Shakespeare museum to be ‘decolonized' over ‘white supremacy' claims
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) plans to 'decolonize' its extensive museum collections, after research claimed that William Shakespeare's legacy has been used to advance 'white supremacy', according to The Telegraph.
The SBT, which manages properties linked to Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon and holds key archival materials, is exploring the 'continued impact of Empire' on its collections and how 'Shakespeare's work has played a part in this,' the paper wrote on Sunday.
The initiative reportedly follows a 2022 study conducted in collaboration with Dr. Helen Hopkins from Birmingham City University, which criticized the trust's attractions for presenting Shakespeare as a 'universal' genius, an idea that supposedly 'benefits the ideology of white European supremacy.'
The study argued that portraying the English playwright's work as the standard for high art reinforces 'white Anglo-centric, Eurocentric, and increasingly 'West-centric' worldviews that continue to do harm in the world today.'
As part of its 'decolonization' efforts, the SBT has organized events celebrating Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore and a 'Romeo and Juliet'-inspired Bollywood dance workshop, The Telegraph said.
The SBT's latest initiative has sparked criticism online. Conservative academic and writer Adrian Hilton described it on X as 'quite mad.' Shakespeare, he wrote, 'is the greatest in history: an unparalleled mind, undisputed genius, and the most magnificent jewel in the crown of British culture.' He added: 'Why would @ShakespeareBT seek to trash their brand with this nonsense?'
Political commentator Darren Grimes remarked that 'the man who shaped the English language is now a problem because his greatness is too… British.'
User Bernie believes that 'everything we know and love is being destroyed on the altar of liberalism.'
Another user, iamyesyouareno, interpreted the Trust's decision as an attack on cultural values, saying: 'They despise everything you find important and seek to humiliate you.' Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reposted the message with two exclamation marks.
!!
Shakespeare (1564-1616) is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. His works, including 'Hamlet', 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', and 'Henry V', have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
13-04-2025
- Russia Today
Russian photographer banned from collecting prize in EU
The World Press Photo Foundation has blocked the winner of its 2025 contest, Mikhail Tereshchenko, from attending next month's awards ceremony in Amsterdam, after anti-government activists complained that a Russian journalist had been praised for covering protests in Georgia. Tereshchenko, who has been a TASS staff photographer since 2017 and is known for his expressive imagery, was recognized for a photo series documenting mass anti-government protests in Georgia last year. The jury, judging his work anonymously, praised the series for highlighting the 'use of fireworks as a new urban weapon' and for capturing the dynamics of 'democratic movements.' However, when the author's identity was revealed, activists claimed they were 'worried and offended' by the recognition of a Russian state media photojournalist. World Press Photo admitted that 'the authenticity of the photographs themselves, and the events they document are not in question' – but caved to activist pressure and announced on Friday that 'Mikhail Tereshchenko is no longer invited to the winners programme and the award ceremony in Amsterdam.' 'Given the increased tensions on the European continent, at this stage we are no longer able to facilitate a guest from a state-controlled Russian organisation.' Moscow denounced the move as politically motivated discrimination, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling it 'a self-inflicted wound' on World Press Photo's reputation. Read more EU denies Russian news agency accreditation 'This is such a disgraceful [excuse] that they would be better off staying silent. The question arises: will only photographs with neutral subjects – nature, flowers, butterflies – be accepted for the competition?' she wrote on Telegram on Saturday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the move 'defies common sense and goes against the spirit of journalistic solidarity.' Meanwhile, the head of the State Duma's International Affairs Committee, Leonid Slutsky, labeled the decision 'cancel culture,' accusing Europe of discriminating against Russians 'on the basis of their ethnicity.' Established in 1955, the World Press Photo Foundation is widely regarded as the world's most prestigious photojournalism competition, with the stated mission to 'connect the world to the stories that matter.' Zakharova noted that TASS photographers have received more than 25 World Press Photo awards between 1956 and 1992.
