Old tale lacking zest

Though lauded as a brilliant interpretation of the Bard's last masterpiece when it opened in Sheffield, Michael Grandage's production of The Tempest is not the best I've seen.

On a practical level, there are too many instances when the words are lost to garbled diction or background noise. On an interpretative level, there's no real sense of Prospero's emotional journey - he starts angry and stays that way, still too sickened at the end to be able to bear Alonso embracing his daughter.

That said, Derek Jacobi does angry very well, spitting out 'we are such stuff as dreams are made of' with real venom, creating an aching sense of the loneliness that prompts Prospero to say he's 'lost' his daughter, and frankly outdoing the 'three men of sin' with his bitterness.

There are also some redeeming moments of pure theatrical magic, largely thanks to Christopher Oram's designs (the opening storm scene is masterful) and Hartley TA Kemp's clever lighting - although playing out the action under a crumbling, sunbleached proscenium is perhaps a rather too obvious allusion to Prospero as puppet master.

Daniel Evans, as a shaven-headed, perky and highly camp Ariel, sings like an angel and scampers about the stage with every indication he's revelling in the role of fairy. Louis Hilyer's Caliban, however, is far too human a monster and at times seems more articulate than some of the other characters. A mixed bag of a production, then, worth seeing if not worth the hype.

Until Mar 15, Old Vic, The Cut SE1, Mon to Sat 7.30pm, Thu and Sat mats 3pm, £7.50 to £37.50. Tel: 020 7369 1722. Tube: Waterloo

The Tempest