ABSTRACT
Adaptations of The Tempest are almost as old as the play itself. In the 1670s, John Dry den and William Davenant’s Enchanted Island took immense liberties with Shakespeare’s script, as did, in the same decade, Thomas Shadwell’s operatic version and Thomas Duffett’s Mock Tempest. A trend was thus launched that has persisted through the centuries and has included philosophical, poetic, filmic, and theatrical adaptations. Many of those Tempest offshoots veer radically away from the First Folio’s text by altering the plot and cast of characters and by adding music, broad humor, explicit sexuality, and lavish staging. Even if purists were appalled, the general public seemed to enjoy such tamperings in the seventeenth century and still does today. The specifics, of course, have changed appreciably in response to audience tastes and theatre technology.
