‘I’ll put a girdle round about the earth in forty minutes’ – Doing and Practicing Transnational Theatre

I’ve been kind of running with one of the ideas that I put forward in a previous blog post, about how art is inherently transnational. And specifically, I’ve been pushing towards the idea of a project proposal rather than an essay.

So try this on for size:

On a very basic level, Shakespeare is clearly at least a passive transnational actor. His most famous works are set in a diverse array of locations – Venice, Cyprus, Verona, Athens, Rome, Denmark, to name but a few. But on deeper analysis, there is certainly more to it than that. His influences come from across the European continent – particularly from the Italian peninsula – and it would seem that he actively sought out these foreign setting and influences in his work (Shakespeare, Italy, and Transnational Exchange: Early Modern to Present, edited by Enza De Francisci, Chris Stamatakis).

In a country that is increasingly reaching inwards, defining it’s hard borders (link to stuff about N.I. atm), I think it’s important to consider that one of our most important cultural figures was incredibly outward facing. But more than that, I don’t think it’s enough to just note that down and remember it. I think it’s time to do something about it – to remind people, to show people. Hence the idea for my final project proposal.

It’s simple really.

Take three of Shakespeare’s most outward facing plays, trace their origins and routes across borders, and then take them on a transnational tour around the European continent, before doing so would require getting a working visa for all the members of the company. Because saying that Shakespeare was transnational is one thing. But showing how transnational his work still is, and still can be, is something that can have a real, lasting effect on how at least some people understand the importance of transnationalism across their lives.

In this sense, I will be understanding transnationalism and transnational history from the perspective of fluid borders, approaching Shakespeare’s work (and, by extension, art as a whole) as something that cannot be defined by its own national influences, but instead must be seen as deriving from a set of dialogues across multiple borders. I will then be presenting some of Shakespeare’s work in a similar context to emphasise these origins, and to demonstrate the importance of keeping these transnational avenues and dialogues open in order to make top quality art.

So yes, in a sense, this is a bit of a love letter to the EU. But I mean, who can blame me?

The shows that I’m thinking of are:

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Set in Athens, with clear ties to the Italian style of commedia dell’arte (Italian), and British traditions of fairies and fairy stories. Also, a loose link to the Ancient Greek myth of Theseus and Hippolyta, and the Italian love story of Pyramus and Thisbe.
•  A Winter’s Tale – Less so in origin than in plot, the play itself is actually super transnational. It takes place in a dialogue between the kingdoms of Sicily and Bohemia, and is about the micro-level interpersonal exchanges between them. Movements between the two are very fluid.
• Twelfth Night – Set in Illyria (the Western Balkans), the show begins with a shipwreck, and sets up a constant micro-level exchange between Illyria and Elisium. This also draws on elements of commedia dell’arte (Italian), with more traditional English clowning techniques too.

I’ve also found two fantastic books on the subject – listed below – and anticipate finding a fair few more as research progresses. One final note, I am considering only working on one of the plays, rather than presenting three in a trilogy. It would mean that I could focus on that one play in more depth (I would probably pick A Midsummer Night’s Dream) but I am uncertain yet.

Shakespeare, Italy, and Transnational Exchange: Early Modern to Present, edited by Enza De Francisci, Chris Stamatakis

Transnational Exchange in Early Modern Theater, edited by Robert Henke, Eric Nicholson