I was cruising YouTube looking for video this evening, and I ran across this clip that shows two different interpretations of the first Miranda/Prospero scene from The Tempest. What caught my attention is that the second clip is Patrick Stewart as Prospero.
You neglected to identify the other actors, and the directors of each production.
The actress playing Miranda opposite Stewart has an interesting, somewhat unconventional approach to the material, but knowing the story of The Tempest, Stewart’s interpretation of the role doesn’t ring true to me. He seems too moody, too lacking in self-control to be the maestro behind the all events in the rest of the play. I much prefer Alvin Epstein’s Prospero in this year’s production by Actors’ Shakespeare Project.
Gielguld’s Prospero in Peter Greenaway’s Prospero’s Books is also a favorite interpretation (though I realize there is some controversy with Greenaway’s direction.)
I wouldn’t say “neglected” so much as “wasn’t that interested” 🙂 Like I said, it was Stewart as Prospero that caught my eye. I’d thought of him in a number of roles, but not that one.