Bardwatching: Autumn Term 2 2022-23

A new dedicated Shakespeare research centre has arrived in London, cementing a 20-year collaboration between Shakespeare's Globe and King's College London. The first venture for the new London Shakespeare Centre will be the fourth annual Shakespeare and Race Festival. First held in 2018, the festival aims to highlight the role of race in Shakespeare's writing and to give a platform to scholars, actors, playwrights, theatre makers and educators of colour. Since its inception, the festival has been curated by Professor Farah Karim-Cooper, professor of English at King's and the newly appointed co-director of education at Shakespeare's Globe.

This year's festival focuses on the theme of ‘Spoken Word(s)’, exploring the intersection between poetry and performance. Taking place between 31 October and 5 November, the festival will see poet Terrance Hayes, Folger Theatre's artistic director Karen Ann Daniels, Birmingham Rep's associate director Iqbal Khan and actor Akiya Henry take to the stage. The two institutions have previously established the joint MA in Shakespeare Studies and the Early Modern Scholars of Colour network.