But Akala - real name Kingslee James McLean Daley - like so many of his peers, is a cultural polygamist. There are wars overseas, divisions about political alliances and how we want to be ruled, anti-immigrant xenophobia, social divides, poverty, inequality and violence. Compare that to the Jamaican ghettos - and they're a lot tougher than the ones in London - where education is regarded as a positive. That's part of the reason why he founded The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company, and, in doing so, challenged some of his own assumptions. He figured the "custodians of Shakespeare" - long associated with high culture - would object but on the contrary, they encouraged him!

Source: Otago Daily Times March 24, 2019 14:26 UTC