In this postcolonial re-working of Shakespeare's original play The Tempest, we find Prospero exiled, and living on a secluded island in the Caribbean with his daughter Miranda and his two slaves, Caliban and Ariel. With Ariel's help, he creates an enormous and malevolent storm that wrecks a passing ship that carries Antonio (his brother), Alonso (the King of Milan), Sebastian (Alonso's brother), and Gonzalo (Alonso's counselor). These royals once betrayed Prospero and exiled him to the island long ago, and Prospero wants his revenge.
The main focus of the play is the constant efforts on the part of Ariel, a "mulatto slave," and Caliban, a black slave, to gain their freedom from Prospero and to escape his tyrannical rule over the island and its people. Ariel is a dutiful slave, and follows all orders that are given to him diligently. He believes that Prospero will one day honor the promise he made to him and give him emancipation and freedom. Caliban, however, resents Prospero and believes that rebellion and resistance are the only path towards freedom. He tries to stage a rebellion along with the help of Trinculo and Stephano, two servants from the Milanese court.
The only character in the play that did not exist in Shakespeare's version is Eshu, a Yoruba trickster god from Nigeria. By the end of the play, Miranda and Ferdinand, Alonso's son, are engaged to be married and everyone plans to return to Naples. However, Prospero stays, clinging to his power on the island, locked in a struggle with Caliban. At the end of the play, Caliban sings his freedom song, leaving the audience to ponder the effects of colonialism.
