Librarians at Seattle Public Library created this list of books, films, and music to enhance your experience of Seattle Rep's Public Works production of The Tempest, on stage from August 25 - August 27, 2023.

Hag-seed: The Tempest Retold

By Atwood, Margaret

Book - 2016

Acclaimed author Atwood's modern-day take on The Tempest is a witty, multi-layered remake with the Prospero character reimagined as Felix, a famous theatre festival director with a few scores to settle.

 

Miranda and Caliban

By Carey, Jacqueline

Book - 2017

Told from the perspectives of Miranda and Caliban, Carey's haunting novel provides a compelling backstory for these two characters and takes their relationship in a very different direction from The Tempest.

 

Miranda in Milan

By Duckett, Katharine

Book - 2019

While Carey's book describes Miranda's life before the events of The Tempest, Duckett's gothic novel imagines what happens after Miranda leaves the island—and finds herself a virtual prisoner and outcast in her father's castle in Milan.

 

Forbidden Planet

DVD - 2006

This 1956 science fiction classic starring Leslie Nielsen as a marooned starship commander and Anne Francis as his love interest is a loose adaption of The Tempest, drawing thematic elements and some plot points from the play.

 

Prospero's Daughter: A Novel

By Nunez, Elizabeth

eBook - 2006

This award-wining novel from Trinidadian American author Nunez is a captivating and beautifully rendered retelling of The Tempest set in a leper colony off the coast of Trinidad in 1961.

 

Classic BBC Radio Shakespeare Romances

by Shakespeare, William

Downloadable Audiobook - 2016

Listen to a classic 1974 BBC audio production of The Tempest starring Paul Scofield as Prospero and Patrick Stewart as Caliban.

 

Tchaikovsky's The Tempest

Web Resource

Composed in 1873, Tchaikovsky's symphonic poem was inspired by Shakespeare's play. Listen to a streaming recording performed by the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev.

 

The Tempest

DVD - 2011

Julie Taymor's 2010 film adaptation of The Tempest stars Helen Mirren as Prospera, a female version of Prospero, and Felicity Jones as Miranda.

 

The Tempest

Streaming Video - 2019

This video is a filmed performance of the acclaimed 2018 production of The Tempest at the Stratford Festival in Canada, starring Martha Henry as Prospero, Michael Blake as Caliban, and Mamie Zwettler as Miranda.

 

That Way Madness Lies: Fifteen of Shakespeare's Most Notable Works Reimagined

Book - 2021

This collection of diverse, nuanced, and frequently subversive stories based on the Bard's best-known works includes a charming retelling of The Tempest, entitled "Severe Weather Warning," by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka.

 

Thomas Adès' The Tempest

Web Resource

Based on Shakespeare's play, Adès' opera premiered at the Royal Opera House in London in 2004. Listen to a streaming recording of a 2007 performance at that venue, conducted by Adès. Also available on CD in the Library's collection.

 

William Shakespeare's The Tempest

Streaming Video - 2014

Derek Jarman's 1979 film adaptation of the play stars Heathcote Williams as Prospero and Toyah Willcox as Miranda. Stream this classic through Kanopy with your library card and PIN.

 

A Brave Vessel: The True Tale of the Castaways Who Rescued Jamestown and Inspired Shakespeare's The Tempest

By Woodward, Hobson

eBook - 2009

Drawing on the contemporary narrative by aspiring poet William Stratchey, Hobson provides a fascinating and well-researched account of the 1609 shipwreck of the Sea Venture, which many Shakespeare scholars believe inspired The Tempest.

 

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The Tempest runs at Seattle Rep from August 25 - August 27, 2023. 

Get your tickets today!