“Cut me to pieces” Shakespeare, fandom, and the fractured narrative

This paper considers the tensions and interactions between a classic play, its modern staging and live broadcast, and its playful reinterpretation by fans via social media platforms such as Tumblr. In the context of cultural theory and organizational policy, the live broadcast of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus is shown to be a complex, fractured, transmedial cultural experience with significant implications for its live theatrical and broadcast audiences, as well as online audiences drawn from the fan base of its lead actor. Examples of fan production are shown to extend and reinterpret the core narrative, further fracturing the narrative across unofficial platforms and creating new, interactive cultural experiences.