Synopsis
The Odyssey - A Stage Version
$14
Published by Faraux Straus Giroux
With its inspired counterpointing of Homeric and Caribbean themes,
Derek Walcott's new play, commissioned by Britain's Royal Shakespeare
Company, springs from the same imaginative sources as his epic poem
Omeros
Episodes of the story of Odysseus protracted wanderings from fallen Troy to his island home of Ithaca are pungently interspersed with a commentary by the blind singer Billy Blue
Proteus, the Old Man of the Sea, the giant Cyclops, Circe and her revellers, ghosts, and mermaids are among the cast. With its vast sweep and richly figurative language, The Odyssey confirms that Derek Walcott is as compelling a playwright as he is a poet