Shakespeare and Crisis

Contemporary Italian theatre has witnessed a wide range of Shakespearean productions, whose significance with respect to the theme of crisis has been twofold. On the one hand, Shakespeare has been employed in Italy to face the radical reduction in economic support suffered by theatre professionals, who have then relied on the marketability of the Bard’s ‘brand’ for funding and to draw audiences to the theatre. On the other hand, Shakespeare’s plays have proved functional to unravelling cultural,