A Tempest is Aime Cesaire’s anti-colonialist refashioning of Shakespeare. Alongside The Tragedy of King Cristophe and A Season in the Congo, it completes a ‘triptych’ of plays that examine the effects of colonialism. This translation premiered at The Gate Theatre, London.

Aime Cesaire has combined a political career as Martinican statesman with poetic calling in which he has been hailed as the leading Francophone poet of the twentieth century. Anti-colonialist visionary and prophet of negritude, his influence has been considerable in shaping ongoing post-colonial debate. Philip Crispin taught in Kingston, Jamaica, and spent four years in Paris studying, teaching and pursuing theatrical projects. He was literary manager of the Gate Theatre, before devoting himself to theatrical research.