Point Books Supposing Harlem Duet
| Original Title: | Harlem Duet |
| ISBN: | 1896239277 (ISBN13: 9781896239279) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Governor General's |
| Literary Awards: | / Prix littéraires du Gouverneur général for Drama (1998) |
Djanet Sears
Paperback | Pages: 117 pages Rating: 3.62 | 287 Users | 26 Reviews
Declare Epithetical Books Harlem Duet
| Title | : | Harlem Duet |
| Author | : | Djanet Sears |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 117 pages |
| Published | : | January 16th 1998 by Scirocco Drama (first published December 1st 1997) |
| Categories | : | Plays. Drama. Theatre. Literature. Canadian Literature. Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction |
Commentary During Books Harlem Duet
Winner of the Governor General's Award for Drama. Winner of the Chalmers Play Award. A rhapsodic blues tragedy. Harlem Duet could be the prelude to Shakepeare's Othello, and recounts the tale of Othello and his first wife Billie (yes, before Desdemona). Set in contemporary Harlem at the corner of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X boulevards, the play explores the space where race and sex intersect. Harlem Duet is Billie's story.
Rating Epithetical Books Harlem Duet
Ratings: 3.62 From 287 Users | 26 ReviewsColumn Epithetical Books Harlem Duet
This play is an adaptation of Othello, and what I find most interesting about it is the postmodern playing with temporalities. The main action of the play--which is meant to be a prequel to Shakespeare's Othello--occurs today (in the late 1990s when the play debuted), but there are also flashback scenes to 1928 and 1860, where the same characters seem to be in the same relationship. The play tells the story of Othello's first wife, Billie or Sybil, whom he leaves for Mona (obviously Desdemona).2/5starsmeh. took the story of "othello" and legit changed it so much and bent it all over backwards to the point that i was unrecognizable. horribly confusing. not very interesting.
MUST READ
Read this play for my Grade 12 English class, for post-colonial Canadian literature. I didn't really get it as a 17 year old but I realized that after 4 years of university, I have mentioned the situations and ideas from this book on several occasions in my various courses and daily personal conversations. It was a good story, and very cleverly thought up. English school curriculums should be a little more creative and clever as well when it comes to assigning projects for such works. Simply
Whatever one thinks of William Shakespeare -- love him, hate him, fear him, snort at him -- his body of work casts a Gulliver sized shadow over we Lilliputian authors of English who have followed him. That shadow is inescapable. It's an eclipse. And how many of us feel compelled to challenge that shadow? To engage with it? Too many. In Harlem Duet the amazing Djanet Sears tilts at the shadow of Othello, and as often happens when we duel with Shakespeare, she fights valiantly but walks away
Although it started off a little slowly for me, the writing is absolutely beautiful. Im not sure I get all the audio clips at the beginning of every scene but the story really ramps up before act two and we see real repercussions amongst the characters.
Like most plays, the text is better seen performed than read on a page. It would have been much better to see this show, especially with the juxtaposing time periods. Regardless, I thought this was a well-done picture of a broken marriage and a complex look at the complicated nature of race in America. As for its connection to Shakespeare, it drastically changes the way I understand Othellowhether thats good or bad, Ive yet to decide. However, its impressive that Searss play had enough power to
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.