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Shakespeare in Tehran: Meeting the Mothers of Those Who Lead the Iranian Revolution of Woman, Life, Freedom
by Mahmood Karimi HakakShakespeare in Tehran is a personal history of Iran through the eyes of an award-winning Iranian American artist. Drawing on parallels between life and the stage, it uses A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a roadmap to explore social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of Iran before and after the revolution of 1979. Through first-person accounts, interspersed with emotional reflections of the universal human experience, it delves into the historical and sociological context of a divided country. Storytelling, flashbacks, and flashforwards paint an intimate picture of public life in Iran in a time of uncertainty. Accessible, engaging, and nuanced, this volume will be of interest to scholars and researchers of politics, history, theater and performance studies, and West Asian studies.
Shakespeare in Three Dimensions: The Dramaturgy of Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet (Focus on Dramaturgy)
by Robert BlackerIn Shakespeare in Three Dimensions, Robert Blacker asks us to set aside what we think we know about Shakespeare and rediscover his plays on the page, and as Shakespeare intended, in the rehearsal room and in performance. That process includes stripping away false traditions that have obscured his observations about people and social institutions that are still vital to our lives today. This book explores the verities of power and love in Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, as an example of how to mine the extraordinary detail in all of Shakespeare’s plays, using the knowledge of both theatre practitioners and scholars to excavate and restore them.
Shakespeare in Ukraine: Mirror, Prism, Megaphone
by Irena R. MakarykOften regarded as a playwright “beyond nationality,” Shakespeare has played a central role in Ukraine's cultural history over the past two centuries. His works have served as both a lens for exploring Ukraine’s historical and cultural identity and as a shared medium through which Ukrainian poets, dramatists, and theatre artists have communicated with the world. Shakespeare in Ukraine: Mirror, Prism, Megaphone, by award-winning Shakespearean and theatre historian Irena R. Makaryk, analyzes key moments of Ukraine’s engagement with Shakespeare. The text traces the evolution of Shakespeare in Ukraine, from his early influence on figures like Taras Shevchenko and Lesya Ukrainka to the groundbreaking theatrical work of Les Kurbas, the first to stage Shakespeare in 1920, a bold assertion of cultural identity and independence. The volume also explores the defiant production of Hamlet under Nazi occupation in 1943, adaptations of Shakespeare’s works under Soviet rule, Shakespeare commemorations in the Cold War era, and the efflorescence of Shakespeare productions in the post-independence period. Rich with astute scholarly observations and fascinating historical details, Shakespeare in Ukraine investigates the multifaceted roles of Shakespeare during periods of great cultural and political upheaval. From the early Soviet period to the ongoing war with Russia, Makaryk offers insights into the enduring power of Shakespeare and the way he amplifies Ukraine’s creative and cultural imagination.
Shakespeare on Film
by Judith R. BuchananFrom the earliest days of the cinema to the present, Shakespeare has offered a tempting bank of source material than the film industry has been happy to plunder. Shakespeare on Film deftly examines an extensive range of films that have emerged from the curious union of an iconic dramatist with a medium of mass appeal. The many films Buchanan studies are shown to be telling indicators of trends in Shakespearean performance interpretation, illuminating markers of developments in the film industry and culturally revealing about broader influences in the world beyond the movie theatre. As with other titles from the Inside Film series, the book is illustrated throughout with stills. Each chapter concludes with a list of suggested further reading in the field.
Shakespeare on Screen Othello
by Hatchuel, Sarah and Vienne-Guerrin, Nathalie Sarah Hatchuel Nathalie Vienne-Guerrin"The first volume in the re-launched series Shakespeare on Screen is devoted to Othello, offering up-to-date coverage of recent screen versions as well as new critical essays on older, canonical films. An international cast of authors explores not only productions from the USA and UK, but also translations, adaptations and appropriations in Québec, Italy, India, Brazil and Mexico. The volume takes part in the ceaseless cultural investigation of what Othello says about Shakespeare, the past and our present time, supported by an invaluable film-bibliography. Accompanying free online resources include a fuller version of the bibliography and an additional contribution on YouTube versions of Othello. This book will be a valuable resource for students, scholars and teachers of film studies and Shakespeare studies"--
Shakespeare on Silent Film: A Strange Eventful History (Routledge Library Editions: Film and Literature)
by Robert Hamilton BallIn 1899, when film projection was barely three years old, Herbert Beerbohm Tree was filmed as King John. In his highly entertaining history, Robert Hamilton Ball traces in detail the fate of Shakespeare on silent films from Tree’s first effort until the establishment of sound in 1929. The silent films brought Shakespeare to a wide public who had never had the chance to see his plays in the theatre. And Shakespeare gave the film makers an air of respectability that was badly needed by a medium with a reputation for frivolity. This work, first published in 1968, brings history to life with excerpts from scenarios, from reviews and from contemporary film journals, and with reproduction of stills and frames from the films themselves, including unusual shots of leading screen actors. This is a valuable source book for film experts, enhanced by full notes, bibliography and indexes; a fresh approach for Shakespeareans; and a vivid sketch of a world that has passed for all.
