[ebooks] Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespeare's Globe by Andrew Dickson at Arts-Photography

Review

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. The Bard with a Thousand FacesBy NancyAdairBMy dad did not understand why I had to read William Shakespeare. I was fourteen and reading Julius Caesar for English class. I was lucky; my teacher had a Masters degree in English and explained all the jokes and helped us understand what we were reading. Four years later he taught King Lear in World Literature class. I liked Shakespeare.Shakespeares words pervade our conversations and his stories are adapted into modern retellings. Consider King Lear. the inspiration for Akira Krosawas film Ran and the novel A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. Or The Taming of the Shrew. the basis for the musical Kiss Me Kate and the movies Ten Things I Hate About You and John Waynes McLintock! Bernsteins musical West Side Story is an updated Romeo and Juliet. The Forbidden Planet sci-fi classic movie is based on The Tempest.It is more amazing to know that Shakespeare has crossed bigger language barriers than archaic to modern English. Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespeares Globe follows Andrew Dickson on five trips across world cultures to explore the legacy and reinvention of Shakespeare across cultures.Dickson went to Danzig. where actors performed Shakespeare in the 16th c. We learn how German Romantic culture--and the Nazis-- claimed the Bard as their own. and how today German professional troupes perform more Shakespeare plays than in the UK.Shakespeares plays and the Bible were often the only books found in American pioneer homesteads. Traveling actors performed his plays in mining camps. Henry Folger amassed the largest collection of Shakespeare Folios and manuscripts in the world. more than in England.Where ever Britain had colonies. they brought Shakespeare. His stories have been reinvented for 150 films in India!My favorite journeys to read about were to South Africa and to China.Dickson goes on a quest to learn about the Robben Island Bible. a cheap complete works that was passed among the prisoners of the island penal colony. Thirty-six inmates inscribed their signatures in the book. including Nelson Mandela. Mandela signed his name to the highlighted text from Julius Caesar "Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once..." Dickson also searches for Solomon Tshekisho Plaatj. a journalist and political activist who was the first to translate Shakespeare into a African language. Dicksons journey into contemporary South Africa while researching translators from the Boer War and Apartheid eras is a fascinating read.Shakespeare in China may seem strange and doubtful. Translation issues alone are horrendous. plus the plays were repressed during the Cultural Revolution. Amazingly China is experiencing a surge of interest in the Bard. with so many traveling to Stratford-in-Avon in homage that the nearby airport has set up direct flights from Beijing. I was very taken by the story of Zhu Shiqiu whose life work was translating the plays. He lost his manuscripts three times. starting over until he had finished 31 at the time of his death. Dickson discovers how the Cultural Revolution shut down Much Ado About Nothing; twenty years later the original actors brought back the play. same scripts. same costumes. same choreography.Dickson struggles with questions of what Shakespeare means: a bridge of shared humanity. or a free-floating symbol whose ownership could be claimed?Read Dicksons blog here:[...]I received a free ARC through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. All the Worlds a StageBy Brian LewisI feel like the title of my review would be a better title for the book than the authors choice. which I honestly do not understand. The book describes the authors journeys around the world as something like a Shakespeare groupie. attending numerous performances in every corner of the globe. I most enjoyed his chapters of productions in Poland. Germany and America.although I suspect part of the reason for that is that they were the earliest in the book. and as the narrative proceeded. I found the book redundant. I hate to knock a book where the author clearly made a serious and honest effort. but I just dont see who the reader is for this. I would think it would be of interest to a Shakespeare scholar. but I feel it is too shallow to be taken seriously. And it is too dense to be considered a light read.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. a sprig of rosary for a premierBy Hung-Tak LeeDoes anybody know that the cornerstone of a statue of Shakespeare was laid in New Yorks Central Park in 1864 in the midst of the Civil War and that in June 2011 a Chinese premier debarked his plane not at Heathrow but at a small airport near Birmingham to visit Stratford-upon-Avon. the birthplace of "Shashibiya"? If you dont. then this comprehensive book by Dickson serves a best guide to you. This book. Around the Globe with Shakespeare. provides a snapshot "current news" on how the world IS DOING ABOUT the Bard. but not on the depth and width of the Bards literary works.