This chapter explores how the performativity of gender ambiguity in Shakespeare’s Macbeth is reimagined in two intercultural adaptations: Dato’ Seri (directed by Omar Ali, 2018) by The Actors Studio in Malaysia and Shakespeare Unplugged 3 – Macbeth (directed by Lu Po-shen, 2007) by the Tainaner Ensemble in Taiwan. Both productions employ the gender ambiguity of the Weird Sisters—androgynous figures that challenge the gender binary—to address local issues that extend beyond gender. Dato’ Seri, performed in Malay, and the Tainaner Ensemble’s Macbeth, performed in Taiwanese, not only translate Shakespeare linguistically but also culturally, subverting the dominance both of early modern and contemporary English and reflecting not only the legacies of colonisation but also current directions of intercultural Shakespearean performance practices. By examining how each production stages the Weird Sisters, this chapter highlights the ways in which their gender ambiguity engages in the politics of race in Malaysia and the politics of language in Taiwan. Hence, in adapting Shakespeare’s Macbeth interculturally, the productions also perform intracultural responses to topical issues within their respective contexts of reception.

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Gender Ambiguity and the Weird Sisters

  • Roweena Yip

摘要

This chapter explores how the performativity of gender ambiguity in Shakespeare’s Macbeth is reimagined in two intercultural adaptations: Dato’ Seri (directed by Omar Ali, 2018) by The Actors Studio in Malaysia and Shakespeare Unplugged 3 – Macbeth (directed by Lu Po-shen, 2007) by the Tainaner Ensemble in Taiwan. Both productions employ the gender ambiguity of the Weird Sisters—androgynous figures that challenge the gender binary—to address local issues that extend beyond gender. Dato’ Seri, performed in Malay, and the Tainaner Ensemble’s Macbeth, performed in Taiwanese, not only translate Shakespeare linguistically but also culturally, subverting the dominance both of early modern and contemporary English and reflecting not only the legacies of colonisation but also current directions of intercultural Shakespearean performance practices. By examining how each production stages the Weird Sisters, this chapter highlights the ways in which their gender ambiguity engages in the politics of race in Malaysia and the politics of language in Taiwan. Hence, in adapting Shakespeare’s Macbeth interculturally, the productions also perform intracultural responses to topical issues within their respective contexts of reception.