The site allows you to see the Asian interpretation of Shakespeare’s work. They have videos of the performances. There’s also a commentary part where they have information on directors & the different performing companies. The commentary part makes the interpretation easier to understand with the essays featured and their glossary.
-Francisco Falgui
A site dedicated to Shakespeare performances in Asia. I really like how they post videos of actual performances from different parts of Asia, and it’s cool to see how different cultures interpret Shakespeare.
Represent! haha. Asian interpretation of Shakespeare! i think it’s great! opening shakespeaere up to different cultures will give more insight to how people from different places view his works 😀
It’s basically Asian Shakespeare and it is fascinating to see that even non-Westerners are going into his work. It also incites creativity because it is possible to present a same concept in many different ways through unique interpretations.
Among the Shakespeare-related websites I’ve seen this is by far my most favorite (next to No Fear, harhar) because of all the available information, media, videos and links on Asian Shakespeare it has collected. Being a theater enthusiast (fangirl?) and well, Asian, I think that the marriage of Shakespeare, who in a way stands as one of the iconic western white men of culture (high or low), and the less well-known Asian dramatic forms is very interesting, beautiful and a great move towards going beyond white (usually American) western aesthetics. What SPIA does, at least for me, is take this move even further by making it accessible on the web in a nicely presented, clear and orderly website with supporting essays, interviews, glossary and links that help in exposing visitors to Asian Shakespeare.
Shakespeare then no longer stays in the realm of the western white masculine world but goes along with the movement of globalization to being assimilated, translated and recreated in the originally excluded “world”. Maybe for some this appears to be a new form of western colonization via culture, but for me this is Asian culture consuming and digesting such that the colonizer in a way becomes the colonized. Anyway, I hope that SPIA keeps up the good work and that more sites follow suit.
This is something I personally would’ve enjoyed checking out even if I weren’t studying any Shakespeare class because of the (at least for me) quirkiness of adapting Shakespeare, one of the institutions of Western literature, into the Asian culture. I wasn’t able to watch Throne of Blood so this site was my initiation into yellow (hehe) Shakespeare. The essays, commentaries and other literature that are also here would probably cater more towards those seriously studying Shakespeare adaptation, but anyone would get a kick out of watching the videos.
Here’s to hoping Screen Macbeth would make an appearance on the site soon. 😀
Before visiting this site, I really had no idea how much of a big deal Shakespeare was in Asia aside from the things that were mentioned and shown in class. So this just kind of blew my mind. That there are so many full videos and clips (not to mention the All Titles section with 248 videos) is proof that Shakespearean tradition is strong in Asia, and I think also proof that without the internet, nobody would know just how much of it there was here in the Eastern Hemisphere.
SPIA exhibits the kind of influence Shakespeare and his plays have not just in the West, but also in Asia. I have portrayals of Shakespeare’s plays in Asia are not being given enough attention and are certainly being over-looked, not to mention, overshadowed by many Western adaptations but with SPIA, this is certainly not the case any longer. With its broad collection of videos, people will find it easier to access and discover many entertaining portrayals of Shakespeare’s different plays.
I find this site the most interesting among all the websites because this shows the different adaptations of Shakespeare’s works. It may be performed in a different way and a different manner, yet there are just telling one story made by one playwright. Each country portrays the story in a different way and through these performances, we can show the uniqueness and creativeness of each country.
This shows the different views of the Western people from the Eastern people. We Asians look at things differently which means that we have our own creative way of thinking and interpreting things. In “Ophelia’s Mad Scene”, although I couldn’t understand it, it showed that asians are good in acting out in a unique way. in that sense, I was still able to understand how they relayed the scene to the viewers all over the world.
Entering this site and seeing the clips posted here, I am somehow amazed at how the works of Shakespeare and Shakespeare himself brought out the innovative minds of the Asian community. With the combination of the traditional and contemporary theatre, the Asians produced a different Shakespeare experience. The creativity of Asians in “interpreting” the plays of Shakespeare is also unbelievable.
The website is interesting. I like the performances. I wish I could watch full-length, if that’s ever possible. I hope they have better streaming, though, because buffering consumes time and sometimes pauses while loading.
Transmedial Shakespeare 
The site allows you to see the Asian interpretation of Shakespeare’s work. They have videos of the performances. There’s also a commentary part where they have information on directors & the different performing companies. The commentary part makes the interpretation easier to understand with the essays featured and their glossary.