Russia Today
11-04-2025
- Russia Today
Prince Harry makes surprise trip to Ukraine
Prince Harry has made a secret trip to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, which was only announced to the public after he had left the country. Also known as the Duke of Sussex, Harry is the second member of the British royal family to visit Ukraine since the escalation between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. Last year, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, traveled to the country. The prince came to Lviv on Thursday as the founder of the Invictus Games Foundation, which has staged sporting events for wounded war veterans since 2014. During the trip, he toured a rehabilitation facility for wounded Ukrainian troops, called the Superhumans Center. He also talked to patients and doctors, and observed an operation to restore hearing to one of the injured servicemen. Read more Kremlin confirms Putin meeting with Trump envoy 'This is my first visit to Ukraine and it certainly will not be the last,' Harry said in a clip shared by the Superhumans Center on its Facebook page on Friday. The Invictus Games Foundation will support the Ukrainian team 'as long as needed,' he added. Invictus Games Foundation CEO Rob Owen said in a statement on Thursday that Ukraine has been 'a vital part' of the foundation since first competing in the Invictus Games in Toronto in 2017. Harry's trip to Lviv 'underscores the Invictus Games Foundation's broader commitment to supporting recovery and rehabilitation for wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans, even in the most challenging environments,' Owen said. The Duke of Sussex lives in California, and flew to Ukraine from London where he attended a two-day hearing in an effort to restore state-funded security for him and his family, which was revoked after Harry and his wife Meghan Markle announced that they were stepping back from royal duties in 2020. The prince claimed in court that he needed protection while staying in the UK because his 'life was at risk.' READ MORE: Ukrainians no longer believe they are fighting for justice – former PM In 2023, Harry and Meghan were filmed at one of the Invictus Games events together with Yulia 'Taira' Paevskaya, a former Ukrainian Azov neo-Nazi volunteer battalion member. Moscow described Paevskaya as 'a terrorist cutthroat whose hands are covered in the blood of the elderly, women, and children,' accusing her of taking part in atrocities carried out by Azov in the Donbass. The Ukrainian authorities sent troops into the region in 2014, which refused to recognize the results of a West-backed coup in Kiev.
Russia Today
25-03-2025
- Russia Today
First PHOTOS of Jude Law as Putin emerge
British actor Jude Law, who is portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin in 'The Wizard of the Kremlin', has been spotted on the set of the film, according to photos circulating on social media. The film follows the story of a fictional political operative, presumably loosely based on former Putin aide Vladislav Surkov, who helps the Russian leader rise to power. The image, shared on Tuesday by Novaya Gazeta Europe, shows Law wearing a dark suit on a stage in Riga, Latvia while surrounded by extras. 'The Wizard of the Kremlin' focuses on Vadim Baranov, a fictional former avant-garde artist-turned TV producer who becomes the chief political adviser to a rising figure within Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) – soon revealed as Vladimir Putin in the 1990s. EXCLUSIVE: First photos of Jude Law as Vladimir Putin in Olivier Assayas' The Wizard of the Kremlin, a movie about 1990s Russia currently being filmed in Riga.📷: Novaya Gazeta Europe — Novaya Gazeta Europe (@novayagazeta_en) March 25, 2025 'Working at the heart of Russian power, Baranov blurs truth with lies, the news with propaganda, directing the entire society like one great reality show,' the film's synopsis reads. The film is based on Giuliano da Empoli's bestseller novel of the same name, published in April 2022. That year, it won the Grand prix du roman de l'Academie francaise. Read more Breaking barriers: How Yura Borisov earned his place at the Oscars Though Baranov is a fictional character, he is considered to be modeled after Vladislav Surkov, a former aide to Putin who served as deputy prime minister and a senior official in the presidential administration, and is often described as the Kremlin's 'gray cardinal'. He is also known as a proponent of 'sovereign democracy', the idea of building a strong state with a focus on the material well-being of the population. More recently, he has predicted the expansion of the 'Russian world' as well as a rapprochement between Moscow and the West. Commenting on the upcoming film, Surkov said, 'No one is safe from this.' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that no one contacted the Russian authorities about the film, and that the Kremlin did not know the exact plot of the story. READ MORE: Shakespeare museum to be 'decolonized' over 'white supremacy' claims – Telegraph Law is no stranger to portraying Russian or Russian-linked figures. In 'Enemy at the Gates' (2001), he played renowned Soviet sniper Vasily Zaitsev in a dramatization of the Battle of Stalingrad. He also starred in 'Anna Karenina' (2012) as Aleksey Karenin, a senior government official in Imperial Russia. Law also played Dr. Watson in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes franchise opposite Robert Downey Jr., and received critical acclaim for playing a manipulative pontiff in The Young Pope series.
