Mamma Mia!, the 1999 jukebox musical built around the songs of the pop group ABBA, became a huge hit in the theatre internationally and later a commercially successful feature film. It has inspired a host of spinoffs including a prequel film, an immersive dining experience and fan fiction.

What if I told you that it could also be Shakespeare’s The Tempest in disguise?

Both Mamma Mia! and The Tempest centre around a single parent figure – Donna, Prospero – who lives on a fantasy Mediterranean island. As the marriage of their only daughter – Sophie, Miranda – approaches, the parental figure encounters people from their past and tricky relationships from a generation ago. They have to choose whether to move on emotionally, whether to be generous and forgive.

Both parents concoct a fantastic performance to celebrate their daughter’s wedding, one that includes singing, dancing, and razzle dazzle costumes. Donna and the Dynamos (Donna’s friends Tanya and Rosie) strut their stuff to Super Trouper, as the women used to do in their youth. Prospero commissions his spirit Ariel to stage a masque, with singing, dancing nymphs and reapers and three Roman goddesses – Juno, Iris and Ceres.

This article is part of Rethinking the Classics. The stories in this series offer insightful new ways to think about and........

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