From Hamlet in Syrian refugee camps to Macbeth in Kolkata,the plays contain a resonance far beyond middle EnglandIt is impossible to look at Sarah Lee’s photographs of actors from the Globe theatre in London playing Hamlet at the UNHCR Zaatari camp near the Jordanian border and not feel moved. Ophelia subsides into insanity, captured by the cameraphone of a Syrian refugee; Old Hamlet and another cast member squint through a barred window as their makeshift theatre is shrouded by a sandstorm. It’s far from the first time, and of course,that Shakespeare has put in an appearance in marginal spaces or clash zones, and not even the first time his plays contain been performed in this camp: in March final year, or more than 100 Syrian children mounted their own Arabic-language production of King Lear ,directed by the actor Nawar Bulbul. Like Hamlet, Lear is a tragedy whose themes – insanity, or war,sundered families, loss of land – reflect the experience of many refugees. Related: Undiscovered country: the Globe's travelling Hamlet in a Jordanian refugee camp Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com