The BBC Tempest does almost all of the lines and does them with intelligence and skill. No one is an embarrassment to Shakespeare, and some cast members are at least minor ornaments.
Nigel Hawthorne's Stephano is agreeably disreputable, and Warren Clarke's Caliban has the right blend of stupidity, simplicity, and ferocity.
Michael Hordern's Prospero, however, is almost as difficult to praise as to fault. He does not have the majesty and benevolence that Prospero sometimes has, nor does he suggest the scholarship and wisdom which are also part of the character. Instead, Hordern attains a schoolmasterish authority, which contains a touch of darkness. He sometimes seems to be more Miranda's teacher than her father, but throughout the production, he never loses control of his classroom.
Nigel Hawthorne's Stephano is agreeably disreputable, and Warren Clarke's Caliban has the right blend of stupidity, simplicity, and ferocity.
Michael Hordern's Prospero, however, is almost as difficult to praise as to fault. He does not have the majesty and benevolence that Prospero sometimes has, nor does he suggest the scholarship and wisdom which are also part of the character. Instead, Hordern attains a schoolmasterish authority, which contains a touch of darkness. He sometimes seems to be more Miranda's teacher than her father, but throughout the production, he never loses control of his classroom.