This public presentation is hosted by the San Diego Shakespeare Society. Register for this free event on Eventbrite. 

Alexa Alice Joubin is the author of the recently published book Shakespeare in East Asia (Oxford University Press, 2021), which raises such intriguing questions as: How did Kurosawa influence George Lucas’ Star Wars? Why do critics repeatedly use the adjective Shakespearean to describe Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite (2019)? How do East Asian cinema and theatre portray vocal disability and transgender figures?

     Joubin will illustrate through entertaining examples how Shakespeare is connected to theatre, film, and literature in East Asia. Her book identifies four themes: Japanese formalistic innovations in sound and spectacle; reparative adaptations from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong; the politics of gender and reception of films and touring productions in South Korea and the UK; and multilingual works in Singapore and the UK. These adaptations are reshaping debates about the relationship between East Asia and Europe, and this book reveals deep connections among Asian and Anglophone performances.