On Apr. 26 and Apr. 28, students and faculty gathered in the NYU Shanghai lecture hall to watch the long anticipated production of The Tempests. The play, written and directed by Abiral Chitrakar Phnuyal, is a conglomeration of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Aime Cesaire's A Tempest, which is a post-colonial version of Shakespeare’s original. Abiral, Meizhi Ng, and Professor Ernest Gilman worked throughout the past winter vacation and much of this semester to create this crossover. The narrator, Nicholas Sanchez, gave a humorous introduction that warmed up the audience and assured us this would not just be like any old play, rather, we were in for something slightly different. Throughout the play, we experienced elaborate light shows and accompanying audio to immerse ourselves in the play’s setting. The swift and impressively coordinated movement and singing of the two Ariels were also one of the most entertaining factors. I was pleasantly surprised by the organic transitions between Shakespeare and Cesaire’s version that was done through a switch between the actors portraying Prospero and Caliban. Another engaging element was the passion of those two characters and also their impressive ability to deliver lengthy monologs. The quality of acting was overall quite impressive, although the most remarkable may have been Oscar Fossum, who played Shakespeare’s Caliban and Cesaire’s Prospero, and Richard Awuku-Aboagye, who played Shakespeare’s Prospero and Cesaire's Caliban. In their acting debut, their intensity and dedication to their characters stole a lot of the show’s focus. The comical abilities of Nicholas Sanchez also deserve an honorable mention. In addition, I cannot help but acknowledge Miranda, played by Natalie Todd, and Ferdinand, played by Mohos Máté. Their kiss that clearly was not supposed to be, but Nicholas struck again, yet the actors refused to break character and went on until he finally came through with his interrupting cue. Although some have said they wished they had seen more of Cesaire’s version, one cannot help but say that the play was an excellent experience. It was enjoyable to watch - although monologs may have seemed long at times - and the commitment from the actors was fantastic. The use of props, lighting, and sound was just the cherry on the top. Bravo! This article was written by Editorial Staff. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Annie Seaman