MIT Global Shakespeares

Renowned for his contemporary performances on Traditional Turkish Theater, Ayhan Hulagu has released his new book, ‘Shadow of Hamlet,’ in the United States. Bringing Shakespeare’s Hamlet to traditional arts for the first time in its 700-year history, Hulagu documented the entire play process in his book, including documents, director’s notes, photographs, and the rewritten script. While the book details how Hamlet was adapted into traditional theater, it also provides clues on how art can build bridges between Eastern and Western cultures.

https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/the-shadow-of-hamlet-is-speaking/

The Shakespeare in BRAZIL website has launched! 🥳 🥳 🥳
https://shakespeareinbrazil.mit.edu

Global Shakespeare for social justice. This article cites MIT Global Shakespeares co-founder Alexa Alice Joubin's research on how Sonnet 18 has become an unofficial hymn for China's new youth movement since late 2022.

Where Everyone is Hamlet: Staging Shakespeare as Political Resistance in China On January 7, a young Chinese filmmaker named Xin Shang was arrested for an act he had committed two months earlier, that his country’s government had deemed “an endangerment to public safety”. Wha…

NEW TURKISH PRODUCTIONS - During the Covid-19 pandemic, Zorlu PSM's "Digital Stage" presented iconic scenes from four popular plays by William Shakespeare, and they have agreed to let us host videos of these performances. İlker Özçelik, Regional Editor for MIT Global Shakespeares, worked with students in his Shakespeare and Performance course to transcribe, translate, and subtitle the videos in English. The four plays are: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and Twelfth Night. Please visit our archive, check out the performances, and leave your comments.
https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/?s=%22digital+stage+series%22

The latest volume of the The Shakespearean International Yearbook is now out. It focuses on the global afterlife of Pericles!

Preface

Tom Bishop and Alexa Alice Joubin



Part I: Special Section: Pericles, Prince of Tyre

Special Guest Editors:

Deanne Williams, York University, and Tom Bishop, University of Auckland



Introduction
Deanne Williams, York University, and Tom Bishop, University of Auckland



Whose Pericles, and Why, and When?
Stephen Orgel, Stanford University



The Excesses of Romance: Shakespeare’s Pericles and the Medieval Baroque
Robert Hudson Vincent, Harvard University



Hrotswitha of Gandersheim, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, and Humanist Girlhood
Deanne Williams, York University



Eater and Eaten, Feeder and Fed: Intercultural Consumption in Pericles
Stephen Cohen, Central Connecticut State University



Pericles and the Sea of Things
Andrew S. Brown, Dalhousie University



Pericles and the Primacy of Movement
Tonhi Lee, Tufts University



“The purchase is to make men glorious”: Pericles on the Stuart Court Stage
Gabriel Lonsbery, Purdue University



Inscribed Props and Daughters in Pericles
Bernice Mittertreiner Neal, York University



Musicking the Spheres in Pericles
Jennifer Linhart Wood, George Mason University



Pericles Comes to America
Tom Bishop, University of Auckland



Line Dancing, Belly Dancing, and Martial Arts: Staging the Soldiers’ Dance in Pericles
Linda McJannet, Bentley University



Productions of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, 1900-2020: a checklist
Tom Bishop, University of Auckland



Part Two: Recent Literature Review



Intersectional Shakespeare: the State of the Field, 2020-21
Nicole A. Jacobs, California Polytechnic State University

When ChatGPT was launched, MIT Global Shakespeares co-founder Alexa Alice Joubin realized it was here to stay. She views it as her responsibility to teach students how to use it responsibly, not as a shortcut. “This technology is going to be with us, and students need employable skills in terms of curation, editorial repackaging and prompt engineering,” Joubin said. “They need to be able to formulate good queries—the quality of their queries is really important in this search-driven culture.” The skill to search for information and the ability to evaluate it are important assets in the job market and in life in general, Joubin said. “In our inquiry-driven culture, we need to know how to retrieve information through queries,” Joubin said. “Further, democratic society needs good question-askers as much as good problem-solvers. Asking key questions helps to advance scholarly fields, and students develop editorial, curatorial and critical questioning skills that are employable skills and the foundation of civil society in an era of ChatGPT.” https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/gw-english-professor-uses-ai-teach-shakespeare-and-critical-theory

GW English Professor Uses AI to Teach Shakespeare and Critical Theory | GW Today | The George Washington University Alexa Alice Joubin said the new technology has much to offer students, including helping them develop critical skills.

