ABSTRACT
William Shakespeare is a proper noun naming a collection of privileged signifiers, but to perform and study Shakespeare is to engage with the notion of “others within.” Shakespeare is both an icon that is familiar enough in local contexts for dramaturgical purposes and a stubbornly foreign presence that can be called upon for political agendas. The political agency that comes with appropriation can lead to ethical and political advocacy. Performances that frame Shakespeare as the other within raise an important question about the role of language in performances of classics. A culture of citation would allude not only to Shakespeare but also to other widely circulated interpretations of Shakespeare. Adaptations cite Shakespeare and local music and cultures and bring them into a new, hybrid cultural landscape. Global Shakespeare represents the lived experiences of people in diasporic communities, such as British expatriates in Hong Kong, African American theatre, and people of Asian decent living in London.
