The Tempest

By what strange mystical magic did I, semi-literate Peter Andrews, choose “The Tempest” as this month’s read for my Senior Center book club?

The texts, variations which I ordered, stuck to the text, not boding well for me.  My saving grace was Helen Mirrin’s recent movie, [Why?]

But since I do a movie night for our readers to get a different view, I choose Mirrin’s adaptation.

I’m normally lost after any 3-word Shakespeare quote; asleep after 10.

Mirrin’s version resonated with me – I put Tamsin into place as Director, since I remember her, at Cambridge, relaying that she and her classmates loved reinventing Shakespeare from a women’s point of view.  Mirrin’s Prosper(a) was, for me, Sue, as matriarch.  Miranda, with her bleeding arm, making everything right with the world, was Marisol.

And thus, it all made sense to me, which was a rarity.

Is anyone familiar with this possibly obscure performance?

I loved Ariel but could never place him in the above context.

In this rewrite, the male roles were incidental.  Was Shakespeare gay?