Krystal Marsh

Dissertation Overview

My dissertation, Staging Britishness in London’s National Shakespeare Theaters 2013-2022, interrogates the institutionalization of Shakespeare and Britishness in two influential London theaters, Shakespeare’s Globe and The National Theatre. The project argues that in the UK’s Brexit-inflicted society, these cultural institutions present “British” as more than a geopolitical and national identity, but also an aesthetic and artistic identity that is galvanized and legitimized through Shakespeare. These new portrayals of Britishness are rooted in an understanding of the UK as an inclusive and community-oriented collection of nations, which directly contrasts what the nation has asserted about its own culture via Brexit. Through a close analysis of several productions of over a nine-year period, I argue that Shakespeare – a symbol of the establishment – becomes a subversive figure that can help aestheticized Britishness persevere, become replicated, and gain consensus amongst audiences in a public arena outside of the theatrical space. I present ways that Shakespeare's plays paradoxically act as tools of the imperial imaginary and challengers of the imperial imaginary, even within these national theaters that are meant to represent the British public and their collective history.