(Niman)CYRIL POTTER COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

TURKEYEN CAMPUS, TURKEYEN, GEORGETOWN, GUYANA

Title: Research (Modern Drama)

An Assignment
Presented in Partial Fulfilment
Of the Requirements for the Course
CSEC Novels and Plays

INSTRUCTOR: Jared McPhoy (B.Ed)

By

Kelly Bacchus

30th December, 2022.

Approval……………………
Drama, a literature that is written to be performed on the stage is a form that goes back to the
ancient Greeks and includes writers like Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, etc. According to
Muhammed Niman’s article, "modern drama" is distinguished by its distinctive subject matter,
including the romanticization of the underclass, the strict portrayal of real life, and the use of
symbolism and imagery. Modern drama focuses on everyday issues that affect regular people.

‘Anansi’ by Alistair Campbell, first published in 1992, is a historical and biographical play based
on the six (6) weeks voyage of the triangular trade. During this time, millions of Africans were
forcibly transported to the New World as part of the Atlantic slave trade. A typical slave ship
contained several hundred slaves with about thirty (30) crew members. Disease was spread due
to the overloaded ships making ill-health one of the biggest killers. This disastrous journey is
featured in Alistair’s play while displaying the naïve girl, the experienced mother and the curious
boy the main characters of the play. In this play the useless ‘cargo’ (enslaved Africans) were
thrown overboard while the good ‘beasts’ as the sailor described were auctioned to the highest
bidder. (See page 12 of play).

Bibliography
Niman, M. (n.d.). Modern DramaStuff. Academia , 19.