“Previously there were four references to disability in the catalogue, the guide now runs to 86 pages!”
Philip Milnes-Smith, Digital Archivist, Shakespeare’s Globe
Shakespeare’s Globe Research and Collections adopted an innovative new approach to developing research resources on Shakespeare’s plays, how audiences interpret them and the creatives involved.
With funding from The National Archives’ Research and Innovation grants scheme, the Research and Collections team are developing four new research guides on finding race, disability, queerness and gender in performances of Shakespeare’s works and the plays themselves.
Plans for a display inspired by the performance of a new play at The Globe prompted the team to examine aspects of performances that had not been given prominence before now, primarily gender and queer identities. However, they quickly recognised that the existing catalogue could not support this approach, as terms such as “gender” and “queerness” had not been subject tagged. Their solution was to develop guides that explored how gender, queerness, race and disability were represented in the plays and performances.
An inclusion advisory panel of volunteers with lived experience, including participants with physical disability and neurodivergent identities, was recruited to shape development of the research guides. These were designed to improve equity, highlighting identities that have been underrepresented until now both within the Globe’s performance history and the original texts. For example, the gender guide identifies women backers, performers, creatives, composers and even fight co-ordinators.
Each guide was developed organically with subtle differences depending on the themes under discussion. The gender guide provides a complete list of all Shakespeare’s female characters – seemingly for the first time – adding information on their storyline, vocabulary and any indications of their literacy and social status. The disability guide distinguishes characters who are identified as disabled at their first appearance, who become disabled during the play, who pretend to be disabled, and less certain instances where disability can be merely inferred from the text. The guides also cross-reference between the four themes where appropriate. For example, references to The Tempest’s Caliban in the disability guide also point to the race guide.
The guides have greatly enhanced The Globe’s existing catalogue data. Previously, there were four references to disability in the catalogue but they now run to 86 pages. Enhanced subject knowledge will enable the Research and Collections team to develop their programming and reach broader audiences, all while enhancing work with existing audiences. For example, students on the MA in Shakespeare Studies, taught in partnership with King’s College London, can use the guides during their research. Most crucially, many audiences will be able to find themselves in the collections for the first time.
Many participants in the advisory panel have offered to continue working with Shakespeare’s Globe as their research offer, including the development of a new reading room, continues to evolve.