Come learn about how MIT Global Shakespeares cofounder Alexa Alice Joubin designed her open-access textbook Screening Shakespeare. Join us on Zoom on Wednesday April 12 at 1 pm US eastern time (Zoom link on the web page https://open.wrlc.org/events/wed-04122023-1300 ). Her textbook is free and open to all, at https://screenshakespeare.org/ Open Education Resources (OER) for higher education have made significant progress over the last few decades. Textbook affordability continues to be a serious concern for our students.

FACULTY PERSPECTIVES: OPEN TEXTBOOKS IN THE CLASSROOM AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES | Open@WRLC Textbook affordability continues to be a serious concern for our students. What is the result of the unchecked commercial textbook publishing market? Most students will never purchase the required textbook- directly informing student success, retention and equity in the classroom. Open Education Res...

MIT Global Shakespeares co-founder Alexa Alice Joubin received the bell hooks Legacy Award! The award recognizes Joubin’s achievements in research, teaching, and service, particularly her efforts to “dismantle intersectional systems of oppression with the distinct goals of uplifting members of historically marginalized populations and striving for social justice, all while teaching compassion and love.” https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/joubin-receives-the-bell-hooks-legacy-award/

Joubin receives the bell hooks Legacy Award Alexa Alice Joubin, a scholar of critical race theory, feminism, and transgender, performance, and film studies, was named the inaugural recipient of the bell hooks Legacy Award on April 7, 2023. The Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association (PCA / ACA) established the award to co...

Cross-gender roles and performances permeate many of Shakespeare’s plays. Viola presents as pageboy Cesario for most of the dramatic action in Twelfth Night. Falstaff escapes Ford’s house as the Witch of Brainford in The Merry Wives of Windsor. In Cymbeline, British princess Imogen dresses as a male servant, Fidele, on their quest to find their husband among the Roman soldiers. Read the special issue on contemporary transgender performance of Shakespeare of the open-access journal dedicated to Shakespeare and appropriation, Borrowers and Lenders, edited by Alexa Alice Joubin



These cross-gender acts have been misunderstood as “cross-dressing,” which implies crossing from one fixed binary position to the other. These works are in fact transgender plays. Centuries of cisgender-centric biases told us we have to suspend our disbelief to understand cross-gender roles. https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/shakespeares-transgender-plays/

Shakespeare’s Transgender Plays Cross-gender roles and performances permeate many of Shakespeare’s plays. Viola presents as pageboy Cesario for most of the dramatic action in Twelfth Night. Falstaff escapes Ford’s house as the Witch of Brainford in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Rosalind ventures into the woods as Ganymede in As ...

All the world's a stage but the irony is the rest of the globe often has an easier time understanding William Shakespeare than English speakers "who are at a disadvantage because the language has evolved and is more and more distant. They need footnotes, props and staging to understand," said Alexa Alice Joubin

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221011-why-english-audiences-have-the-toughest-time-with-shakespeare?s=09

Why English audiences have the toughest time with Shakespeare All the world's a stage but the irony is the rest of the globe often has an easier time understanding William Shakespeare than English speakers.

https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/extra/shakespearean-theater-in-brazil-during-the-pandemic/

Shakespearean theater in Brazil during the pandemic Shakespeare has held an active place in Brazilian academics and stages for decades, including the production of world-renowned performances that have made their way to the Bard’s England, as well as to other prestigious arenas. The COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected much of what happens in the...

The concept of “interface” is often overlooked in the study of performances. The screen interface immerses audiences in an alternate universe in such a way that audiences rarely question the screen’s aesthetic function. That interface often makes itself transparent even though it is generating the dramaturgical meanings central to the narratives. Performance, as a medium, interfaces with textual variants, different scripts, the stage or the film set, and audience expectations. Within some Shakespearean performances, screens are literal and metaphorical interfaces. The interface between humans (story-tellers) and machines (technologies of representation) governs the very logic of screened performance as a narrative medium.

The Screen as an Interface in Shakespearean Performance The concept of “interface” is often overlooked in the study of performances. The screen interface immerses audiences in an alternate universe in such a way that audiences rarely question the screen’s aesthetic function. That interface often makes itself transparent even though it is generating...

Cymbeline the Anthropocene is an international performance-research project which brings together seven theatre companies and environmentally committed productions from four continents. It is the first collective effort to present Shakespeare’s ecological insights to audiences beyond academia or the Anglosphere. Each contributing company has created locally site-specific and ecologically adapted performances of Shakespeare’s late tragi-comedy, Cymbeline.
https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/cymbeline-in-the-anthropocene-a-global-eco-theatrical-collaboration/

Cymbeline in the Anthropocene: A global eco-theatrical collaboration Cymbeline the Anthropocene is an international performance-research project which brings together seven theatre companies and environmentally committed productions from four continents. It is the first collective effort to present Shakespeare’s ecological insights to audiences beyond academia or t...

