SOURCE: "Mapping a New Nile: Derek Walcott's Later Plays," in The Art of Derek Walcott, edited by Stewart Brown, Seren Books, 1991, pp. 139-53.

In the following essay, Fiet provides an overview of Walcott's plays from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, stressing their use of theatrical metaphors and settings.

God, I hate actors! They refuse to accept the reality they live in! I pronounce these solemn self-deceivers guilty of doubling the dream that is life.

(The Joker of Seville)

That ain't just a bloody poem. … (Remembrance)

But if you take this thing seriously, we might commit Art, which is a kind of crime in this society.

(Pantomime)

Give art a rest. This ain't theatre, is Carnival, Mas!

(The Last Carnival)

We are not Americans! But give us time …

(Beef, No Chicken)

Oh, God, a actor is a holy thing. A sacred thing. … And it don't matter where...