Shakespeare in the ‘Post’Colonies

This collection is a study of what Shakespeare means in former or still colonial geographies and how the various 21st-century Shakespeares impact questions of migrant and indigenous rights, colonial and marginalised identities, and race, class, and caste politics in 'post'-colonial spaces.

Shakespeare in the 'Post'Colonies provides a wide-ranging examination of engagements with and adaptations of Shakespeare in regions that were once under European colonial rule. Arguing for the 'Post'Colonies as a distinct category within Global Shakespeares, this volume explores the reality of 21st-century Shakespeares in geographies of post-colonial and postcolonial inheritance, such as continental Africa, Australasia, the Arab world, the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and the Americas. As former colonies in Asia and Africa cross fifty and even seventy years of political independence, contributors re-examine the presence of Shakespeare in marginalised or politically disenfranchised communities, interrogating how Shakespeare intersects with the internal and global power dynamics of post-independence nations.

The essays cover a rich array of genres ranging from theatrical performances, translations, and cinematic adaptations to classroom strategies. They turn to texts that have often gone ignored and give voice to Shakespeare appropriations by subaltern groups. Essays address questions of race, gender, nationality, indigeneity, caste and class, shedding new light on the diverse range of contemporary Shakespeare engagements across the global ‘Post’Colonies.