The Tempest is supposedly the last play that Shakespeare ever wrote. It certainly plays well in spite of the convoluted and improbable story. There is witchcraft, magic, and mystery in this play which, I imagine, is difficult to retell with a more modern twist. The editor has made this play very readable and accessible. Cavander’s credentials are impeccable; he has adapted and translated plays for a worldwide audience.
The play begins with a shipwreck; thunder and lightning have always been a major part of Shakespeare’s dramatic repertoire. There are young, star-crossed lovers with fathers who are at odds. Any reader of Shakespeare recognizes these oft-used elements.
This book is one of a series of Shakespeare retellings commissioned by the acclaimed Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It is an ambitious and, some would say, a hubristic project containing some fails and near misses. They are fortunate that these canonical plays have a wide audience with theater mavens more than ready to attempt the seemingly impossible: to improve on Shakespeare.
The play begins with a shipwreck; thunder and lightning have always been a major part of Shakespeare’s dramatic repertoire. There are young, star-crossed lovers with fathers who are at odds. Any reader of Shakespeare recognizes these oft-used elements.
This book is one of a series of Shakespeare retellings commissioned by the acclaimed Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It is an ambitious and, some would say, a hubristic project containing some fails and near misses. They are fortunate that these canonical plays have a wide audience with theater mavens more than ready to attempt the seemingly impossible: to improve on Shakespeare.
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