This adaptation of a late sixteenth-century classic Chinese comic novel, Journey to the West, based on Anthony C. Yu’s translation, takes as its point of departure the true story of a seventh-century monk and his fabled pilgrimage from China to India in search of sacred texts. Mixing whimsy with spiritual weight, Zimmerman’s script combines comedy, adventure, and satire in a moving allegory of human perseverance.
This dramatic adaptation of Homer's myth begins with a modern young woman who is struggling to understand Robert Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey. A classical muse appears, and the young woman becomes the goddess Athena--a tireless advocate for Odysseus in his struggle to get home. With her trademark irreverent and witty twist on classic works, Zimmerman brings to life the story of Odysseus's ten-year journey, depicting his encounters with characters such as Circe, the Cyclops, Poseidon, Calypso, the Sirens, and others.
A twelve-member cast enacts Scheherazade's tales of love, lust, comedy, and dreams. Scheherazade's cliffhanger stories prevent her husband, the cruel ruler Shahryar, from murdering her, and after 1,001 nights, Shahryar is cured of his madness, and Scheherazade returns to her family. This adaptation offers a wonderful blend of the lesser-known tales from Arabian Nights with the recurring theme of how the magic of storytelling holds the power to change people. The final scene brings the audience back to a modern day Baghdad with the wail of air raid sirens threatening the rich culture and history that are embodied by these tales.
«La contiguità tra dèi ed esseri umani è uno dei temi dominanti delle Metamorfosi, ma non è che un caso particolare della continuità tra tutte le figure e forme dell'esistente, antropomorfe o meno. Fauna, flora, regno minerale, firmamento inglobano nella loro comune sostanza ciò che usiamo considerare umano come insieme di qualità corporee e psicologiche e morali [...] le Metamorfosi vogliono rappresentare l'insieme del raccontabile tramandato dalla letteratura con tutta la forza d'immagini e di significati che esso convoglia, senza decidere - secondo l'ambiguità propriamente mitica - tra le chiavi di lettura possibili». Italo Calvino