Irreverence and Play in Shakespearean Adaptations, edited by Marina Gerzic (The University of Western Australia) and Aidan Norrie (The University of Warwick)
Four hundred years after William Shakespeare’s death, his work continues to not only fill playhouses around the world, but also be adapted for various forms of popular culture, including film, television, comics and graphic novels, digital media, and fan cultures. These adaptations introduce a whole new generation of audiences to the work of Shakespeare, and = are often fun, playful, engaging, and “irreverent, broadly allusive, and richly reimagined takes on their source material” (Cartelli and Rowe, New Wave Shakespeare on Screen, 2007, 1).
Proposals are invited for chapters that engage with the various ways irreverence and play are used in Shakespearean adaptations. Accepted authors will draw out existing humour in Shakespeare works and/or, and as a pedagogical aid used to help explain complex language, themes, and emotions found in Shakespeare’s works, and more generally make Shakespeare ‘relatable’, and entertaining for twenty-first century audiences.
Topics could include, but are not limited to:
- Irreverence and play in media related to the “Shakespeare 400” celebrations in 2016: e.g. Shakespeare Live! “To Be, or Not to Be” skit; Horrible Histories: ‘Sensational Shakespeare.’
- Irreverence and play in “biographical” Shakespeare adaptations on stage and screen: e.g. Shakespeare in Love (1998); Bill (2015); Something Rotten! (2015); Upstart Crow (2016).
- Irreverence and play in Shakespearean adaptations for the theatre: e.g. Andy Griffith’s, Just Macbeth!; The Listies’, Hamlet: Prince of Skidmark; Reduced Shakespeare Company; Shit Faced Shakespeare; Something Rotten!
- Irreverence and play in Shakespeare adaptations in children’s and YA literature: e.g. Marcia Williams’ work; Andy Griffith’s Just Macbeth!; John Marsden’s Hamlet, A Novel; Kim Askew’s ‘Twisted Lit’ series, Molly Booth’s Saving Hamlet; Ryan North’s To Be or Not To Be and Romeo And/Or Juliet.
- Irreverence and play Shakespeare adaptations in comics and graphic novels: e.g. Kill Shakespeare; Manga Shakespeare; Nicki Greenberg’s Hamlet; Ronald Wimberley’s Prince of Cats.
- Irreverence and play in Shakespeare adaptations on screen: e.g. A Midwinter’s Tale (1995); Scotland, PA (2001); Were the World Mine (2008); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead (2009); ‘Shakespeare’s Sassy Gay Friend!’ series (2010); Gnomeo and Juliet (2011); Messina High (2015); BBC’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).
Please send both a chapter title and abstract (of between 150 and 300 words), and a brief biography to both mgerzic@gmail.com and aidannorrie@gmail.com by 31 August 2018. Accepted authors will be notified by 30 September 2018, and completed chapters of c.7500 words will be due by 1 July 2019.
