Ebook: Studying Shakespeare Adaptation: From Restoration Theatre to YouTube

Shakespeare’s plays have long been open to reimagining and reinterpretation, from John Fletcher’s riposte to The Taming of the Shrew in 1611 to present day spin-offs in a whole range of media, including YouTube videos and Manga comics. This book offers a clear route map through the world of adaptation, selecting examples from film, drama, prose fiction, ballet, the visual arts and poetry, and exploring their respective political and cultural interactions with Shakespeare’s plays. 36 specific case studies are discussed, three for each of the 12 plays covered, offering additional guidance for readers new to this important area of Shakespeare studies.
The introduction explains key areas that are subsequently explored through the chapters on individual plays, including: Shakespeare’s own adaptive art and its Renaissance context; production and performance as adaptation; generic expectation and transmedial practice, and a brief overview of adaptation theory. Organized chronologically, the chapters cover the most commonly studied plays allowing readers to dip in to read about specific plays or trace how technological developments have fundamentally changed ways in which Shakespeare is experienced. With examples encompassing British, North American, South Asian, Japanese, European, and Middle Eastern adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, the volume offers readers a wealth of insight and examples from different ages, territories and media.