A ticket so hot even the King turned up to check it out, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC’s) latest version of The Tempest will go down in history for entertaining the reigning monarch (who took his seat in the stalls for the previous Friday’s performance) as well as heralding the long-awaited return of Sir Kenneth Branagh after more than three decades away.

Whether the pacy production will be remembered for much more than acting royalty meeting the genuine article is open to debate. It certainly ticks a lot of boxes - the story’s requisite remote island location, magic, nymphs, and (always annoying) drunks are all very much accounted for, and there are some excellent set pieces (the opening storm and shipwreck scene sets a particularly high bar) and performances - but it’s hard to escape the sense that the show occasionally seems to be either trying too hard or not trying hard enough.

Examples of the former include forced musical numbers and a couple of overly dramatic scenes - Branagh flipping the switch from a more subdued and loving Prospero to a raging tyrant hellbent on revenge with no apparent reason - while the latter is best indicated by the show's low-fi staging. The RSC is typically known for its bells-and-whistles stage sets, so to see the action take place on a bare stage was a surprise that could’ve made for a more intimate production (and occasionally did), if not for the video projections on a huge rear screen that often felt at odds with the presumed intention. Even though those same visuals - and their eventual removal - provided a useful reminder of Prospero’s magic skills and their limitations.

On the (big) plus side, making the lead character a Fantasia-style magician with baton to conduct proceedings proved hugely effective - Branagh leafing through his book of spells to demonstrate the novice’s reliance on ‘how to’ instructions - as were the casual aerial acrobatics of Ariel, a nymph for whom genuine sorcery is second nature.

Amara Okereke gives a terrific (and mostly airborne) performance as the spirit with spirit, with Ruby Stokes, suitably wide-eyed as Miranda, and Holby City’s Guy Henry - hamming it up just right as drunken butler Stephano - among the standouts in a cast full of uniformly strong performances.

Branagh captains the ship of course - one minute filled with rage for his plight, the next with love for his daughter Miranda - as the veteran thespian finally ticks off a role he’s never played, despite having worked on 35 Shakespeare productions during his 45-year career.

With nearly 60 years of experience, director Sir Richard Eyre, making his RSC debut and earning a curtain call at the tender age of 83, sagely describes Shakespeare’s final play as a meditation on ‘art, power and freedom’. His production arguably reflects all those elements, while supernatural activity, compassion, forgiveness and ultimately redemption, are all themes to look out for in a play that might not be Shakespeare’s best but still has the power to cast a spell.

Three Stars (We wonder how many the King gave it?)

The Tempest was reviewed on Tuesday 26 May by Steve Adams at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, where it continues to play until Saturday 20 June