Shakespeare and East Asia

Structured around modes in which one might encounter Asian-themed performances and adaptations, Shakespeare and East Asia identifies four themes that distinguish post-1950s East Asian cinemas and theatres from works in other parts of the world: Japanese formalistic innovations in sound and spectacle; reparative adaptations from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong; the politics of gender and reception of films and touring productions in South Korea and the UK; andmultilingual, diaspora works in Singapore and the UK. These adaptations break new ground in sound and spectacle; they serve as a vehicle for artistic and political remediation or, in some cases, the critique ofthe myth of reparative interpretations of literature; they provide a forum where diasporic artists and audiences can grapple with contemporary issues; and, through international circulation, they are reshaping debates about the relationship between East Asia and Europe.Bringing film and theatre studies together, this book sheds new light on the two major genres in a comparative context and reveals deep structural and narratological connections among Asian and Anglophoneperformances. These adaptations are products of metacinematic and metatheatrical operations, contestations among genres for primacy, or experimentations with features of both film and theatre.

“"In sum, this book is a major contribution to the understanding of the history and value of Shakespeare and East Asian theatre and film industry, and I recommend it to anyone interested in theatre and cinema studies." -- Huimin Wang”

a nuanced view of what it means to think about Shakespeare and East Asia Amanda Kennell, Assistant Teaching Professor of International Studies at North Carolina State University.
In sum, this book is a major contribution to the understanding of the history and value of Shakespeare and East Asian theatre and film industry, and I recommend it to anyone interested in theatre and cinema studies. Huimin Wang, Theatre Research International
[A] sweeping and formidably learned survey of the many ways in which artists across a vast part of the non-English-speaking world have been reimagining and repurposing Shakespeare's plays from the 1950s through the present day. Jeff Tompkins, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal
The tone is accessible, the scholarship up-to-date, the materials kaleidoscopic, the ideas clearly articulated. Her presentation is admirably linear and lucid. Joubin has proposed for us a dazzling itinerary across these unpathed waters, undreamed shores, traversing states unborn and accents yet unknown. Shakespeare Quarterly
Shakespeare and East Asia makes a significant contribution to the field by showing new ways of engaging with foreign Shakespeare from various perspectives, not just as the Other of Anglophone Shakespeare. It also stresses the importance of East Asian cinema hitherto neglected in global Shakespeare studies. Rounded out by a glossary of Asian terms, a chronology that lists key East Asian Shakespeare works alongside historical events, and further reading with up-to-date scholarship, the book will prove an excellent resource for those who are interested in Shakespeare, performance, and East Asian culture. Theatre Journal
Joubin's approach lights the way for future studies that may build on the critical work she has done in tracing these broad networks across borders, cultures and languages. Multicultural Shakespeare
This thought-provoking and meticulously researched study maps the richness and complexity of East Asian contributions to the rise of global Shakespeare as a prominent genre and offers a renewed and illuminating understanding of the tension between cultural homogenization and heterogenization in global communities. MCLC: Modern Chinese Literature and Culture
Shakespeare and East Asia challenges a prevailing critical tendency to interpret contemporary Asian films and theatrical performances inspired by Shakespeare primarily as geopolitical allegories. Instead, Joubinâs rhizomatic approach seeks to localize and analyze the aesthetic choices made within productions. The Shakespearean International Yearbook

Alexa Alice Joubin is Professor of English, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Theatre, East Asian Languages and Literatures, and International Affairs at George Washington University where she serves as founding Co-director of the Digital Humanities Institute. She holds the John M. Kirk, Jr. Chair in Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Middlebury College Bread Loaf School of English. At MIT, she is the founding co-director of Global Shakespeares,an open-access performance video archive.

Structured around modes in which one might encounter Asian-themed performances and adaptations, Shakespeare and East Asia identifies four themes that distinguish post-1950s East Asian cinemas and theatres from works in other parts of the world: Japanese formalistic innovations in sound and spectacle; reparative adaptations from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong; the politics of gender and reception of films and touring productions in South Korea and the UK; andmultilingual, diaspora works in Singapore and the UK. These adaptations break new ground in sound and spectacle; they serve as a vehicle for artistic and political remediation or, in some cases, the critique of the myth of reparative interpretations of literature; they provide a forum where diasporic artistsand audiences can grapple with contemporary issues; and, through international circulation, they are reshaping debates about the relationship between East Asia and Europe.Bringing film and theatre studies together, this book sheds new light on the two major genres in a comparative context and reveals deep structural and narratological connections among Asian and Anglophone performances. These adaptations are products of metacinematic and metatheatrical operations, contestations among genres for primacy, or experimentations with features of both film and theatre.

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