Donna Woodford-Gormley‘s new book, Shakespeare in Cuba (2021), uses the lens of cultural anthropophagy to explore Cuban adaptations of Shakespeare. According to the theory of cultural anthropophagy, or literary cannibalism, a culture, like Cuba, can consume Shakespearean plays, but digest them and embody them in new ways, giving life to both the consumed and the consumer.
https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/shakespeare-in-cuba-calibans-books/

Shakespeare in Cuba: Caliban’s Books Donna Woodford-Gormley‘s new book, Shakespeare in Cuba (2021) in the Global Shakespeares series edited by Alexa Alice Joubin, uses the lens of cultural anthropophagy to explore Cuban adaptations of Shakespeare. According to the theory of cultural anthropophagy, or literary cannibalism, a culture, ...

We are pleased to announce the publication of MIT Global Shakespeares co-founder Alexa Alice Joubin's open-access, online textbook with interactive learning modules. You can learn about key concepts of film and adaptation studies. You can learn about film theory, mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound and music, and adaptation strategies in the context of global Shakespeare. https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/open-access-textbook-screening-shakespeare/

Open-Access Textbook: Screening Shakespeare We are pleased to announce the publication of MIT Global Shakespeares co-founder Alexa Alice Joubin’s Screening Shakespeare, a new, open-access, online textbook with interactive learning modules. You can learn about key concepts of film and adaptation studies. The openly-licensed book is free to a...

Learn more about famous Turkish Shakespearean actor Haluk Bilginer who has starred in Timon of Athens, Antony and Cleopatra, and King Lear. Written by Kübra Vural Özbey for Turkish Shakespeares.
https://turkishshakespeares.wordpress.com/2022/07/17/haluk-bilginer-as-a-shakespearean-actor/

Haluk Bilginer as a Shakespearean Actor Haluk Bilginer (born in 1954), an alumnus of London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, is an internationally reclaimed Turkish actor who won the Best Actor award at the 47th International Emmy Awar…

Read about Tiyatro BeReZe's play Macbeth, Macbeth-İki Kişilik Kabus (Macbeth/A Nightmare for Two) directed by Doğu Akal and starring Elif Temuçin (Lady Macbeth) and Erkan Uyanıksoy (Macbeth). Written by Özlem Özmen Akdoğan for Turkish Shakespeares. https://turkishshakespeares.wordpress.com/2022/07/03/will-all-great-neptunes-ocean-wash-this-tomato-paste-tiyatro-berezes-macbeth-iki-kisilik-kabus/

Will All Great Neptune’s Ocean Wash This Tomato Paste?: Tiyatro BeReZe’s Macbeth-İki Kişilik Kabus Image from Tiyatro BeReZe An adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth-İki Kişilik Kabus by Tiyatro BeReZe is a one-act play that hinges on playfulness and theatricality. The play premiered in İ…

A new KING LEAR production from South Korea is now available in our archive. President of the Shakespeare Association of Korea, Professor Lee Hyon-u directed and translated the play which premiered in Fall 2021. Renowned South Korean actor Lee Soon-jae starred as King Lear. The full performance is available courtesy of Professor Lee.

https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/king-lear-lee-hyon-u-2021/

Shamlet, whose title playfully evokes the Mandarin transliterations of Shakespeare’s name and “Hamlet,” depicts a group of bumbling Taiwanese actors’ endearing efforts to put on Hamlet to rescue their company from financial ruin. Half way through the story, an actor-character made the astonishing discovery that their troupe got the play’s title wrong all along: it should have been Hamlet rather than Shamlet. Find out more about Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese adaptations of King Lear, Macbeth, and Hamlet!

Sinophone Adaptations of Shakespeare Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear have inspired incredible work in the Sinophone theatres of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China for over two centuries as political theatre, comedic parody, Chinese opera, and avant-garde theatre. Gender roles in the plays take on new meanings when they are embodied by actors....

What if some characters are transgender or played by trans actors? Our understanding of Shakespeare’s plays would change dramatically. Examples include Viola as pageboy Cesario in Twelfth Night, Falstaff as the Witch of Brainford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Rosalind as Ganymede in As You Like It, and Imogen disguised as the boy Fidele in Cymbeline. Find out more about a transgender performance of Ophelia. https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/a-transgender-ophelia/

A Transgender Ophelia What if some Shakespearean characters are transgender or played by trans actors? Examples include Viola as pageboy Cesario in Twelfth Night, Falstaff as the Witch of Brainford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Rosalind as Ganymede in As You Like It, and Imogen disguised as the boy Fidele in Cymbeline.....

