Abstract

This project aims to bring Shakespeare to life for CUHK students by situating key themes and issues from his plays within the context of 21st century Hong Kong. It comprises 24 podcast episodes in which key speeches from Shakespeare are discussed both with local actors and with professionals whose work bears directly upon the speech in question. For instance, Macbeth’s speech leading up to his murder of King Duncan will be discussed, firstly, with an actor who will perform the speech, and, secondly, with a leading Hong Kong lawyer who has represented murderers in court. Is there such a thing as the mind of a murderer? What goes through a killer’s mind moments before they kill? Is Shakespeare’s representation true to life? Shakespeare’s language has often made him remote to many CUHK students. Situating key moments from his plays within the working lives of local Hong Kongers will not only make his plays more accessible, but allow students to see that the themes and issues his characters struggle with are present in their own world too. The podcast will supplement ENGE3500 Shakespeare, ENGE1800 Drama in Performance 1, and ENGE2700 Drama in Performance 2 which not only consider Shakespeare’s work from a literary critical perspective, but place specific emphasis on its embodied performance. By enabling e-learning, and facilitating a flipped classroom approach to teaching, the podcast will allow students in these courses to hear from local actors and working professionals, and so extend their learning beyond the classroom.