Editorial: Spring Term 1 2022-23

It's very easy to feel downtrodden with relentless news of budget cuts, dwindling audience numbers and growing arguments over so-called ‘culture wars’. When I look back on this issue though, it's heartening to see so many organisations, theatres and companies pushing for radical change against all odds.

We celebrate the return of the Globe's Shakespeare and Race Festival, now in its fourth year running. While it's inevitable that Shakespeare will continue to figure in our Drama curriculum (and rightly so), it's right that we are aware of – and interrogate – the role race plays in his work. The festival seeks to address these discussions, asking how we should engage with Shakespeare within a racial context. PhD student and Shakespeare's Globe researcher Lydia Valentine joins us this issue to explain why we need to question the way we approach racial difference in Shakespeare's texts in the classroom.