First performed on the 1 November 1611 at Whitehall in front of James I, The South Bank Show examines why Shakespeare's Tempest still holds such a fascination for modern audiences.
Written almost 400 years ago, The Tempest turned out to be Shakespeare’s swansong. However, this complex and magical play was inspired by a real event: the wreck of the Virginia-bound Sea-Venture off Bermuda in 1609 with all hands surviving (as they do in the plot of the play).
As well as looking at historical events, the South Bank Show explores the topical thinking of the time which informed the writing and production of the play, especially the contemporary fascination with magic and the occult.
Melvyn Bragg investigates the life and work of the mathematician and alchemist John Dee who straddled the realms of science and magic and is said to have been the basis for Shakespeare's character of Prospero.
The film also explores Shakespeare's take on the Americas - was it a utopian 'brave new world' or a hell of the colonists' own making?
The Tempest is a play that not only looks back to both magic and the occult but also looks forward to issues of race and Empire. The play has had a huge influence on many modern writers such as West Indian novelist George Lamming who is interviewed in the film.
This South Bank Show uses archive footage of key productions from around the world including Italian and German productions, and British productions with Michael Horden (1980) and Mark Rylance (2005) as Prospero; Peter Hall’s productions from 1974 and 1988; Peter Brook’s from 1968; and Percy Stow’s silent film from 1908.
With contributions from leading experts including: biographer Charles Nicholl, critic and scholar Gary Taylor, and historians Peter Linebaugh and Silvia Federici.
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