King Lear and Mao’s China, with Nan Z. Da

King Lear and Mao’s China, with Nan Z. Da

Nan Z. Da, in her book The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear, finds unsettling parallels between Shakespeare’s play and 20th-century China under Mao Zedong. Da, a literature professor at Johns Hopkins University, weaves together personal history and literary analysis to reveal how King Lear reflects—and even anticipates—the emotional and political horrors of authoritarian regimes. From public punishments to desperate displays of flattery, from state paranoia to family betrayal, she shows how Shakespeare’s tragedy resonates with the lived experiences of generations shaped by Maoism. She joins us to discuss the story of her family in Mao’s China and why Lear may be Shakespeare’s most “Chinese” play. Nan Z. Da is an associate professor of English at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to that, she taught for nine years at the University of Notre Dame. She is the author of Intransitive Encounters: Sino-US Literatures and the Limits of Exchange and co-editor of the Thinking Literature series.

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Reading Jane Austen in the 21st Century with Patricia A. Matthew

Reading Jane Austen in the 21st Century with Patricia A. Matthew

250 years after her birth, Jane Austen is more popular than ever, with the publication of new editions of her novels and numerous new film adaptations in production. But what does it mean to read and ...

12 Elo 202532min

Inside Hamlet’s Head with Jeremy McCarter

Inside Hamlet’s Head with Jeremy McCarter

What if, instead of just watching Hamlet, you could step inside the prince’s mind? A revelatory new audio production reimagines Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy as a first-person experience told through ...

29 Heinä 202541min

Shakespeare, Money, and Meaning-Making

Shakespeare, Money, and Meaning-Making

Can reading King Lear help us rethink economic policy? Can Measure for Measure shape how we talk about justice, or Hamlet help us face grief? That’s the idea behind an ambitious project at Montreal’s ...

14 Heinä 202531min

Staging Hamlet in Grand Theft Auto

Staging Hamlet in Grand Theft Auto

When live performance shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, actors Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen weren’t sure when—or if—they’d ever be onstage again. So, they turned to an unexpected venue: Grand T...

1 Heinä 202539min

Simon Russell Beale on Shakespeare, from Hamlet to Titus

Simon Russell Beale on Shakespeare, from Hamlet to Titus

Called “the finest actor of his generation,” Sir Simon Russell Beale has played just about everyone in Shakespeare’s canon—Hamlet, Lear, Macbeth, Falstaff, Malvolio, Iago—and most recently, Titus Andr...

17 Kesä 202537min

Shakespeare’s Boy Player Alexander Cooke

Shakespeare’s Boy Player Alexander Cooke

In Shakespeare’s time, the actresses were boys—and for the most celebrated of them, fame came early but could end abruptly with a voice change. In this episode, author Nicole Galland joins us to talk ...

3 Kesä 202537min

Top Pop Songs of the 1600s

Top Pop Songs of the 1600s

What were the top musical hits of Shakespeare’s England? What lyrics were stuck in people’s heads? What stories did they sing on repeat? The 100 Ballads project is a deep dive into the hits of early ...

6 Touko 202539min

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