From Hamlet performed in colonial Indonesia in 1619, to the difficulties of translating it into Japanese, which has no obvious equivalent of “to be,” Shakespeare’s worldwide transmission in theatre, film, translation, and criticism across four centuries combines imperialism, globalization, and cultural hybridity. Alexa Alice Joubin (author of Shakespeare and East Asia, Oxford, 2021) speaks on this fascinating topic.
Video on YouTube ::: Table of Contents
00:08 Why did Shakespeare go viral?
00:31 Hamlet performed in colonial Indonesia
00:50 Many of Shakespeare’s plays are set outside England
01:19 Soft power and global Shakespeare
01:37 Royal Shakespeare Company commissions a Mandarin translation
02:19 The Merchant in Venice in East Asia
02:37 Romeo and Juliet in Palestine
02:45 The benefits of studying worldwide performances of Shakespeare
02:59 Translating to be or not to be into Japanese
03:29 Why global Shakespeare matters: Limitations create new opportunities
The interview is now available on Oxford University Press’s YouTube.