Marissa Orjalo as Ariel in 'The Tempest.'Ann Baggley/Supplied
- Title: The Tempest
- Written by: William Shakespeare
- Performed by: Geraint Wyn Davies, Ashley Dingwell, Marissa Orjalo, Jonathan Goad, David Collins, Dakota Jamal Wellman, Josue Laboucane, Ben Carlson, Fiona Reid, Micah Woods, Gordon S. Miller
- Director: Antoni Cimolino
- Company: Stratford Festival
- Venue: Festival Theatre
- City: Stratford, Ont.
- Year: Runs until Oct. 24
A powerful sorcerer finds himself on a remote island, which, in the aftermath of a brutal shipwreck, he moulds into a small empire. He dotes on his daughter; he lords over his elfin servant; he plans for an eventual exit from the isle, the inevitability of his goodbye hovering over every move.
So goes The Tempest. But so too goes the narrative of its director’s imminent departure from the Stratford Festival. Antoni Cimolino has shaped and been shaped by Stratford, the farmy small town in Southwestern Ontario that boasts the largest repertory theatre company in North America. As the institution’s artistic director, he’s steered the festival through a pandemic – a shipwreck by any other name – and he’s shored up the fest such that it can survive once he retires this fall.
But after 39 years, it’s time for Cimolino to leave the island.
In some ways, The Tempest is exactly what one might expect from the director’s final Shakespeare: flashy, tender, intricate. Its shipwreck sequence in particular thrums with the alchemy of theatre magic: On opening night, the highly choreographed disaster received a well-deserved round of applause.
Full coverage: The Stratford Festival 2026
But not all of Cimolino’s artistic gambles pay off so lucratively. His Tempest leans into the play’s tragicomedy genre – William Shakespeare’s text wriggles between both types of stories – and as such, the production feels surprisingly disconnected from itself, vaulting audiences between atmospheres without much by way of a transition.
One sequence, which sees the Festival Theatre fill with enormous, undulating jellyfish, their fibre-optic tentacles wafting in the air, is particularly gorgeous – but the production then hastily pivots back to its roots in pseudo-realism, resulting in a pinch of aesthetic whiplash for the audience.
Even so, there’s much to appreciate in Cimolino’s first goodbye letter to the Stratford Festival. (His second, Eduardo De Filippo’s Saturday, Sunday, Monday, will open in August.) The Tempest leans heavily into musical imagery: Enslaved spirit Ariel, played by an outstanding Marissa Orjalo, first emerges from the belly of a waterlogged grand piano (the barnacle-pocked set and costumes are by Julie Fox).
Cimolino’s 'Tempest' leans into the play’s tragicomedy genre and as such, the production feels surprisingly disconnected from itself.David Hou/Supplied
Original songs by Berthold Carrière add extra whimsy to the indentured nymph’s servitude. Orjalo sings them beautifully, her voice easily swelling to accommodate the cavernous Festival Theatre as she flits from place to place with the help of nifty stage illusions. (Carrière’s compositions later return for that eye-popping jellyfish sequence, adding a layer of operatic grandeur to the whole affair.)
As marooned noble Prospero, Geraint Wyn Davies captures the bittersweet squeeze of a father not yet ready to send his daughter Miranda into the world – or to leave this mortal coil. Wyn Davies, gruff and wry as he commands Ariel to do his bidding, is a natural fit in the role: He offers a nuanced, nostalgic Prospero worthy of the real-life wizard who will take his final exit from the Stratford Festival in a few months. When Wyn Davies’s Prospero agrees to let Miranda marry Ferdinand (Dakota Jamal Wellman), the ache is palpable just beneath the rugged actor’s skin.
Ashley Dingwell, meanwhile, is a lovely Miranda, headstrong and good-natured as the rightful Duke of Milan’s daughter, in bright contrast to Jonathan Goad’s imprisoned Caliban. (Goad is particularly effective as the humanoid son of sea witch Sycorax, his wiry tail flicking as he contemplates what to do next.)
The rest of Cimolino’s ensemble is mostly strong, though a few actors over-enunciate their lines to the point of awkwardness – perhaps to compensate for Ranil Sonnadara’s overly loud sound design. Additional standouts include Ben Carlson as Stephano and Josue Laboucane as Trinculo, both of whom inject the production with much-needed laughter.
Cimolino may not have nailed his final Shakespeare as artistic director of the Stratford Festival, but his 'Tempest' portrays a mastery of the imperfect act of saying goodbye.Ann Baggley/Supplied
Cimolino’s Tempest is imperfect: It would be dishonest to declare otherwise. But despite its missteps, the production amalgamates some of Cimolino’s best strengths as a director, with a handful of truly delightful moments sewn into its sails. It’s never boring, nor is it ever unclear what an actor is saying; visually, Imogen Wilson’s lighting is some of the best to grace the Festival Theatre stage in ages. Indeed, much of The Tempest is downright divine.
But endings are bittersweet. They’re messy, a tangle of emotions, ideas and dreams for the future; they’re tearful, frantic, inelegant. Cimolino may not have nailed his final Shakespeare as artistic director of the Stratford Festival. But his Tempest portrays a mastery of the imperfect act of saying goodbye – and after 39 years, that’s pretty impressive, too.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to state that the performances are in Stratford, Ont.