What is it about?
The article reframes the historical context in which we perform Shakespeare's plays in America, removing our theaters from the idealized, utopian literature of Theatre Studies and considering the sites in the context of American history. In particular, the article examines the historiography of five prominent institutions: Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Public in New York City, the American Shakespeare Center in Virginia, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Shakespeare at Winedale in Texas.
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Why is it important?
Shakespeare's plays are rich in history, tied to landscapes, and examine the brightest and darkest aspects of human behavior. But when we perform the plays outdoors in America, a utopian urge often overwhelms both actors and audience. Shakespeare lived and wrote his plays before our country's original sin of establishing chattel slavery in a land devoted to liberty. Shakespeare serves as a "prelapsarian poet" that enables us to look past our faults -- at the cost of white-washing the landscape around us, and ignoring those most harmed by America's past actions.
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This page is a summary of: “Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company:” the American Performance of Shakespeare and the White-Washing of Political Geography, Multicultural Shakespeare Translation Appropriation and Performance, December 2022, Uniwersytet Lodzki (University of Lodz),
DOI: 10.18778/2083-8530.26.08.
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