Did you know that Arnold Schwarzenegger made a cameo appearance as King Lear in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)? Find out more about how the notion of "penumbra" in global studies can shed new light on Bollywood, Saudi, and global films. When light is shed over an opaque object, it casts a shadow with a partially shaded outer region. An innocuous penumbra could be audiences’ awareness of previous works by the artist. A more intrusive penumbra could be directors’ statements on record or the significance of the venue. https://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/extra/shakespeare-and-global-studies/

Shakespeare and Global Studies Even though Shakespeare has been regarded as an “English” playwright, characters in his plays hail from the Mediterranean, Cataian (Cathay), France, Vienna, Venice, and beyond. Global cultures play an important role even in the history plays that focus on the question of English identity. Nevert...

What happens when films allude to, but not re-tell in full, Shakespeare's stories? This new book, edited by Victoria Bladen and MIT Global Shakespeares cofounder Alexa Alice Joubin, finds that even passing references to Shakespeare can shift the meanings and readings of a work.

When Films Allude to Shakespeare … Shakespeare’s plays and motifs have been cited and appropriated in fragmentary forms on screen since motion pictures were invented in 1893 when the Kinetoscope was demonstrated in public for the first time. Allusions to Shakespeare haunt our contemporary culture in a myriad of ways, whether throug...

Recently, anti-feminist, white nationalist, (trans)misogynist, anti-immigrant, and homophobic movements have used “genderism” to evoke a range of disruptive identities and to attack legal and social human rights. This conversation explored how transgender studies can combat intersectional forms of oppression and what the history of transgender studies can teach us about our current social crisis and change global Shakespeare studies.

Trans Studies and Why It Matters Recently, anti-feminist, white nationalist, (trans)misogynist, anti-immigrant, and homophobic movements have used “genderism” to evoke a range of disruptive identities and to attack legal and social human rights [watch the video recording]. On April 14, 2022, the George Washington University Hum...

Graham Holderness has written a new book, Samurai Shakespeare: Early Modern Tragedy in Feudal Japan, which examines the history of how Shakespeare was imported to Japan and adapted to a foreign culture for the stage and screen.

Samurai Shakespeare: Early Modern Tragedy in Feudal Japan Samurai Shakespeare: Early Modern Tragedy in Feudal Japan (Edward Everett Root, 2021). GRAHAM HOLDERNESS This is a book of convergences. First, the collision between Japan and Shakespeare, who was imported by the Meiji Empire in the 1880s, along with western technology and culture, as a contemporary...

Something wicked this way comes... Macbeth: Live and unplugged | Blogs & features Our education project in partnership with Deutsche Bank, Playing Shakespeare, is now celebrating its sixteenth year with Macbeth.

Actors taking on tyrants: Ernst Lubitsch’s 'To Be or Not to Be' Ernst Lubitsch’s 1942 film finds the tonal sweet spot between comedy and grim reality, turning to Shakespeare as a plea for humanity.

The New Books Network interview about Shakespeare and East Asia is now live. The adaptations examined here are alternately funny, dramatic, and thought-provoking, but never boring.

New Books Network Interview: Shakespeare and East Asia Shakespeare’s plays enjoy a great deal of popularity across the world, yet most of us study Shakespeare’s local productions. Alexa Alice Joubin‘s Shakespeare and East Asia (Oxford 2021) addresses this gap through a wide-ranging analysis of stage and film adaptations related to Japan, South Kor...

South Korean actor Lee Soon-jae recently took on the role of King Lear in a new production which was performed at the Seoul Arts Center and directed by Lee Hyon-u. Read more about this play which also featured actress Lee Yeon Hee as Cordelia who disguises herself as Fool.

Veteran actor Lee Soon-jae performs King Lear Lee Soon-jae as King LearPhoto Credit: Yang Hae-sung South Korean actor Lee Soon-jae has appeared on the small and big screen for over 60 years. In Fall 2021, Lee accepted the role of King Lear in a new production directed by Lee Hyon-u, English professor at Soon Chun Hyang University, vice presiden...

All together now...
"And a bear to pursue us offstage" 🐻

The 12 Days of Christmas, but make it Shakespeare.

Can fiction—such as Shakespeare’s plays—set us free from harmful lies? Read Alexa Alice Joubin’s latest article to find out how transgender performances draw on Shakespeare as readily available reference points. Since personal and social truths are structured by narratives, Alexa argues that truth often emerges at the border between fiction and fact. ::

Transgender Shakespeare Multiple Shakespearean characters lend themselves to be interpreted as transgender. Even though Shakespeare’s plays were initially performed by all-male casts, they were designed to appeal to diverse audiences. Shakespeare’s plays, as readily available reference points, have been reimagined in p...