Shakespeare on Theatre: A Critical Look at His Theories and Practices
by Robert CohenIn Shakespeare on Theatre, master acting teacher Robert Cohen brilliantly scrutinises Shakespeare's implicit theories of acting, paying close attention to the plays themselves and providing a wealth of fascinating historical evidence. What he finds will surprise scholars and actors alike – that Shakespeare's drama and his practice as an actor were founded on realism, though one clearly distinct from the realism later found in Stanislavski. Shakespeare on Acting is an extraordinary introduction to the way the plays articulate a profound understanding of performance and reflect the life and times of a uniquely talented theatre-maker.
Shakespeare on the University Stage
by Andrew James HartleyFeaturing essays from seventeen international scholars, this exciting new collection is the first sustained study of Shakespeare on the university and college stage. Treating the subject both historically and globally, the essays describe theatrical conditions that fit neither the professional nor the amateur models and show how student performances provide valuable vehicles for artistic construction and intellectual analysis. The book redresses the neglect of this distinctive form of Shakespeare performance, opening up new ways of thinking about the nature and value of university production and its ability to draw unique audiences. Looking at productions across the world - from Asia to Europe and North America - it will interest scholars as well as upper-level students in areas such as Shakespeare studies, performance studies and theatre history.
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare Arthur RackhamShakespeare's incomparable romantic comedy takes on a new and vivid life in these brilliant images by one of the 20th century's leading illustrators. The fairy world of A Midsummer Night's Dream is the perfect milieu for the artistry of Arthur Rackham, a popular illustrator of fairy tales who possessed a striking gift for depicting fanciful creatures. His dreamlike visions provide a series of unique portraits from the enchanted wood outside ancient Athena, where Oberon and Titania rule a kingdom of diminutive sprites. <p><p> Rackham's career coincided with the era known as the Golden Age of Illustration, an age that witnessed the rise of increasingly sophisticated color printing techniques. His interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which first appeared in 1908, received the full benefit of the improved technology, and this faithful reprint offers a quality of printing and sharpness of reproduction that rivals the limited and first editions. The complete text of the play appears here, along with 40 full-color and numerous black-and-white illustrations — a splendid tribute by a master of fantasy art to an immortal play.
Shakespeare's Ear: Dark, Strange, and Fascinating Tales from the World of Theater
by Tim RaybornShakespeare’s Ear presents dark and sometimes funny pieces of fact and folklore that bedevil the mostly unknown history of theater. All manner of skullduggery, from revenge to murder, from affairs to persecution, proves that the drama off-stage was just as intense as any portrayed on it. The stories include those of: An ancient Greek writer of tragedies who dies when an eagle drops a tortoise on his head. A sixteenth-century English playwright who lives a double life as a spy and perishes horribly, stabbed above the eye. A small Parisian theater where grisly horrors unfold on stage. The gold earring that Shakespeare wears in the Chandos portrait, and its connections to bohemians and pirates of the time. Journey back to see theatrical shenanigans from the ancient Near East, explore the violent plays of ancient Greece and Rome, revel in the Elizabethan and Jacobean golden age of blood-thirsty drama, delight in the zany and subversive antics of the Commedia dell’arte, and tremble at ghostly incursions into playhouses. Here you will find many fine examples of playwrights, actors, and audiences alike being horrible to each other over the centuries.
