Rethinking Shakespeare in Shanghai

A report from Nytimes describes a recent bilingual Shanghai production of Othello that reimagined the play’s racial dynamics, with the American actor Thomas Caron performing Othello in English opposite a Chinese Iago. Set on an island at the mouth of the Yangtze during the Taiping rebellion, the staging cast Iago as a Machiavellian figure who curses Othello as a “laowai” and relocated Venice and Cyprus to a Chinese locale.

The low‑budget, free performance in a shopping mall avoided state vetting; actors were unpaid and rehearsal and performance spaces were donated. The production, and events at private venues like the Rockbund Art Museum, illustrate how small cultural projects can operate between expanding state controls, even as official rules require artists to show “love for the party” and state theaters favor propaganda.

The troupe briefly faced pushback over a flyer showing interracial romance and had its website blocked before removing the image. Participants said they were not promoting a political cause; Mr.

China, Shanghai