“I name all my plays after places”: David Greig in conversation with Elisabeth Angel-Perez

Abstract

Abstract: This interview between Elisabeth Angel-Perez and David Greig, which took place on 16 January 2023 over WhatsApp, was conducted specifically for this special issue of Shakespeare Bulletin . The conversation focuses on Greig’s use of Shakespeare as a matrix for contemporary drama. Greig stresses the geographical and linguistic displacements in his play Dunsinane (2010), a sequel to Shakespeare’s Macbeth , which allowed him to map out a conflictual contact zone between an imperialistic power and a country that has been colonized. He explains how Dunsinane serves as a political parable—for contemporary Scotland, but also the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine—while at the same time decentering Shakespeare as a cultural hegemonic matrix.