Shakespearean Celebrity in the Digital Age

This book offers a timely examination of the relationship between Shakespeare and contemporary digital media. By focusing upon a variety of 'Shakespearean' individuals, groups and communities and their 'online' presence, the book explores the role of popular internet culture in the ongoing adaptation of Shakespeare's plays and his general cultural standing. The description of certain performers as 'Shakespearean' is a ubiquitous but often throwaway assessment. However, a study of 'Shakespearean' actors within a broader cultural context reveals much, not only about the mutable face of British culture (popular and 'highbrow') but also about national identity and commerce. These performers share an online space with the other major focus of the book: the fans and digital content creators whose engagement with the Shakespearean marks them out as more than just audiences and consumers; they become producers and critics. Ultimately, Digital Shakespeareans moves beyond the theatrical history focus of related works to consider the role of digital culture and technology in shaping Shakespeare's contemporary adaptive legacy and the means by which we engage with it.

Offers the first monograph-length study of the phenomenon of 'Shakespearean' performers Brings Shakespeare to the contemporary digital 'stage' and demonstrates the mutability of British identity Focuses not only on medium- or genre-specific foci, such as the blockbuster film or the internet meme, but also on processes which are too often obscured in analysis, such as advertising and circulation on social media

Autorentext

Anna Blackwell is a lecturer in the Centre for Adaptations at De Montfort University, UK.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. Pre-digital Shakespearean celebrity.- 3. Performing the Shakespearean body: Tom Hiddleston Onstage and Online.- 4. Professional and 'amateur' Shakespeareanism onstage and online.- 5. Richard III, the digital Shakespearean.- 6. Conclusion.