Shakespeare's Face
by Stephanie NolenOn May 11, 2001, Globe and Mail reporter Stephanie Nolen announced a stunning discovery to the world: an attractive portrait held by an Ontario family for twelve generations, which may well be the only known portrait of Shakespeare painted during his lifetime. Shakespeare's Face is the biography of a portrait -- a literary mystery story -- and the furious debate that has ensued since its discovery.A slip of paper affixed to the back proclaims "Shakespere. This likeness taken 1603, Age at that time 39 ys." But is it really Shakespeare who peers at us from the small oil on wood painting? The twinkling eyes, reddish hair, and green jacket are not in keeping with the duller, traditional images of the bard. But they are more suggestive of the humorous and humane man who wrote the greatest plays in the English language.Shakespeare's Face tells the riveting story of how the painting came to reside in the home of a retired engineer in a mid-sized Ontario town. The painting is reputed to be by John Sanders of Worcester, England. As a retirement project, the engineer, whose grandmother kept the family treasure under her bed, embarked on authenticating the portrait: the forensic analyses that followed have proven it without doubt to the period.In a remarkable publishing coup, Knopf Canada has gathered around Stephanie Nolen's story a group of the world's leading Shakespeare scholars and art and cultural historians to delve into one of the most fascinating literary mysteries of our times: "Is this the face of genius?"Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Shakespeare's Face by Stephanie NolenBy the late afternoon I was beginning to go a little cross-eyed. I had examined countless documents and read the test results from the painting's painstaking forensic analysis. I now had everything I needed to write my story -- except for one crucial item. "Is he here?" I asked, almost in a whisper....The owner laid the package carefully on the cluttered table. He gently pulled back the kraft paper wrapping, underneath which was a layer of bubble wrap. Then he peeled back this second layer to reveal his treasure.I was caught off-guard by how small the portrait was -- and how vivid. The colours in the paint seemed too rich to be 400 years old. Except for the hairline cracks in the varnish, the face could have been painted yesterday. And there was nothing austere or haughty about it, nothing of the great man being painted for posterity. It was a rogue's face, a charmer's face that looked back at me with a tolerant, mischievous slightly world-weary air....It was painted on two pieces of solid board so expertly joined that the seam was barely visible. A date, "Ano 1603", was painted in small red letters in the top right hand corner. The right side had been nibbled by woodworms.... I stood and gazed, quelling an instinctive urge to pick the portrait up and hold it in my hands. And as my professional skepticism crumpled for a moment, I found myself wanting desperately to believe that this was indeed Shakespeare's face.
Shakespeare's Face: Unraveling the Legend and History of Shakespeare's Mysterious Portrait
by Stephanie NolenA fascinating literary detective story charting the surprising, true history of a recently discovered painting of Shakespeare held by the same family for 400 years -- adding new drama to the Bard's life.When author Stephanie Nolen reported the discovery of the only portrait of William Shakespeare painted while he was alive, the announcement ignited furious controversy around the world.Now, in this provocative biography of the portrait, she tells the riveting story of how a rare image of the young Bard at thirty-nine came to reside in the suburban home of a retired engineer, whose grandmother kept the family treasure under her bed, and how he embarked on authenticating it. The ultimate Antiques Roadshow dream, the portrait has been confirmed by six years of painstaking forensic studies to date from around 1600, and it has not been altered since.
Shakespeare's Heartbeat: Drama Games for Autistic People
by Kelly HunterThis updated and revised edition of Shakespeare’s Heartbeat offers a step-by-step guide detailing how to demonstrate, play and perform sensory games based on two of Shakespeare’s most popular plays designed for autistic people of all ages. The original games of heartbeats, eye contact and spatial awareness were created at the Glebe School, Beckenham, with a group of twelve autistic teenagers who met and played with Kelly Hunter once a week over three years, 2002-2005. This second edition brings the book up to date with the additional knowledge Kelly Hunter has gained since then as the founding artistic director of Flute Theatre, the world’s only Shakespearean troupe to focus on the needs of autistic audiences. The book includes the following: A new chapter dedicated to performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest with autistic audiences, including Hunter’s adapted, interactive performance texts of both plays. A new resource for playing with younger autistic children and their families. A new resource for playing with those who require a lower demand approach. A new chapter with targets and techniques to understand the autism puzzle more clearly. New games based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest which have been created over the last ten years, in addition to the original games detailed in the first edition. This book provides an indispensable learning tool for theatre practitioners, drama students, applied theatre students, teachers, autistic people and their families.
