As an A-level English Literature student I am used to going to see plays which are played out exactly like they are in the book, unfortunately one of the main problems that Shakespeare plays like 'The Tempest' have is that there is no connection between the modern audience watching and the actors playing the parts. This production finally encaptured everything that I had been looking for and for anyone that knows "The Tempest" the Jacoebean Mask scene was particularly spectacular and quite moving. Not only was the direction of this play good but also were the characters themselves, Pete Postlethwaite was fantastic as Prospero, he went from a character that I had little interest in to encaputuring a scene when he entered, he played a down to earth and human Prospero (those who have read/seen the Tempest will know what I mean by this) who connected beautifully with the audience, also Miranda and Ferdinand truly played the star - crossed lovers and the chemistry between the two was outstanding. Caliban played his self true to the play - even to one point spectacularly climbing up the theatre (how he did this is beyond human imagination and left the audience in awe). Ariel was also outstanding and showed the trap spirit in him perfectly by his jerky speech when he was ready to be freed by Prospero and his fluent speech when he was leading those to cleansing, also I must also add that he had an outstanding and encapturing voice for his singing parts. In this play even the staging was fantastic, they used every exit and entrance without making it overwhelming and showed the transition between places to the audience beautifully. I would recommend this play to anyone and everyone. If your a regular theatre goer like me then you will understand the thought that has gone into this piece, if you have read the text then you will see how the directors manage to make the audience connect with the play and if your a novice it will have you laughing and crying at the same time. Whoever you are I promise it will be the best night you have had in a long time!