Re-membering the Bard : David Greig’s and Liz Lochhead’sRe-visionary Reminiscences of “The Tempest”

The Tempest (1611) is one of those Shakespearean texts which have been adopted and adapted most frequently. This article explores two early Nineties appropriations of the Bard’s romance, that is David Greig’s unpublished monologue A Savage Reminiscence or (How to Snare the Nimble Marmoset), first pe...

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Main Author: Maria Elena Capitani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nicola Catelli - Corrado Confalonieri 2017-12-01
Series:Parole Rubate
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.parolerubate.unipr.it/fascicolo16_pdf/F16_13_capitani_tempest.pdf
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author Maria Elena Capitani
author_facet Maria Elena Capitani
author_sort Maria Elena Capitani
collection DOAJ
description The Tempest (1611) is one of those Shakespearean texts which have been adopted and adapted most frequently. This article explores two early Nineties appropriations of the Bard’s romance, that is David Greig’s unpublished monologue A Savage Reminiscence or (How to Snare the Nimble Marmoset), first performed in 1991, and Liz Lochhead’s The Magic Island, a rewriting of The Tempest for seven- to eleven-year-olds, first staged in 1993. Even if they differ from a variety of points of view, both Scottish Tempests retell the Shakespearean narrative through the lens of memory. In Greig’s appropriation, after being left alone on the island, a guilty Caliban recollects some past events – in particular his rape of Miranda – from his own marginalised perspective. Similarly, Lochhead’s The Magic Island, which adapts Shakespeare’s play to the needs and taste of a young audience by focusing on the theme of friendship, reconstructs the story retrospectively through the eyes of Prospero’s daughter. Through a web of intertextual references interwoven with contemporary echoes, Greig and Lochhead re-member and dismember their source problematizing any unimaginative subscription to the Shakespearean canon.
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spelling doaj.art-1c42b1e1553a4654bb730c6593aa30b12023-09-02T14:18:12ZengNicola Catelli - Corrado ConfalonieriParole Rubate2039-01142017-12-01816235250Re-membering the Bard : David Greig’s and Liz Lochhead’sRe-visionary Reminiscences of “The Tempest”Maria Elena Capitani0Università di ParmaThe Tempest (1611) is one of those Shakespearean texts which have been adopted and adapted most frequently. This article explores two early Nineties appropriations of the Bard’s romance, that is David Greig’s unpublished monologue A Savage Reminiscence or (How to Snare the Nimble Marmoset), first performed in 1991, and Liz Lochhead’s The Magic Island, a rewriting of The Tempest for seven- to eleven-year-olds, first staged in 1993. Even if they differ from a variety of points of view, both Scottish Tempests retell the Shakespearean narrative through the lens of memory. In Greig’s appropriation, after being left alone on the island, a guilty Caliban recollects some past events – in particular his rape of Miranda – from his own marginalised perspective. Similarly, Lochhead’s The Magic Island, which adapts Shakespeare’s play to the needs and taste of a young audience by focusing on the theme of friendship, reconstructs the story retrospectively through the eyes of Prospero’s daughter. Through a web of intertextual references interwoven with contemporary echoes, Greig and Lochhead re-member and dismember their source problematizing any unimaginative subscription to the Shakespearean canon.http://www.parolerubate.unipr.it/fascicolo16_pdf/F16_13_capitani_tempest.pdfShakespearetheatrerewriting
spellingShingle Maria Elena Capitani
Re-membering the Bard : David Greig’s and Liz Lochhead’sRe-visionary Reminiscences of “The Tempest”
Parole Rubate
Shakespeare
theatre
rewriting
title Re-membering the Bard : David Greig’s and Liz Lochhead’sRe-visionary Reminiscences of “The Tempest”
title_full Re-membering the Bard : David Greig’s and Liz Lochhead’sRe-visionary Reminiscences of “The Tempest”
title_fullStr Re-membering the Bard : David Greig’s and Liz Lochhead’sRe-visionary Reminiscences of “The Tempest”
title_full_unstemmed Re-membering the Bard : David Greig’s and Liz Lochhead’sRe-visionary Reminiscences of “The Tempest”
title_short Re-membering the Bard : David Greig’s and Liz Lochhead’sRe-visionary Reminiscences of “The Tempest”
title_sort re membering the bard david greig s and liz lochhead sre visionary reminiscences of the tempest
topic Shakespeare
theatre
rewriting
url http://www.parolerubate.unipr.it/fascicolo16_pdf/F16_13_capitani_tempest.pdf
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