The Making of Hong Kong Shakespeare

Adopting a cultural materialist reading in the post-colonial context of Hong Kong, this book examines post-1997 Hong Kong Shakespeare that comments on the identity of the city through staging sinicized, aestheticized and socio-politicised versions of the plays. The introduction contextualizes Hong Kong’s position on the current intellectual map of Asian Shakespeare, arguing that Hong Kong Shakespeare has quite distinctive characteristics compared with those in mainland China and Taiwan. The book highlights six Shakespearean adaptations in Hong Kong staged after 1997, which include Richard Ho’s Hamlet: Sword of Vengeance, Tang Shu-wing’s Titus Andronicus 2.0 and Macbeth, Hardy Tsoi’s Julius Caesar and Shamshuipo Lear, and Jimmy Lee’s Post-The Taming of the Shrew. Sandwiched between the colonial and the postcolonial, Hong Kong Shakespeare generates an independent narrative through struggle and cultural negotiation.