A Tempest: Based on Shakespeare's 'The Tempest;' Adaptation for a Black Theatre [Paperback]

Aimé Césaire (Author), Richard Miller (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2002

A troupe of black actors perform their own Tempest. Cesaire’s rich and insightful adaptation draws on contemporary Caribbean society, the African-American experience and African mythology to raise questions about colonialism, racism and their lasting effects.

Aime Cesaire, who was born in Martinique in 1913, is one of this century's major writers. In his poetry, plays and political activities he has waged a lifelong struggle to restore dignity to colonized people. His best known work is Return to My Native Land first published in 1949 and his Collected Poems are published by the University of California Press.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About the Author

Aime Cesaire is a world-renowned poet, essayist and playwright, His poetry is published by the University of California Press. Cesaire has long been a major force in the culture and politics of the Caribbean.

Product Details

• Paperback: 69 pages
• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group/TGC Translations; 1 edition (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559362103
• ISBN-13: 978-1559362108
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,070 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > British & Irish

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a fabulous reinvention of The Tempest, June 13, 2000

By 

George Schaefer - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Tempest (Paperback)

Aime Cesaire wrote this variation of The Tempest from an Afrocentric, Carribean perspective. It is a magnificent achievement. Caliban becomes the hero as Cesaire advances a variety of different ideas. By changing the perspective, A Tempest explores a lot of issues like rascism and colonialism. Prospero becomes the Oppressor and Caliban is the Native wrongly robbed of his ancestral right to rule his own land. Ariel is reduced to something of an Uncle Tom. To his credit, Cesaire never allows any character in the play become completely unsympathetic. That is a grand feat. It is consistent with Shakespeare who also grants humanity even to Caliban. I found this adaptation to be brilliant. Cesaire follows the theme of The Tempest all the while making it his own work. I was even compelled to reread The Tempest just for comparative purposes. The reread of The Tempest served only to heighten my appreciation for A Tempest. This is work that should be read by anyone interested in the theatre.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important, period, December 27, 2001

By 

A. Sullivan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Tempest (Paperback)

Cesaire's A TEMPEST wears its politics on its sleeve, and that can be grating even when its political message is agreeable with your own leanings. This is not a particularly subtle work, but it is of supreme importance to understanding a number of socio-political movements, especillly as they relate to the Carribean (though it reaches far beyond that limited geographic range in its implications). Order this in conjunction with Shakepeare's original, Dryden's rewrite, Rodo's ARIEL, Retamar's CALIBAN and perhaps PROSPERO'S BOOKS starring John Gielgud. Then go to town...or perhaps away from it.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Voice From Within, March 15, 2010

By 

Billy Gunn (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Tempest: Based on Shakespeare's 'The Tempest;' Adaptation for a Black Theatre (Paperback)

For a reader interested in Shakespeare and/or post-colonial theory, Aime Cesaire's A TEMPEST is a great resource. Cesaire's critique of colonialism is, at times, heavy-handed, but he makes up for this with a fluency in Shakespeare that allows him to produce a powerful and innovative text with strong echoes of its classical predecessor. There is more than a little irony in the fact that Cesaire relies on the rigid dramatic structure of the colonizer, but then perhaps this is Cesaire's political and artistic legacy - a voice that attempted to affect change from within existing power structures.