Shakespeare's Heartbeat: Drama games for children with autism
by Kelly HunterChildren on the autistic spectrum experience varying degrees of difficulties; all of which can be understood as a disassociation of mind and body. Expressing feelings, making eye contact, keeping a steady heartbeat and recognizing faces are all part of the autism dilemma which can be poetically explored by Shakespeare. Over ten years, Hunter worked with children on all points of the spectrum, developing drama games for the specific purpose of combatting autism. These unique games, derived from specific moments in the plays, shed new light on how to teach Shakespeare to children, using the drama as an exploration of how it feels to be alive. Shakespeare’s Heartbeat is a step-by-step guide, detailing how to demonstrate, play and share these sensory games. The book includes: Games based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream Games based on The Tempest Tips and advice for playing one-on-one with the children An afterword describing Hunter’s journey from performer and practitioner to creator of this work. Shakespeare’s poetic definitions of seeing, thinking and loving reveal the very processes that children with autism find so difficult to achieve. This book provides an indispensable learning tool for those wishing to encourage children’s eye contact and facial expression, improve their spatial awareness and language skills and introduce them to imaginative play.
Shakespeare's Library: Unlocking the Greatest Mystery in Literature
by Stuart KellsA tantalizing true story of one of literature’s most enduring enigmas is at the heart of this “lively, even sprightly book” (Michael Dirda, The Washington Post)—the quest to find the personal library of the world’s greatest writer.Millions of words of scholarship have been expended on the world’s most famous author and his work. And yet a critical part of the puzzle, Shakespeare’s library, is a mystery. For four centuries people have searched for it: in mansions, palaces and libraries; in riverbeds, sheep pens and partridge coops; and in the corridors of the mind. Yet no trace of the bard’s manuscripts, books or letters has ever been found.The search for Shakespeare’s library is much more than a treasure hunt. Knowing what the Bard read informs our reading of his work, and it offers insight into the mythos of Shakespeare and the debate around authorship. The library’s fate has profound implications for literature, for national and cultural identity, and for the global Shakespeare industry. It bears on fundamental principles of art, identity, history, meaning and truth.Unfolding the search like the mystery story that it is, acclaimed author Stuart Kells follows the trail of the hunters, taking us through different conceptions of the library and of the man himself. Entertaining and enlightening, Shakespeare’s Library is a captivating exploration of one of literature’s most enduring enigmas."An engaging and provocative contribution to the unending world of Shakespeariana . . . An enchanting work that bibliophiles will savor and Shakespeare fans adore." ―Kirkus Reviews
Shakespeare's Lyric Stage: Myth, Music, and Poetry in the Last Plays
by Seth LererWhat does it mean to have an emotional response to poetry and music? And, just as important but considered less often, what does it mean not to have such a response? What happens when lyric utterances—which should invite consolation, revelation, and connection—somehow fall short of the listener’s expectations? As Seth Lerer shows in this pioneering book, Shakespeare’s late plays invite us to contemplate that very question, offering up lyric as a displaced and sometimes desperate antidote to situations of duress or powerlessness. Lerer argues that the theme of lyric misalignment running throughout The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, Henry VIII, and Cymbeline serves a political purpose, a last-ditch effort at transformation for characters and audiences who had lived through witch-hunting, plague, regime change, political conspiracies, and public executions. A deep dive into the relationship between aesthetics and politics, this book also explores what Shakespearean lyric is able to recuperate for these “victims of history” by virtue of its disjointed utterances. To this end, Lerer establishes the concept of mythic lyricism: an estranging use of songs and poetry that functions to recreate the past as present, to empower the mythic dead, and to restore a bit of magic to the commonplaces and commodities of Jacobean England. Reading against the devotion to form and prosody common in Shakespeare scholarship, Lerer’s account of lyric utterance’s vexed role in his late works offers new ways to understand generational distance and cultural change throughout the playwright’s oeuvre.
Shakespeare's Original Stage Conditions and their Afterlives across the Globe: From the Wooden O to the Yards of Seoul (Global Shakespeares)
by Yu Jin KoThis book brings together two separate fields by combining a study of Shakespeare's original stage conditions with an exploration of his plays in performance across the globe. The book contributes new insights into how early-modern stage conditions shaped the writing, production, and reception of Shakespeare's plays, but takes the further step of examining how original stage conditions re-emerge, not only in Globe replicas like the London Globe, but in unexpected and sometimes unconscious reconfigurations in adaptations and productions from around the world: film versions of Othello from Mexico to India that take dancing cues and anxieties about dance from the play and centralize dance; Korean adaptations for the madang (or yard) that reimagine Shakespeare's theatrical spaces and their relationships to audiences; Noh re-imaginings on film and onstage that foreground the theatrical; a teen film remake of Othello that raises questions about how blackness is figured today and on Shakespeare's stage, among others. By studying original stage conditions and their global afterlives, the book illuminates how global productions negotiate historical and cultural differences and thereby, paradoxically, engage with the cultural specificities of the present.
