Description: This study examines the work of drama practitioners using Shakespearean performance and multisensory practices with a range of specialized populations, including incarcerated people, neurodiverse individuals, those with physical or emotional disabilities, veterans and persons labeled 'rough sleepers'.
Brief description: Matthieu Chapman is an Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies at the State University of New York at New Paltz, USA. He is the author of Anti-black Racism in Early Modern English Drama: The Other "Other" and the co-editor of Teaching Race in the European Renaissances: A Classroom Guide, with Anna Wainwright.
Review Quotes:
"This is a fascinating book, in a fascinating series. It aggregates a wealth of interviews, evidence, and scholarship, all of which celebrates the incredible creativity, energy, 'commitment and resourcefulness' ... of many people (often unpaid), in challenging contexts (not least during the pandemic), when doing Shakespeare with or as part of specialized communities." --Modern Language Review
"Sheila Cavanagh's book deftly collaborates and extends across borders: intellectual, disciplinary, sensory, institutional and geographic. Her scope is radically inclusive, and the specialized communities she discusses range widely in character and situation. What I admire about this research is its urgent social commitment, its clear-eyed view of cultural capital, and its creative and respectful partnership with theatre makers of all kinds. Cavanagh has an eye for the compelling anecdote or quotation that brings a context or individual to life, and her book is always alert to the irreducible individuality of the encounters she discusses. If you are sceptical about Shakespeare in such specialized settings (I think I was before reading this), Cavanagh's work, combining analysis with joy and academic insight with personal empathy, will persuade you to think again." --Emma Smith, University of Oxford, UK "Sheila Cavanaugh is a unique voice in the Shakespeare world: she not only studies Shakespeare productions in every part of the globe, but in this new book she reveals the relevance of Shakespeare to include the most disenfranchised. This is an original, haunting book." --Tina Packer, Founding Artistic Director, Shakespeare & Company, USA