’s casting of Trinculo as a man on the heftier side of sizes (a far cry from the recent motion picture’s choice of tall, lanky Russel Brand) with an ability to speak with a hilariously effeminate tone (à la Flute from the Pearl Theatre Company’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream), it becomes clearly that design choices were made to supplement the play with humor--seeing a sweaty, larger man in makeup lethargically toddle about the stage certainly garnered some laughs and smiles.

However--in testament to the duality between comedy and tragedy in The Tempest--the director balances the abovementioned humor with a sense of grim seriousness through his decisions towards direction. Yes, Des McAnuff indulges in a bit of goofiness with Caliban’s licking of Stefano’s foot paired with Stefano’s chuckle-worthy reactions of ecstasy; for the most part, however, Caliban’s unbecoming merging of both a humanoid figure and disturbingly reptilian features leaves a devoutly weirded-out impression in the mind of the viewer that well contrasts with the scene’s humor. In conjunction with the creepy costume choice, Caliban spends the scene spidering about the stage largely on all fours whilst speaking in a relatively harsh tone of voice: creepy and grim indeed.

Moreover, the song finale also captures the balance between the play’s comedic and tragic elements seen in the director’s powerful use of forms to present the content of the play. On one end of the spectrum, the song smacks of serious themes: Caliban loudly declares his “freedom” from Prospero, a man whom he already referred to as a “tyrant;” the chanting of freedom by both Stephano and Trinculo, a song routine added into the play by the director, simultaneously reminds the viewer of an analogous development in freedom--that these two men of a foreign kingdom, once fettered by servile roles, now ostensibly have the chance to “inherit” and rule this new island with Caliban’s help. In short, the song brings to mind a serious power shift on the Island whilst exploring the jubilant, intoxifying effects of freedom--one could even make the point that the director uses a dramatic prop in the bottle-necklace, and has Caliban take a dramatic chug of the alcohol in the midst of his freedom song, to call attention to the fact that freedom can be just as intoxifying a force as alcohol for the human mind. At the same time, however, veritably light-hearted, more comedic elements exist in the direction of the song: the actors liven the performance up a lot with energetic voices and light dancing (especially that circular hop about that occurs right before the scene comes to a close). Truly, while the director wants the audience to understand the pivotal character and thematic developments woven into the song befitting the more serious plot of a tragedy play, he also wants the audience to enjoy comedic themed elements in the play evidenced by the refreshing song and dance routine--a testament to how directorial choices can balance two different styles into one cogent performance.

All in all, Des McAnuff’s admirable interpretation of The Tempest underscores just how powerful directorial choices can be in sculpting the feel of a play; everything from his choice of costume (goofy outfits versus unsettling reptile suits), character physicality (amusingly plump and sweaty to creepily slinking), and song connotation works in unison to deliver a play that gives light to Shakespeare’s prowess in both the field of lighthearted comedy and more serious tragedy.