Shakespeare Lane

A new play translation, Arabic to English, by award winning Moroccan playwright Zoubeir Ben Bouchta. Shakespeare Lane confronts difficult challenges of contemporary Tanjwai society within the all-to-real post-colonial/global contexts.

An excerpt from the text:

Albarrani: If he wasn't a soldier, then he was somehow working like a soldier. Something in his work must have resembled guns... this is a famous Tangier street, without such power the English would never have named it for him.

Marshana: Words were Shakespeare's guns, but his words resurrect rather than kill. That is why his power lives on...

Excerpts from the bi-national collaborative team:

"Shakespeare universally symbolizes the essential themes of the tragedies Hamlet, Othello and Romeo and Juliet. With conflicts of power and hopeless love ―along with slander, jealousy, envy, hatred, vengeance, and fortune― Shakespeare Lane reflects a contemporary reading of Tanjawi society...

Zoubeir Ben Bouchta
Playwright

"Shakespeare Lane broadly highlights the intricate realities of Moroccan society ―from the city's historical background right up to the main features of modern Tangier― yet it has universal relevance addressing world-wide issues such as social and political corruptness and terrorism threatening peace...

Rajae Khaloufi
Translator

"Using Bard-like comedy and social commentary set in a magical garden, Shakespeare Lane persistently calls norms into question as it informs, surprises, and challenges the audience again and again. One point stands clear, the famous crossroads city is at a societal crossroads: what will the citizenry choose for their future?

George F. Roberson, PhD
Editor