Shakespeare's Othello: A Graphic Novel (Classics in Graphics #8)
by Steve Skidmore Steve BarlowShakespeare's Othello like you've never seen it - or read it - before! Classics in Graphics: Othello has been adapted into a graphic novel by expert authors, Steve Skidmore and Steve Barlow, with illustrations by Kevin Hopgood and Martyn Cain. Watch Iago's slimy plan play out like an irresistible thriller - as Othello's self-doubt turns to fury and becomes more and more consuming.Classics in Graphics is a series of graphic novels for readers aged 10 plus that has inclusion at its heart, flinging wide the doors of literature for all to enter and understand. Including dyslexia-friendly design and encouraging readers to relate to iconic roles - casting spells, falling in love and winning duels. Each graphic novel includes pitch-perfect illustrations for depicting tragedy, romance, comedy or magic PLUS: - snappy simplified text presenting Shakespeare's themes clearly - introductory materials to help set the scene and context of each story - heaps of extra material at the back to keep the learning and fun going, including an exploration of themes in the play, the language, Shakespeare's inspirations, the publication and performance of the play in history, a timeline of Shakespeare's life and works, and much more! Plays available in the series include: Macbeth, The Tempest, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Twelfth NightPraise for Classics in Graphics: "[...] an encouraging entry point to Shakespeare for my kids, and [...] an excellent job converting challenging language and literary themes to make it very inclusive, smoothing ease of understanding dialogue, plot, and narration without dumbing it down." - EricWilliamson, leagueofcomicgeeks.com
Shakespeare's Possible Worlds
by Simon PalfreyNew methods are needed to do justice to Shakespeare. His work exceeds conventional models, past and present, for understanding playworlds. In this book, Simon Palfrey goes right to the heart of early modern popular drama, revealing both how it works and why it matters. Unlike his contemporaries, Shakespeare gives independent life to all his instruments, and to every fraction and fragment of the plays. Palfrey terms these particles 'formactions' - theatre-specific forms that move with their own action and passion. Palfrey's book is critically daring in both substance and format. Its unique mix of imaginative gusto, thought experiments, and virtuosic technique generates piercing close readings of the plays. There is far more to playlife than meets the eye. Influenced by Leibniz's visionary original model of possible worlds, Palfrey opens up the multiple worlds of Shakespeare's language, scenes, and characters as never before.
Shakespeare's Restless World
by Neil MacgregorWilliam Shakespeare lived through a pivotal period in human history. With the discovery of the New World, the horizons of Old Europe were expanding dramatically, long-cherished certainties were crumbling and life was exhilaratingly uncertain. What ideas and assumptions did Londoners bring with them when they went to see Shakespeare's plays in the 1590s and 1600s - what were they thinking? What was it like living in a world so radically different from anything their parents had experienced?Shakespeare's Restless World uncovers the fascinating stories behind 20 objects from Shakespeare's life and times to recreate his world and the minds of his audiences. The objects range from the rich (such as the hoard of gold coins that make up the Salcombe treasure) to the very humble, like the battered trunk and worn garments of an unknown pedlar. Each of them allows MacGregor to explore one of the defining themes of the Shakespearean age - globalisation, reformation, piracy, Islam, magic and many others. MacGregor weaves Shakespeare's words themselves into the histories of his objects to suggest where his ideas about religion, national identity, the history of England and the world, human nature itself, may have come from. The result is an excitingly fresh and unexpected portrait of Shakespeare's dangerous and dynamic world.
Shakespeare's Storytelling: An Introduction to Genre, Character, and Technique
by Nate EastmanShakespeare’s Storytelling: An Introduction to Genre, Character, and Technique is a textbook focused on specific storytelling techniques and genres that Shakespeare invented or refined. Drawing on examples from popular novels, plays, and films (such as IT, Beloved, Sex and the City, The Godfather, and Fences) the book provides an overview of how Shakespearean storytelling techniques including character flaws, conflicts, symbols, and more have been adapted by later writers and used in the modern canon. Rather than taking a historicist or theoretical approach, Nate Eastman uses recognizable references and engaging language to teach the concepts and techniques most applicable to the future study of Creative Writing, English, Theater, and Film and Media. Students will be prepared to interpret Shakespeare’s plays and understand Shakespeare as the beginning of a literary tradition. A readable introduction to Shakespeare and his significance, this book is suitable for undergraduates.
