Dartmouth Professor Brings Shakespeare to The War-torn

The continuing strife in war-torn nations shows that little can be done to heal the wounds of ethnic conflict. The Balkan nations have proven this especially, with ethnic differences still the dominating political landscape. One Dartmouth professor, Andrew Garrod, believes he has, if not a solution, then at least a way to ease the tension. Garrod, along with former Dartmouth students, has brought Shakespeare to the Balkans in an attempt to bring Christians and Muslims together. Garrod, who is currently directing a version of The Tempest in Bosnia starring young actors from the region, believes that the institution of theater can teach the youth to ignore ethnic and religious differences so that they may form a less divided nation. He says, “If these young people really work hard…ethnicity will become redundant in the process. They will care so much about each other’s success that they won’t care who is Muslim and who is Catholic.” It’s a noble sentiment, though its success is hardly measurable. Regardless, the work that Garrod and the former Dartmouth students are doing can only help to lessen the pain of past ethnic violence. That it brings Shakespeare to those who might not have previously been exposed is even better.

Read about it here, at CBS News in an article written by Darmouth ’12 Janie Abernethy.

–Benjamin M. Riley