Manchester’s Royal Exchange theatre has cancelled the entire run of a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream over references to the conflict in Gaza and trans rights, according to reports.
The production, which had been due to run for five weeks from 6 September, was to be a modern retelling of the Shakespeare classic, set in contemporary Manchester, to a drum ’n’ bass soundtrack.
So, what can William Shakespeare teach us about debating area’s of conflict? Back in 2012, Romeo was Shiite, Juliet was Sunni, and they had to contend with a country torn by conflict and sectarian strife.
Shakespeare’s 'Romeo and Juliet’ was performed in Baghdad, Iraq, where pistols replaced swords and some characters wore traditional dishdashas, abayas and keffiyah scarves.
The play was a distinctly modern Iraqi take on William Shakespeare’s 16th-century classic, with the script itself also being translated into the Iraqi dialect of Arabic.
And what about trans rights? It’s incredible that in 2024, Shakespeare now appears to be a victim of 'cancel culture’ when back in 1998, Dana International was the first openly trans person to win the Eurovision Song Contest with the hit song Diva.
