Hag-Seed characters

Also known as Mr Duke

Appears from the start

A gifted, self-absorbed theatre director preparing an unconventional production of The Tempest while grieving for his young daughter, Miranda. After being removed from the festival he helped build, he retreats from public life. Years later he teaches Shakespeare in a prison under the name Mr Duke, keeping his former identity from the inmates.

First appears in chapter 2

Felix's daughter, who died at the age of three. His grief keeps her vividly present in his secluded home, where he imagines the child continuing to grow and speak with him. She is also the private inspiration behind his determination to stage The Tempest.

First appears in chapter 3

Felix's ambitious former assistant at the Makeshiweg Festival. He presents himself as practical and supportive while cultivating the board and preparing to take control of the organization Felix directs.

First appears in chapter 4

A politician and member of the circle that removes Felix from the Makeshiweg Festival. His public authority and alliance with Tony make him important to the institutional changes that follow Felix's dismissal.

First appears in chapter 8

The coordinator of the literacy program at Fletcher Correctional, where Felix teaches Shakespeare. Practical, discreet, and committed to the program, she accepts his Mr Duke identity and gives him unusual freedom in designing the course.

First appears in chapter 20

A professional actor and dancer whom Felix recruits to play Miranda in the prison production of The Tempest. She had performed for him as a child, understands the hazards of his methods, and brings discipline and directness to work with the inmates.

First appears in chapter 22

The actor Felix chooses to play Ferdinand opposite Anne-Marie's Miranda. Handsome and willing to learn, he enters a production whose other performers are inmates and adapts to Felix's unusual rehearsal process.

Also known as 8Handz

First appears in chapter 20

A Fletcher inmate with strong technical skills who joins Felix's Tempest class. His ability with computers and effects makes him especially useful for creating the production's unseen forces and managing what happens beyond the stage.

First appears in chapter 24

One of the inmates cast in Felix's production, selected to play Ariel. He approaches the airy spirit through movement, performance energy, and the class's debates over whether Ariel is servant, artist, or aspiring free agent.

First appears in chapter 24

A physically imposing inmate in the Tempest class who takes the role of Caliban. He helps turn the character's anger, confinement, and claim to the island into forceful performance rather than treating him simply as a monster.

First appears in chapter 24

A member of the Fletcher Shakespeare class and part of the ensemble built around Felix's production. He contributes to the inmates' adaptation of The Tempest through discussion, music, and the practical work of staging their version inside the prison.