Shakespeare around the globe

The globalisation of the world’s economy began in the early 16th century and with it came a cultural exchange that changed society. The world was becoming bigger with new discoveries but the exploration boom brought everyone closer together – and the world became a small place. Shakespeare was a writer who took full advantage of the wealth of worldly stories and writing that was now available to him. Foreign lands became the setting for his plays, offering the opportunity for national introspection. Shakespeare’s work has come to shape our national identity; the themes, characters and stories he told have become synonymous with Britishness. But this national identity would never have been forged without the growth of globalisation that led to the Renaissance. Now, of course, globalisation is a two way street, an opportunity for all to share in the cultural wealth of the world.

Shakespeare’s work immediately had a global reach with touring companies taking his plays across Europe and beyond. According to Anston Bosman, bilingual clowns would translate the action for the non-English speakers, the most famous of these international productions being a Hamlet performed on a merchant ship off the coast of Africa in 1607 with Portuguese translation. The popularity of the plays meant that, by the end of the 16th century, foreign companies would do versions in German, French and Dutch. This boom in cultural sharing laid the groundwork for Shakespeare to become one of the world’s most translated writers today; the individual plays have been translated into over 80 languages. Shakespeare has become a symbol of a global community bound together by the globalisation of culture.

Reaching out

Tim Supple’s British Council-backed Dash Arts’ production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works Festival can be seen as one of the highlights of the bard’s global reach. Supple’s production brought together a company of actors from different areas of India, with a diverse range of languages and skills, both traditional and modern. Some of the original English was retained alongside translations into Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Sinhalese, Malayalam, Marathi and Sanskrit. Surtitles were not necessary as the lyricism and beauty of the text stood firm regardless of the language. In his five-star review, Michael Billington commented, ‘As in all the great Dreams, we feel we too have participated in an act of ritual communion.’ This production was a communion of cultures that is representative of a truly globalised world. Shakespeare’s plays have proven that they have the power to go beyond global communion, becoming political symbols of a united world. None more so than in 2005 when a British Council backed production of Love’s Labour’s Lost played to packed audiences over five nights in Kabul, Afghanistan. Theatre was popular in the country but it was banned under Taliban rule. The play was translated into Dari and the setting transported from France to recognisable Afghan locations. The story of romantic love surviving despite difficult circumstances was one that resonated with local audiences, in a country torn apart by war and conflict; they could take ownership of Shakespeare’s text and use it to confront social and political restrictions. Co-adaptor Steven Landrigan said that ‘Shakespeare is so adaptable because he writes universal truths of human experience.’ Shakespeare’s texts serve to remind the people of the world, alongside other great works of art, that there is a shared understanding of humanity.

Coriolanus used the story of a Roman leader to speak to the people of England at the start of the 16th century. The tale o f a popular uprising, class struggle and imperialist war contains universal truths that resonate beyond Rome and London – Bertolt Brecht was working on a translation of the play before he died. He believed it would resonate with the people of Germany after the Second World War. Steven Berkoff did a German language version of Coriolanus in the seventies, with his journey of adaptation recorded in Coriolanus in Deutschland. In the same decade in Brazil, Paulo Autran translated Coriolanus into Portuguese under the title Coriolano. Autran believed Coriolanus to be the ‘consummate villain’ who would hold a mirror up to the military dictatorship of Brazil in the seventies.

Shakespeare can cross the globe and speak to different political contexts; the plays have the ability to challenge and question notions of power regardless of country or language. David Lane’s 2011 play for young audiences I am England used Coriolanus as the starting point for an examination of patriotism, economics, inequality, disenfranchisement and Great Britain’s relationship with Europe in an imagined near-future. Lane’s adaptation, as well as Shakespeare’s original, found a new urgency in a more insular Great Britain.

Collaborative effort

The very notion of economic globalisation that took hold when Shakespeare was writing is under threat from the rise of populist nationalism across the globe. Will the globalisation of culture that grew hand-in-hand with economic globalisation survive after the latter’s demise? The connections being forged between education institutions across the globe certainly offer some hope.

Experts from the University of Birmingham have joined Nanjing University and Phoenix Publishing & Media Group to launch a ground breaking collaboration that will help to broaden the appeal of Shakespeare in China: through The Shakespeare Centre, Birmingham University’s world-renowned Shakespeare Institute, based in Stratford upon- Avon, will reach out to millions of Chinese people to increase access to and understanding of Shakespeare.

The Shakespeare Institute has always celebrated Shakespeare’s global cultural legacy and recently co-hosted the World Shakespeare Congress in Stratford-upon- Avon and London. Professor Michael Dobson of the Shakespeare Institute said: ‘Launching the Shakespeare Centre is testament to the University of Birmingham’s growing reputation in China. It presents another exciting opportunity for our researchers to collaborate with peers and partners from across the globe.’

Dulwich College International (DCI) also recently announced a new partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company Education Department for seven of its nine schools in Asia. The collaboration offers students aged 10 to 18 a wide array of opportunities to deepen their understanding of Shakespeare’s works through tried and tested strategies from the RSC’s rehearsal rooms. The first year programme will include residencies at the schools by RSC artists, tailored student workshops and access to the RSC’s online resources as well as RSC performances in the UK and Asia. The programme culminates in student performances across the DCI network.

DCI Director of Schools Brian McDouall commented: ‘This partnership will help students understand many of the complex themes Shakespeare addressed in intimate and creative ways. These themes are still relevant today and keep Shakespeare relevant around the world.’ The first activity took place recently in Shanghai, where four RSC artists took part in DCI’s annual Shakespeare Festival, featuring student performances of Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest and Hamlet, and conducted a tailored, residential three-day Professional Learning programme for 30 of the group’s drama and English teachers. Both DCI and RSC Education hope to extend workshops to students at nearby local schools, working with them to create performance pieces, which in China may be in both English and Chinese.

Commenting on the partnership, Director of RSC Education Jacqui O’Hanlon noted, ‘We are committed to a long-term partnership and meaningful cultural exchange and are therefore delighted to be working in partnership with the DCI schools in Asia. Shakespeare’s work belongs to the world; it offers us the opportunity to explore human experience in all its guises, and like all great works of art, helps us understand ourselves, each other and the world we live in.’