In this episode, co-host Liam Lockhart-Rush is joined by many diverse perspectives on the topic of Shakespeare and colonialism in Canada, including discussions of Shakespeare’s role in helping to create a national identity founded on oppressive systems, the concept of decolonizing Shakespeare and the Western canon, problematic practices like “stunt casting,” issues of universality, and theories on how to approach producing future Shakespearean productions. 

This episode features conversations with Cole Alvis, Nassim Abu Sarari, Duncan Gibson-Lockhart, Jeff Ho, Ziyana Kotadia, Jani Lauzon, Keira Loughran, Monique Mojica, Yvette Nolan, PJ Prudat, and an excerpt of Kaitlyn Riordan speaking at the (Re)casting Shakespeare in Canada symposium.

Content note: This episode contains discussion of residential schools, colonialism, genocide, white supremacy, and racism. Listener discretion advised.

Episode 5 ASL translation courtesy of Dawn Jani Birley. Interpretation by Dawn Jani Birley, Robert Haughton, Sage Lovell, and Alice Lo.

Here are links to things mentioned in the episode and some suggestions for further reading and viewing: 

The (Re)Casting Shakespeare in Canada Symposium 

1939 by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan, produced by the Stratford Festival

Dr. Sorouja Moll

“Shakespeare Through Decolonization” by Farah Karim-Cooper 

Native Earth Performing Arts

Kaha:wi Dance Theatre

Full Circle First Nations Performance

“The Meaning of the Bones” by Michael LaPointe for The Paris Review

“Interrogating the Shakespeare System” by Madeline Sayet for HowlRound Theatre Commons

Where We Belong by Madeline Sayet

Centre for Indigenous Theatre

Between Two Silences by Peter Brook 

Cockroach by Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho), produced by Tarragon Theatre

Titus Andronicus (2014) directed by Keira Loughran and produced by Canadian Stage