Gender Reversals in Contemporary Shakespeare Adaptations: The Case of the National Theatre at Home During the Pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores the diverse ways in which gender reversal is exploited in the adaptations of Shakespeare plays streamed online by the National Theatre at Home platform within its first year of activity. The platform was launched in December 2020 at the height of Covid-19 pandemic and streamed forty plays in its first year, seven of them productions of Shakespeare’s plays both by the National Theatre and other leading companies. Taking as its point of departure, the fact that adaptations present various cultural issues both across time and space, particularly when they are made globally accessible, this article aims to examine the extent to which the representation of women has been (and could be) amended through the strategy of gender reversal.