Shakespeare was no stranger to censorship from the Elizabethan and Jacobean police states. Here we chart how the Bard’s plays amused monarchs and dictators but also prompted their anger
Trevor Phillips, chair of Index on Censorship, talked about censorship as part of the Essex Book Festival.
“When you hold the mirror up to nature and up to a totalitarian regime, it recognises it and attempts to stamp it out”
China has swung from banning Shakespeare to embracing his work, with performances spanning from brash pro-government productions to a Tibetan Hamlet