What is it about?
This chapter theorizes global Shakespeare through two interrelated concepts: performance as an act of citation and the ethics of citation. Bringing the concept of performance as citation and the ethics of citation together, this chapter argues that acts of appropriation carry with them strong ethical implications. A crucial, ethical component of appropriation is one’s willingness to listen to and be subjected to the demands of others. These metaphorical citations create moments of self and mutual recognition.
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Why is it important?
Seeing the others within is the first step toward seeing oneself in others’ eyes. The act of citation is founded upon the premise of one’s subjectivity, the subject who speaks, and the other’s voice that one is channeling, misrepresenting, or appropriating.
Perspectives
There is an ethical problem in the adaptations and performances of Shakespeare that draw on themes from different cultures. But what does it mean to do Shakespeare while black? What does it mean for a white director to borrow from African traditions and Asian theatrical styles? What does it entail for the media to judge productions by minority directors and actors who may look exotic but are in fact part of the local theatre scene? How much should artists be expected to participate in and be judged by cultural conflict in the neoliberal economic era?
Ms Alexa Alice Joubin
George Washington University
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This page is a summary of: Others within, August 2019, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.4324/9781315168968-3.
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