This map takes every iteration of Shakespeare’s plays we found in Asia such as translations, plays in translation, plays in English, and written editions, and assigns a color to each datapoint according to what Shakespeare play that iteration is. Tracing Shakespeare across the world by play elucidates what plays were more prevalent in certain geographical areas. Particularly interesting is how disproportionately King Lear appeared in Japan compared to every other country. Some of the datapoints relating to Lear refer to different filming locations for Akira Kurosawa’s 1985 film. One reason, Kurosawa believed, that Lear was so popular in Japan was how important the theme of honor was in the play. Other interesting datapoints include a play of Lear done by one actor. This was done by a Japanese theater company but premiered in France as part of a festival. The same thing goes for a play production of Lear done in Perth. This play was an international effort that combined Japanese, Indonesian, and Chinese language and culture into one adaptation of Lear, which was performed as part of an international Shakespeare festival in Perth.
