From British Imperialist to Honorary Aussie to International Meeting-Place: How Shakespeare has been spoken and staged in Australia 1910-2003 (2004-2007)
Abstract
Aims: To discover how changing ideas of Australia s relationship to Britain and the world relate to performances of Shakespeare for Australian audiences. Significance: For the last 100 years Shakespeare has been the most performed playwright in Australia, but theatre companies today are more likely to draw on Asian physical theatre than British speech training. How Shakespeare's plays have been staged and spoken here reflects changing ideas about national character and identity, in terms of independence, sophistication, and sense of cultural geography. Outcomes: A PhD thesis and a major exhibition catalogue essay by the APAI candidate; research publications by the Chief Investigators
