Painting Shakespeare Red: An East-European Appropriation (Shakespeare and His Contemporaries: The International Shakespeare Series)

This study deals wih the approriation of Shakespeare for the needs of communist ideology. While primarily concentrating on the uses of his dramatic work in Bulgaria, it places his experience in the East-European context. The bulk of the book is devoted to an analysis of the complex interplay betweeen oppressive ideological criticism and theater practice. It shows how Shakespeare in the theater gradually managed to escape the constraints of ideology and became a strong oppositional voice.