One of the first thing that became apparent in Memorial Auditorium on Tuesday, March 11 was that, although based off the Shakespearian tale, this performance of The Tempest was not going to be your typical Shakespeare play.

This was due largely due to the fact that The Tempest being performed on stage was the re-envisioned version of French-speaking Caribbean born poet and playwright Aime Cesaire. The heart of the story was in the way it used the traditional storyline to make statements about the evils of both imperialism and modern racism.

The performance itself was done in a style featuring 4 standalone microphone stands, which the actors approached when reading their lines. The action opened with a group on a ship traveling the sea, who would soon find themselves in the midst of a violent thunder storm, featuring earth trembling bass drums from off-stage to set the mood. The storm eventually brought the ship down and the action moved to an unspecified Caribbean island, whose only inhabitants happen to be directly related to those aboard the ship.

The plot then unfold with typical Shakespearian intrigue and double-crossings, all the while continuing to focus on the treatment of the islands’ only two indigenous inhibitors, Caliban and Ariel, as an allegory for American civil rights leaders, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. respectively. Although this was an interesting way to explain the dynamic between the two, and their relationship with their captor, Prospero, the way the metaphor was displayed may have been bit heavy-handed.

For example, each time the allegory was being referenced (for instance when Caliban demands to be called X) a slideshow appeared on either side of the stage featuring images of Malcolm X and MLK. It may have been wiser to leave this fairly evident comparison up to the audience’s interpretation rather than shove it down their throats.

In a show in this format, viewers may have a tendency to think that it takes less acting skill because of the relative immobility of the acting, but this lack of physical acting only puts more pressure on the voice acting and the script. One of the standouts of the play was David Williams, playing Caliban. Williams gave a commanding performance, his roars of anguish perfectly displaying the indignant slave whose only want was to regain the island which was unjustly stolen from him.

William Kingsley, playing the part of comedic relief in the form of the bumbling old man, Gonzalo, along with drunkard Stephano, played by Ian Krauss, gave the show some much needed laughs in the midst of its weighty subject manner. 


While the set was essentially bare, the use of offstage instruments along with well-done costume design did not leave the viewer wanting visual stimulation. This, along with the impeccable acting job helped salvage a story, which at times left a little to be desired.

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