Theater Review: Shakespeare’s ‘Nude Tempest’ In Prospect Park As Gritty Pastoral [NSFW]

The walkways of Prospect Park near the Music Pagoda are well-trafficked on a Saturday at 5:30pm. Families are strolling from the carousel. Runners are logging miles as marathon training kicks into high gear. The park is criss-crossed by neighbors and tourists.

The newly formed Torn Out Theater was also busy in the Park last Saturday as they launched into their production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which had four performances last week.

As a large audience packed the Music Pagoda (and surrounding grassy areas) for the free performance, Elizabeth Gilbert, who plays Miranda, gathered large sticks and branches. Gilbert appeared naked with the exception of a pair of hefty boots. And she was extremely focused on her endeavor — a “pre-show” of sorts.

This is New York mind you, so a naked woman in the center of Prospect Park didn’t garner much gawking. Oh, they noticed, alright. But no one was terribly perplexed.

Gilbert’s body was covered in mud and dirt. Her costume — and even a nude body is indeed costumed — is not sexualized. And that’s very much part of the idea behind the female body in this production.

The company wants the ideas of body positivity and normalizing the nude female form to synchronize with the themes of identity and liberation inherent within the play.

And, for the most, the production truly succeeds at doing so.

The Tempest — which scholars believe to be Shakespeare’s final play (written in 1610-11) — is set on a remote island and begins with Prospero using his magic to create a massive storm which shipwrecks his brother Antonio and other royals from Milan, landing them on the island. Antonio previously usurped Prospero’s title of Duke of Milan, leaving him and his daughter Miranda stranded on the island for many years.

Torn Out’s production clocks in at 90 minutes without intermission — and director Pitr Strait and consulting director Alice Mottola should be commended for the clean cutting they did to the play. Mottola (who co-directed the original Central Park production in May) and Strait chose to edit out the characters Trinculo and Stephano — a comedic and drunk pair — as well as the violent character Caliban, the son of the wild witch Sycorax.

And while the three contribute to excellent plot lines in Shakespeare’s play, it’s important to view this particular production rather than what we perceive should be included in the play. Although these characters were absent — and I do believe there’s a way to integrate them into the company’s approach — the production provides plenty for the viewer to absorb.

The ensemble — comprised of eight women as well as three dancers — consists of both those who live on the island, and those who have been shipwrecked on it. The nudity of characters such as Prospero (Gina Marie Russell), Miranda (Elizabeth Gilbert), and Ariel (Reanne Roane) reflects the wildness of the island, and serves as a counterpoint to the royals who are shipwrecked on it.

Yes, characters are often naked, however Costume Designer Enée Olsen creats a rich, royal visual palette to introduce the island outsiders. Sebastian (Suzannah Gratz) is regal in a black and deep olive dress. Although the dress of Sebastian along with Ferdinand (Kara Lynn), Alonso (Sarah Sutliff), Antonio (Clara Kundin), and Gonzalo (Miranda McCauley) is so elegant, they also don’t quite fit in. As the play progresses, they shed their lush layers.

The production is an ideal viewing for students of Shakespeare as well as enthusiasts of heightened text. The company should be lauded for their strong use of language and clarity. All too often, words disappear into thin air during outdoor productions.

In an interview before the production, Sarah Sutliff told Park Slope Stoop, “Pitr was very clear about making sure we were on the same page and making sure we were scanning Shakespeare’s verse effectively.”

And it showed. The actors were not screaming their lines, rather, the intention of the language and the high stakes of the given circumstances propelled the text to the audience.

The most intriguing relationship in this production was the pairing of Miranda (Elizabeth Gilbert) with Ferdinand, King of Naples (Kara Lynn).

“O you, so perfect and so peerless, are created of every creature’s best!” calls out Ferdinand. “The jewel in my dower, I would not wish any companion in the world but you, nor can imagination form a shape, besides yourself, to like of,” says Miranda. The exchange is a mix of the pastoral innocence reflecting the immediate environs and the physical grit of the two lovers as they clamber at a thick branch.

The staging is minimalist, and effectively uses the composition of the thick trees which shoot into the sky. Strait could have made more use of the depths of the space; when characters moved towards the background, the visual texture was alluring. The playing area on stage right — ripe with colored fabrics — was perhaps too out of the audience’s line of sight to use for scene staging.

The dance and physical movement of the company was impressive. Ariel’s (Reanna Roane) entrance was powerful as she launched her strong body off one of the trees. And dancers Elven Arrow, Erin Michelle, and Xila Noir had a constant move and flow, accentuated by Ish Peralta’s striking body paint design.

Musicians Lauren Wainwright (percussion, violin) and Martine Plume (autoharp and ukelin) performed a minimalist score which was at times both delicate and jarring — an effective complement to this gritty pastoral.

As mentioned, The Tempest is the beginning of the formation of a company. Torn Out’s work is an amalgam of strong classical text work as well as ideas integrated within the work instead of imposed on top of the text.

As Prospero says, the production was “rough magic.”