Shakespeare's Theatre (Theatre Production Studies)
by Peter ThomsonReviews of the First Edition `...valuable and enjoyable reading for all studying Shakespeare's plays.' Following in the patternestablished by John Russell Brown for the excellent series (Theatre and Production Studies), he provides first an account of Shakespeare's company, then a study of three individual plays Twelfth Night, Hamlet and Macbeth as performed by the company. Peter Thomson writes in a crisp, sharp, enlivening style.' TLS '`...the best analysis yet of Elizabethan acting practices, excavated form the texts themselves rather than reconstructed on basis of one monolithic theory, and an essay on Hamlet that is a model of Critical intelligence and theatrical invention.' Yearbook of English Studies `Synthesizes the important facts and summarizes projects with a vigorous prose style, and expertly applies his experience in both practical drama and academic teaching to his discussion.' Review of English Studies
Shakespeare's Tragic Justice (Routledge Library Editions: Renaissance Drama)
by C. J. SissonThe problem of justice seems to have haunted Shakespeare as it haunted Renaissance Christendom. In this book, first published in 1963, four aspects of the problems of justice in action in Shakespeare’s great tragedies are explored. This study is based on the lifetime’s research of Elizabethan habits of mind by one of the most distinguished Shakespearean scholars, and will be of interest to students of English Literature, Drama and Performance.
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: A Graphic Novel (Classics in Graphics #7)
by Steve Skidmore Steve BarlowShakespeare's Twelfth Night like you've never seen it - or read it - before! Classics in Graphics: Twelfth Night has been adapted into a graphic novel by expert authors, Steve Skidmore and Steve Barlow, with illustrations by Wendy Tan Shiau Wei. Experience the famous (and famously confusing) love triangle, presented with all the flair of your favourite rom-com.Classics in Graphics is a series of graphic novels for readers aged 10 plus that has inclusion at its heart, flinging wide the doors of literature for all to enter and understand. Including dyslexia-friendly design and encouraging readers to relate to iconic roles - casting spells, falling in love and winning duels. Each graphic novel includes pitch-perfect illustrations for depicting tragedy, romance, comedy or magic PLUS: - snappy simplified text presenting Shakespeare's themes clearly - introductory materials to help set the scene and context of each story - heaps of extra material at the back to keep the learning and fun going, including an exploration of themes in the play, the language, Shakespeare's inspirations, the publication and performance of the play in history, a timeline of Shakespeare's life and works, and much more! Plays available in the series include: Macbeth, The Tempest, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Twelfth NightPraise for Classics in Graphics: "[...] an encouraging entry point to Shakespeare for my kids, and [...] an excellent job converting challenging language and literary themes to make it very inclusive, smoothing ease of understanding dialogue, plot, and narration without dumbing it down." - EricWilliamson, leagueofcomicgeeks.com
Shakespeare, Brecht, and the Intercultural Sign
by Antony TatlowIn Shakespeare, Brecht, and the Intercultural Sign renowned Brecht scholar Antony Tatlow uses drama to investigate cultural crossings and to show how intercultural readings or performances question the settled assumptions we bring to interpretations of familiar texts. Through a "textual anthropology" Tatlow examines the interplay between interpretations of Shakespeare and readings of Brecht, whose work he rereads in the light of theories of the social subject from Nietzsche to Derrida and in relation to East Asian culture, as well as practices within Chinese and Japanese theater that shape their versions of Shakespearean drama. Reflecting on how, why, and to what effect knowledges and styles of performance pollinate across cultures, Tatlow demonstrates that the employment of one culture's material in the context of another defamiliarizes the conventions of representation in an act that facilitates access to what previously had been culturally repressed. By reading the intercultural, Tatlow shows, we are able not only to historicize the effects of those repressions that create a social unconscious but also gain access to what might otherwise have remained invisible. This remarkable study will interest students of cultural interaction and aesthetics, as well as readers interested in theater, Shakespeare, Brecht, China, and Japan.