The Tempest

The decision to switch the gender of the lead character was a diving board to a whole new appreciation of the play. It had everything to do with Dame Helen Mirren and a coincidental exchange that writer, producer, and director Julie Taymor had with Mirren. When Taymor encountered Mirren at a party, she had already envisioned Mirren in the role and their conversation cemented her decision. "We were talking Shakespeare", Taymor recollects, "and she had no idea I was planning this film when she mentioned that the first Shakespeare she ever did was Caliban in 'The Tempest', and she actually said to me, 'You know, I could play Prospero-as a woman.' And I said, 'Do you want to? Because I've been preparing a film version of 'The Tempest' with exactly that in mind.' And, fortunately, she said 'yes'."

The chessboard that Miranda uses is set up 90 degrees rotated from its proper position. Facing the board, each player should have a white square on the far right of their back rank. This board is positioned so that the black squares are on that side.

Part of the closing credits are an underwater sequence of Prospera's books sinking into the ocean depths.

Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 12 September 2010 (2010)