Shakespeare in the Harlem Renaissance

Shakespeare in the Harlem Renaissance

When you think about the Harlem Renaissance, theater might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But, says Dr. Freda Scott Giles, theater played a significant role in the blossoming of Black American arts and culture of the 1920s and '30s. Of course, because there’s little in the English-language theater untouched by Shakespeare, he was present in the Harlem Renaissance too. Banner Shakespeare productions included Orson Welles’s hit “Voodoo” "Macbeth," produced by the Federal Theater Project, and the "Midsummer"-inspired "Swingin’ the Dream," which was a Broadway flop despite the talents of musician Louis Armstrong and comedian Moms Mabley. We talk to Dr. Giles about how the artists and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance regarded the Bard. Plus, we visit the African Company of the 1820s and the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s to learn about more than a century of Black responses to Shakespeare. Freda Scott Giles is Associate Professor Emerita of Theater at the University of Georgia. She was a contributor to three books: "Tarell Alvin McCraney: Theater, Performance, and Collaboration," published in 2020; "Constructions of Race in Southern Theatre: From Federalism to the Federal Theatre Project," published in 2003; and "American Mixed Race: The Culture of Microdiversity," which was published in 1995. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published February 16, 2021. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This podcast episode, “I Here Engage My Words,” was produced by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer, with help from Leonor Fernandez. We had technical help from Andrew Feliciano and Paul Luke at Voice Trax West in Studio City, California.

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Shakespeare LOL: All Mirth and No Matter

Shakespeare LOL: All Mirth and No Matter

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20 Maalis 201527min

Shakespeare in Translation

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"Bless thee, Bottom, bless thee! Thou art translated!" (A Midsummer Night's Dream, 3.1.120-121) What happens when Shakespeare’s work is translated into foreign languages? Is it still Shakespeare? Or ...

20 Maalis 201524min

Punk Rock Shakespeare

Punk Rock Shakespeare

"Here will we sit and let the sounds of music / Creep in our ears" (The Merchant of Venice, 5.1.63-64) How can young people connect with Shakespeare? It's a question that confronts each generation. ...

20 Maalis 201514min

Shakespeare Outdoors

Shakespeare Outdoors

"Under the greenwood tree / Who loves to lie with me / And turn his merry note / Unto the sweet bird’s throat, / Come hither, come hither, come hither. / Here shall he see / No enemy / But winter and ...

20 Maalis 201531min

In Search of the Real Richard III

In Search of the Real Richard III

"I, that am rudely stamped..." (Richard III, 1.1.16) Shakespeare not only talked about his own times; he also wrote history plays that showed us the past—though it was a past filtered through the pol...

20 Maalis 201529min

Actresses on Shakespeare

Actresses on Shakespeare

"All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players." (As You Like It, 2.7.146-147) In Shakespeare's time, only men appeared on stage, with teenage boys playing the women's parts. Tod...

20 Maalis 201520min

The Robben Island Shakespeare

The Robben Island Shakespeare

While Nelson Mandela was incarcerated on South Africa's Robben Island, one of the other political prisoners managed to retain a copy of Shakespeare's complete works, which was secretly circulated thro...

20 Maalis 201518min

Designing Shakespeare

Designing Shakespeare

“And I hope here is a play fitted.” —A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (1.2.63) There's an old Broadway saying (sometimes attributed to Richard Rodgers) that "No one ever walked out of a theater humming the ...

25 Helmi 201518min

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