ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the political, social and cultural function of Shakespearean history in East London. In 2008 Museum of London archaeologists discovered the remains of the Theatre, a playhouse which staged some of Shakespeare's earliest works. Shoreditch was the location for the start of Shakespeare's career, as well as the first place he lodged at in the city. The term 'construction', used throughout criticism on cultural memory, is key as it is very much selective narratives and ideas about Shakespeare's experiences in Shoreditch with which these artists engage. The performances created in Shoreditch, then, do not solely seek to foster memory of the playwright. In terms of memory, there is also a big variance in terms of the remembering and archiving of performance. The 'stream', 'ley line' and 'tissue' linking Shakespeare to contemporary Shoreditch gives a legitimacy to a marginalised political and economic group.
