The Tempest

Developed by and for the Royal Shakespeare Company, this new edition includes outstanding on-page notes, a comprehensive scene-by-scene summary, a new introduction from Jonathan Bate and interviews with celebrated directors Peter Brook, Sam Mendes and Rupert Goold, offering illuminating new angles on Shakespeare's magical vision. From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a fresh new edition of Shakespeare's magical vision. This book includes: * An introduction to The Tempest by award-winning scholar Jonathan Bate * The play – with clear explanatory notes on each page * A scene-by-scene analysis * An introduction to Shakespeare's career and the Elizabethan theatre * An exploration of the notorious challenges to staging The Tempest The most enjoyable way to understand a Shakespeare play is to see it or participate in it. This book presents a historical overview of The Tempest in performance, recommends film versions, takes a detailed look at specific productions and includes interviews with three leading Directors – Peter Brook, Sam Mendes and Rupert Goold – so that we may get a sense of the extraordinary variety of interpretations that are possible - a variety that gives Shakespeare his unique capacity to be reinvented and made 'our contemporary' four centuries after his death. From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare’s magical vision. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of The Tempest in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are three interviews with leading directors – Peter Brook, Sam Mendes and Rupert Goold – providing an illuminating insight into the extraordinary variety of interpretations that are possible. This edition also includes an essay on Shakespeare’s career and Elizabethan theatre, and enables the reader to understand the play as it was originally intended – as living theatre to be enjoyed and performed. Ideal for students, theatre-goers, actors and general readers, the RSC Shakespeare editions offer a fresh, accessible and contemporary approach to reading and rediscovering Shakespeare’s works for the twenty-first century.