William Shakespeare - 3 - The Tempest, bbc 1974

Musing upon the king my brother's wreck
And on the king my father's death before him...


First reports from the New World, as recorded by Venetian diarists and by Columbus himself, described the Americas as paradise itself. But if you want to be cynical you can describe the play as telling the story of 'democratic liberators joining up with a cannibal to overthrow those who represent the brutal idiocy of modern civilisation.'

There are three superior recorded versions of The Tempest and this is one of them. (the others are Redgrave on Caedmon and McKellen on Naxos) This would have been recorded from ABC fm in 1975 and was originally first broadcast by the BBC in Dec.1974. Paul Scofield, supported by a fine cast, is in the main role. Listen to Scofield delivering Prospero's set-piece speeches in the last Act of the play. This is the way to speak Shakespearian verse. The sound is excellent and not far from CD quality (originally recorded on a high quality cassette recorder by a relative)

As usual, if you want lossless audio, download the pdf included in 'Current Poetry Torrents' and follow the instructions. And if you have trouble finding seeds for other torrents you should find them there too.