In the heart of Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare's hometown is pushing back against what some see as a "woke" rewriting of the bard's legacy.
Locals and tourists alike are voicing concern over efforts to "decolonize" Shakespeare's image and the historical collection that surrounds him.
At the center of the debate is the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust's recent project to look at its collection through the impact of colonial history — an effort some say could shift the focus away from Shakespeare's lasting importance as a writer, The Telegraph reported.
People accessing its collections, it has said, may encounter "language or depictions that are racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise harmful." The trust said it is seeking to reexamine these objects to see what they can "teach us about the impact of colonialism on our perception of the history of the world and the role Shakespeare's work has played as part of this."
Many people in Stratford-upon-Avon are pushing back against the project, saying it's not needed and takes away from their pride in Shakespeare. Some worry this is part of a bigger trend of changing the past, and they feel even Shakespeare isn't safe.
"The idea of decolonizing Shakespeare is absolutely bonkers," local musician James Thomas told The Telegraph. "Clearly, some bits of Shakespeare may be problematic; I'm sure some characters in his plays were stereotypical, like Shylock the money lender. But this was a reflection of the time, and it will be the same with items in this collection; they will be a reflection of the time, and most people understand that."
Mike Choules, a retired finance director, told the outlet that there is a real danger of "forgetting what history is."
"When you're traveling overseas, after London, Shakespeare is our greatest output. He is part of Britain's legacy," he said.
"And yes, times were different then. In many ways, it was an awful time: People were poorer, and housing, health and education were worse. Britain was exploitative too," Choules continued.
"It doesn't make it right, but that's where we were," he added. "I don't think anyone nowadays should be offended by that. And I don't think Shakespeare set out to offend anyone. Why don't we look to the future?"
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust meanwhile has said that its project is not about rewriting Shakespeare but about looking more closely at the history behind its collection. In a statement to The Telegraph, the trust said the project "explores our history of acquisition and how interpretations of our objects and documents have evolved and continue to evolve."
"This is something all museums must focus on. By better understanding our collections' histories, we can tell the stories of our past in relation to our present," it added.
In an essay, James Baldwin reflected on his views of the impact of Shakespeare on the modern world, suggesting that Shakespeare spoke the language of the oppressors yet also a language that helped think beyond that oppression, according to The Guardian.
"My quarrel with the English language," James Baldwin wrote in his essay "Why I Stopped Hating Shakespeare," had been "that the language reflected none of my experience." And so "I condemned him as one of the authors and architects of my oppression."
Then, however, Baldwin "began to see the matter in quite another way."
"Perhaps the language was not my own because I had never attempted to use it, had only learned to imitate it. If this were so, then it might be made to bear the burden of my experience if I could find the stamina to challenge it, and me, to such a test," he wrote.
Commenting on the ordeal, Jay Bhat, a dermatologist visiting Birmingham, said that Shakespeare's legacy needs to be left alone.
"History cannot be changed, we learn and move on. Shakespeare did nobody any harm, and he and his time needs to be accepted for what it is," he said.