A fiery debate has erupted about the role William Shakespeare plays in current times. Illustration / John Taylor, File
Opinion
EDITORIAL
“Woe is me because I am borne a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth,” Creative New Zealand may well have groaned after the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand’s application for $31,000 in funding took the stage around the world.
While $30,000 is no
mere egg, failing to garner this grant wasn’t going to stop the event from happening next year.
But, lo, deep in an 11-page document that no one beyond Creative New Zealand and the Shakespeare Globe Centre read lurked a viper to be loosed in an act most foul.
The extract held an assessor’s opinion that Shakespeare is “located within a canon of imperialism” and the application “missed the opportunity to create a living curriculum and show relevance”.