The popular Globe Theater in London is putting on a play called Antony and Cleopatra, with non-white actress Nadia Nadarajah being cast in the leading role.
Nadarajah, who has labelled herself as an English South Asian woman with dark skin and uses British Sign Language, has been cast to play Cleopatra in a ground-breaking bilingual production.
Sharing the news on X, Shakespeare’s Globe wrote:
A love that changed the world.
An epic story unfolds in a ground-breaking bilingual production using Spoken English and British Sign Language. Blanche McIntyre directs with Nadia Nadarajah as Cleopatra.
4 August – 29 September: https://t.co/vCJyZLIHPT#AntonyAndCleopatraGlobe pic.twitter.com/SlNy7kIJF9
— Shakespeare’s Globe (@The_Globe) January 23, 2024
The play contains language that could be interpreted as misogynistic and racially charged.
A trigger warning for “misogynoir references” has been issued, sparking discussions about historical accuracy and audience sensitivity.
The term ‘misogynoir’ was coined in 2010 by black feminist Moya Bailey to describe ‘the ways that anti-blackness and misogyny combine to malign black women’.
The play, which runs from August 4 to September 15, refers to Cleopatra’s ‘lustful gypsy’ descent and having a different appearance to the Romans portrayed, despite her being of Greek origin.
The online disclaimer reads: ‘The play contains depictions of suicide, scenes of violence and war, and misogynoir references.’
Stay tuned to this space for more updates!
