What country, friends, is this? Adapting Shakespeare in Coastal North Queensland

Presented by Gretchen Minton (2023 US Fulbright Scholar)

Monday 08 May 2023 | 12.00 Noon – 1.00pm

Cairns: D003-003 | Townsville 134-105

Zoom: https://jcu.zoom.us/j/86510459543?pwd=SzYxT0Q4VUlIVnZpQ1Jidk9kdUxlUT09  (password 088794)

In this lecture, Professor Gretchen Minton will discuss her work as a US Fulbright Scholar in Townsville. During her months in Queensland, Minton developed and workshopped an ecologically-inflected adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. This adaptation excavates the ecological wisdom of Shakespeare’s play, translating it into a radically different environment in order to generate performative possibilities and discussions about local environmental crises. 
This applied theatre project stands at the intersection between performance and research, using the art form itself as the vehicle for investigation. Minton’s talk will reflect upon the parallels between her position as an alien (coming from the Rocky Mountain West region of North America) and the Shakespearean text’s position as an alien (coming from Britain four centuries ago). Such displacements, she argues, are of utmost importance. This kind of decentering encourages us to ask questions and listen to the stories that provide a more nuanced understanding of our ecosystems. The littoral placement of Townsville, Twelfth Night, and history itself fosters creative, imaginative thinking that is crucial to our survival.