-Francisco Falgui
A site dedicated to Shakespeare performances in Asia. I really like how they post videos of actual performances from different parts of Asia, and it’s cool to see how different cultures interpret Shakespeare.
SPIA is all about Asia’s rendition to all of Shakespeare’s work. They have videos of all their plays and even commentaries to help every researcher.
Represent! haha. Asian interpretation of Shakespeare! i think it’s great! opening shakespeaere up to different cultures will give more insight to how people from different places view his works 😀
the kabuki (?) inspired one is a litttle eerie though. it’s reminding me of throne of blood.
It’s basically Asian Shakespeare and it is fascinating to see that even non-Westerners are going into his work. It also incites creativity because it is possible to present a same concept in many different ways through unique interpretations.
Among the Shakespeare-related websites I’ve seen this is by far my most favorite (next to No Fear, harhar) because of all the available information, media, videos and links on Asian Shakespeare it has collected. Being a theater enthusiast (fangirl?) and well, Asian, I think that the marriage of Shakespeare, who in a way stands as one of the iconic western white men of culture (high or low), and the less well-known Asian dramatic forms is very interesting, beautiful and a great move towards going beyond white (usually American) western aesthetics. What SPIA does, at least for me, is take this move even further by making it accessible on the web in a nicely presented, clear and orderly website with supporting essays, interviews, glossary and links that help in exposing visitors to Asian Shakespeare.
Shakespeare then no longer stays in the realm of the western white masculine world but goes along with the movement of globalization to being assimilated, translated and recreated in the originally excluded “world”. Maybe for some this appears to be a new form of western colonization via culture, but for me this is Asian culture consuming and digesting such that the colonizer in a way becomes the colonized. Anyway, I hope that SPIA keeps up the good work and that more sites follow suit.
– Meggie Ong
This is something I personally would’ve enjoyed checking out even if I weren’t studying any Shakespeare class because of the (at least for me) quirkiness of adapting Shakespeare, one of the institutions of Western literature, into the Asian culture. I wasn’t able to watch Throne of Blood so this site was my initiation into yellow (hehe) Shakespeare. The essays, commentaries and other literature that are also here would probably cater more towards those seriously studying Shakespeare adaptation, but anyone would get a kick out of watching the videos.
Here’s to hoping Screen Macbeth would make an appearance on the site soon. 😀
Before visiting this site, I really had no idea how much of a big deal Shakespeare was in Asia aside from the things that were mentioned and shown in class. So this just kind of blew my mind. That there are so many full videos and clips (not to mention the All Titles section with 248 videos) is proof that Shakespearean tradition is strong in Asia, and I think also proof that without the internet, nobody would know just how much of it there was here in the Eastern Hemisphere.
SPIA exhibits the kind of influence Shakespeare and his plays have not just in the West, but also in Asia. I have portrayals of Shakespeare’s plays in Asia are not being given enough attention and are certainly being over-looked, not to mention, overshadowed by many Western adaptations but with SPIA, this is certainly not the case any longer. With its broad collection of videos, people will find it easier to access and discover many entertaining portrayals of Shakespeare’s different plays.
-Anne Simpao
I find this site the most interesting among all the websites because this shows the different adaptations of Shakespeare’s works. It may be performed in a different way and a different manner, yet there are just telling one story made by one playwright. Each country portrays the story in a different way and through these performances, we can show the uniqueness and creativeness of each country.
Joey Atayde
This shows the different views of the Western people from the Eastern people. We Asians look at things differently which means that we have our own creative way of thinking and interpreting things. In “Ophelia’s Mad Scene”, although I couldn’t understand it, it showed that asians are good in acting out in a unique way. in that sense, I was still able to understand how they relayed the scene to the viewers all over the world.
Entering this site and seeing the clips posted here, I am somehow amazed at how the works of Shakespeare and Shakespeare himself brought out the innovative minds of the Asian community. With the combination of the traditional and contemporary theatre, the Asians produced a different Shakespeare experience. The creativity of Asians in “interpreting” the plays of Shakespeare is also unbelievable.
The website is interesting. I like the performances. I wish I could watch full-length, if that’s ever possible. I hope they have better streaming, though, because buffering consumes time and sometimes pauses while loading.