Washington Post - Highly Recommended
"...This latest selection is dripping with invention. Washington has to be the only city in America at the moment in which actors on two different stages have to contemplate nose plugs. As in Arena Stage's "Metamorphoses," an exploration of the myths related by the Roman poet Ovid, Synetic's "Tempest" is performed in a shallow pool, some of the contents of which inevitably end up on the cheeks and in the laps of patrons in the front rows. (Rain gear is lent to them.)"
DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended
"...Synetic Theater’s production of The Tempest, the latest installment of their Silent Shakespeare Series, can be described using all of the above words. Indeed, the entire stage is covered in four inches of water through which the actors dance, roll, and fight. In fact, a grand total of 2,500 gallons of water is used on the set. As the theater’s Technical Director, Phil Charlwood, says, “Our world is the stage. It’s not a pool. It’s a whole world.” In fact, 75 ponchos are kept on hand for audience members in the “splash zone” of the first three rows."
MetroWeekly - Recommended
"...the real standouts here are Dan Istrate as the mischievous but loyal Ariel and Vato Tsikurishvili as Caliban, the island creature who convinces Stephano and Trinculo to join him in an attempt to overthrow Prospero. In a skin of silvery ruffles and a body that curls and curves like the waves, Istrate's Ariel is something sweet and slightly sinister; the embodiment of Synetic's island mystery. Truly making Caliban his own, Tsikurishvili delivers his usual brand of exhilarating physicality along with a newly dimensional expressiveness. Often in comic roles, Tsikurishvili shows he has far more to offer."
Washington City Paper - Recommended
"...Because—as fans of the movement-focused troupe know—there are no words when Synetic does Shakespeare. The Tempest is the ninth installation in the company’s Silent Shakespeare series, and it’s a seaworthy one. Aside from a boulder-like platform emerging from the rear of theater, the entire stage is flooded with four inches of water. There is no “pool onstage,” as in Arena Stage’s current production of Metamorphoses. Here, the pool is the stage."
ShowBizRadio - Highly Recommended
"...For spectacular, visually arresting technical theater and virtuosic, athletic movement, look no further than Synetic Theater's production of The Tempest. Based generally on characters and plot elements of Shakespeare's play of the same name, Synetic's Tempest offers nonstop action by beautifully trained, and often very beautiful, performers. Like Arena Stage's Metamorphoses, it is performed largely in water, with all the splash and symbolism that goes with it. Perhaps this is the year of what might be called "immersive theater.""
MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended
"...Their current production, the latest in an acclaimed series of wordless Shakespeare adaptations, does more than justice to the play, painting the plot with movement, clarity, and precision. The show is a masterful collaboration between Director Paata Tsikurishvili, Choreographer Irina Tsikurishvili, and Fight Choreographer Ben Cunis. Their wildly ambitious vision for the play impresses at every turn-at once funny and frightening, wild and controlled."
DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended
Synetic Theatre has delivered a blockbuster with its almost cinematic rendition of The Tempest. Think Lord of the Rings mixed with scenes from James Cameron’s Titanic. Shakespeare’s masterpiece is moved through with a lush underscoring whose decibel strength could do an AMC “big screen” theatre proud.
