Shakespeare's World Wide Popularity

Shakespeare more popular abroad than in Britain, study finds

Survey of 18,000 people in 15 countries suggests Shakespeare more popular in Mexico, more relevant in Brazil and better understood in India than he is at home

A scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, staged by actors, dancers, martial arts experts, musicians and street acrobats from across India and Sri Lanka.  Photograph:           David Levene for the Guardian

Shakespeare is more popular and better understood in emerging economies such as Brazil, India, China, Mexico and Turkey than he is in the UK, a new report for the British Council suggests. 

A survey of 18,000 people in 15 countries reveals, for example, that 88% of surveyed Mexicans like Shakespeare, compared with only 59% of British people; 84% of Brazilians said they found him relevant to today’s world, compared with 57% in the UK; and 83% of Indians said they understood him, far more than the 58% of Britons.

Overall, Shakespeare’s popularity abroad stands at 65%, compared with 59% in the UK. 

Should this be a source of national shame? “I certainly don’t think we should beat ourselves up about it,” said Rosemary Hilhorst, director of the British Council’s Shakespeare Lives programme. “It is not a huge difference in terms of percentages.

“What we should do is think about how we make Shakespeare more relevant and accessible for youngsters today so they get in touch with the fantastic stories that are there in a way they feel is relevant for them.”

The research suggests it is experience of Shakespeare at school which plays the biggest part – studying the original text can put people off for life.

Hilhorst said most Britons were taught Shakespeare in his original English while abroad there were often translations which used a more contemporary, accessible language.

That conclusion would explain why the “do you like Shakespeare” figures are roughly the same among English-speaking countries – USA (63%), Australia (60%) and the UK (59%). In the top five are India (89%), Mexico (88%), Brazil (87%), Turkey (79%) and South Africa (73%).

The two nations with the lowest scores are France (51%), perhaps reflecting Voltaire’s description of Shakespeare’s works as “an enormous dunghill”, and Germany (44%).

The report’s wider conclusions are that Shakespeare is good for the British economy and has a positive impact on Britain’s influence in the world.

For example, more than a third of people questioned said Shakespeare made them feel more positive about the UK in general, with the figures highest in India (62%) and Brazil (57%). Of those people, 70% were interested in visiting the UK as tourists.

Hilhorst said it was important to recognise Shakespeare’s global popularity. “

We can often underestimate him,” she said. “It’s Elizabethan, it’s funny costumes, it’s all in the past, but actually the vast majority of education systems around the world do still have Shakespeare on the curriculum.

“People enjoy the stories, they take him seriously and many a politician will quote Shakespeare. We need to realise the fantastic archive we’ve got.”

The report, called All the World’s, was prepared as part of the British Council’s Shakespeare Lives programme that is taking Shakespeare to more than 140 countries on an unprecedented scale.

That includes a touring programme of 20 films from the BFI national archive, lots of debates, exhibitions and readings and a partnership with Voluntary Services Overseas, which will use Shakespeare to help more children in some of the world’s poorest countries to get an education.

 The survey also found that Romeo and Juliet were Shakespeare’s best known characters and noted that people enjoyed and understood Shakespeare more when they saw a staged play or a film.