Stratford-upon-Avon is to be “decolonised” due to “concerns” that the birthplace of Shakespeare could be used to promote “white supremacy”, according to an article in The Spectator by Douglas Murray.
The announcement was reportedly made by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, owner of a number of buildings associated with the playwright, which said the aim of decolonising Stratford-upon-Avon, was to “create a more inclusive museum experience”, to explore “the continued impact of Empire” and “colonialism” on the collection, and to reveal how “Shakespeare’s work has played a part in this”.
A research project between the Trust and Dr Helen Hopkins of the University of Birmingham has revealed that the Trust must be ‘decolonised’.
In what Murray describes as “an act of self-harm that would be admired by a samurai warrior”, the Trust said further that some items in its collections and archives might contain “language or depictions that are racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise harmful”.
The project argues that the claim that Shakespeare is one of the “greatest” writers is itself white supremacist and must be challenged.
One of the only practical suggestions for making the collection more “universal” is to include events at Stratford celebrating the works of the great Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore and a Bollywood-themed dance class.
Murray says it would be odd if academics went to Tagore’s birthplace and said it needed a bit more Shakespeare in the mix, or went to the home of Bollywood and noted that the place was lacking in Morris dancers.
[Image: Pages of William Shakespeare’s first folio at the Bodlean Library, Oxford, https://www.flickr.com/photos/60179301@N00/6370262361]