Multiracial / Multilingual Shakespeare on the American Stage
One of the main research questions this project seeks to explore is: How do multiracial / multilingual translations and adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays affect the experiences of a diverse American audience? This was a question raised by Shakespearean scholar, Ayanna Thompson at the conference on Shakespeare and Social Justice in Cape Town, South Africa in 2019.
During her presentation titled “Shakespeare and Blackface” / “Shakespeare and Unfreedom,” Ayanna points out many of the historic and structural factors surrounding Shakespeare’s Othello that makes the production a trap for actors of color, seeking to play a role that many believe represents the pinnacle of one’s acting career on the Shakespearean stage. Rather than experiencing this high point of inclusion into the Shakespearean tradition however, the actor of color playing Othello begins to realize that they are actually more like the butt of a joke: duped by Iago, whom because of the structure of the play, the audience often sympathizes with, combined with the fact that Iago has more lines than anyone else and will naturally spend more one on one time with the usually white director, all contribute to the sense of alienation the actor of color playing the title role experiences throughout the rehearsal process and the run of the show. By embracing the structure of the play, changing the genders of the characters, giving voice to multiple languages spoken in the dialogue and basically inverting Othello and Desdemona’s roles, we have sought to change this, while at the same time keeping all of Shakespeare’s dramatic beats in tact. (Hopefully Ayanna won’t have to be called in as the “Othello Whisperer,” this time)
Purpose
The purpose of this study is trifold: 1. To increase understanding of the ways Shakespeare has been translated, adapted, or appropriated to address the issues of race, language, and American imperialism. 2. To unpack some of the practical strategies and choices made by theatrical practitioners when staging Shakespeare’s plays, in order to create dialogue with American audiences around some of the most fraught and challenging subjects in America’s current political moment. 3. To track and analyze how multiracial / multilingual Shakespearean adaptations are being received by a diverse sample of American audience members from around the United States and how those adaptations affect audience understanding of Shakespeare’s plays. All survey forms are anonymous and all data from the responses will be incorporated into my dissertation research. Like the American legacy of colonialism, slavery, women’s suffrage, the civil rights movement, and the ever increasing demographic shift towards a majority minority in a country founded and made stronger by immigrants, the legacy and of plays of William Shakespeare are part of the American story too and belong not to a privileged few, but to each and every one of us. Thank you for participating!
Kepano (Srephen) Richter