South African Shakespeares

The Tsikinya-Chaka Centre is a Research Unit at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa. Our approach to transnational and multilingual Shakespeares is informed by, and in turn aims to inform, this national context.

A number of our projects - such as the Sol Plaatje Archive for Shakespeare in African Languages, the “Lives of the Translators” project and our support of performing artists and educators - have grown out of work begun under the aegis of the Shakespeare Society of Southern Africa and its online platform, Shakespeare ZA.

The research interests of many of our affiliates also contribute to a greater understanding of the history and current practice of translating, adapting and appropriating Shakespeare in South Africa (on the stage and on the page).