As you look through the photographs from past productions of The Tempest, think about:

• What choices the designer has made for both characters and what that suggests about them. How is the difference between the two characters emphasised? In Rupert Goold's 2006 production, set in the arctic, you can see Ariel emerging from a barrel in Prospero's cabin. Later in the play, he also emerges from a carcass dripping blood and bones. How does this make you view the character of Ariel?
• How the relationship between these two characters comes across in each production. How is Prospero's control and authority over Ariel conveyed? In how many of the images is Ariel lower than Prospero? What does Ariels' body language reveal about his status and his feelings towards Prospero?
• Whether some productions are very different or if there are lots of similarities. How do they each emphasise the fact that Ariel is not human, but a spirit of the island? In Gregory Doran's 2016 production the actor playing Ariel wore a fitted suit that allowed the team to use motion capture technology in other parts of the play. What do you notice in the other productions?

Where would you choose to set a production of The Tempest and what choices would you make to help show what Prospero and Ariel are like?

As you look through the photographs from past productions of The Tempest, think about:

• What choices the designer has made for how Caliban looks and what that suggests about him. How connected to the island is Caliban and how is this shown? In what way does he appear different to the other characters who have come to his island?
• How the relationships between him and other characters comes across in each production. How does Prospero treat him and how is this shown?
• Whether some productions are very different or if there are lots of similarities.

Where would you chose to set a production of The Tempest and what choices would you make to help show how Caliban is connected to that world?

As you look through the photographs from past productions of The Tempest, think about:

• What choices the designer has made for what the goddesses look like and how they are presented. How have the director and designer of each production shown the ‘other-worldliness’ of these characters and the event itself? In Gregory Doran's 2016 production the clothing of the goddesses is enhanced with light projection and the entire banquet was created using lighting effects. What impression does this give of the event? How do Ferdinand and Miranda look alongside them?
• Whether some productions are very different or if there are lots of similarities. What connections can you find in the way the masque has been portrayed? Do you think the event is a positive one?

Where would you choose to set a production of The Tempest and what choices would you make to help show how this masque is connected to that world and the mood of this scene?

As you look through the images and photographs from past productions of The Tempest, think about:

• What choices the designer has made for suggesting the world of the magical island: how it looks, feels and sounds. What evidence of nature is there? What kind of landscape is created? In the 2006 production, the island is arctic and barren, with Prospero's cell as a cabin. How does this compare to the other interpretations?
• Whether some productions are very different or if there are lots of similarities. What connections can you find?
• What clues you can find in the images that let you know what the environment is like. In the 1998 production, there is a huge shell which Caliban is hiding in. What does this feature remind us of, as an audience? Why is the nature of the island so vital to the story?

Where would you choose to set a production of The Tempest and what choices would you make to help show the magic of the island?