Charlie and Nydia Hetherington (Sycorax) discuss the witch Shakespeare's Prospero hates so much and Nydia's reimagining slash prequel to The Tempest. This involves conversation about chronic illness, attitudes to women in regards to the occult, and on a seemingly unrelated subject, the tendency of pirates to leave problematic people on isolated islands.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
W H Auden: The Sea And The Mirror

Books mentioned by name or extensively:
Libby Colman: Trixie - The Childhood Of Sycorax, Witch Of Algiers
Margaret Atwood: Hag-Seed
Marina Warner: Indigo
Nydia Hetherington: A Girl Made Of Air
Nydia Hetherington: Sycorax
Tad Williams: Caliban's Hour
William Shakespeare: The Tempest

Release details: recorded 4th December 2024; published 14th April 2025

Where to find Nydia online: Website || Instagram

Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok

Discussions

01:20 The initial inspirations - theatre and Nydia's chronic condition
10:23 Research and inspirations in regards to other adaptations
12:58 More on Nydia's dedication to Shakespearean writing
13:58 Disability and women being witches put together
20:01 The good women in the book, Yemma and Zari
24:11 Including Barbarossa the pirate and the way pirates left criminals isolated
28:26 Afalkey the Beautiful and charming men
30:05 The role the Crow plays
32:48 What Nydia is writing at the moment
34:30 Nydia's William Blake novel she mentioned earlier