‘De-colonizing' Shakespeare: Experts blame ‘white supremacy' for playwright's fame as hometown museum vows change
To be — or most definitely — not to be.
Regarded as the most influential writer in the English language, some of William Shakespeare's work is now viewed by critics as racist, sexist and homophobic.
As a result, the Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust is decolonizing his hometown museum over the growing concerns about how his ideas are being portrayed today.
The trust — which owns several buildings in Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, England and a collection of personal documents of the writer's — wants to 'create a more inclusive museum experience' by promising to remove offensive language from its collections.
'As part of our ongoing work, we've undertaken a project which explores our collections to ensure they are as accessible as possible,' a statement from the trust read.
According to GB News, the trust intends to research how Shakespeare's artifacts could be interpreted to be less offensive and more diverse and inclusive.
This discussion surrounding Shakespeare's work has been going on for a few years.
Three years ago, a research project conducted by the trust and Dr. Helen Hopkins at the University of Birmingham suggested that the writer's works 'benefits the ideology of white European supremacy,' as reported by the Telegraph.
Adaptations of Shakespeare's work have been going on for hundreds of years, but in 2023, the historic Globe replica in London — which is closely associated with the writer — issued a warning of 'misogyny and racism' for their performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
According to the Daily Mail, at the time, a spokesman for the Globe said, 'Content guidance is written in advance of the creation of each production and based on what is present in the play. These will be updated as the production comes to life.'
A year prior to that, many US schools wanted to take Shakespeare out of their curriculum, stating that the writer's work promoted racism.
While many around the world are doing what they can to no longer promote the writer's work, Broadway doesn't seem to be joining the bandwagon.
The playwright's 1603 tragedy 'Othello' has opened at the Barrymore Theatre with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. The show is set to run through June 8.
Prior to that, the latest adaptation of 'Romeo and Juliet' starred Rachel Zegler and Kit Connor at the Broadway's Circle in the Square, which closed in early February.
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