Nisha Sharma on Adapting Shakespeare for Modern Romances

Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited

Folger Shakespeare Library

Arts

4.7 • 837 Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

How do Shakespeare’s timeless themes translate to the South Asian diaspora? Could the man from Stratford himself be reimagined as a meddling auntie? Novelist Nisha Sharma’s If Shakespeare Were an Auntie trilogy takes on this challenge, taking inspiration from The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night to create contemporary romance novels set in the vibrant, close-knit world of the South Asian community. Sharma’s books explore love, identity, and social norms through characters navigating family expectations and community dynamics. These playful and poignant adaptations highlight Shakespeare’s enduring relevance while addressing modern issues like gender expectations and cultural identity. This episode explores Sharma’s creative process, her lifelong love for Shakespeare, and her approach to blending the playwright’s timeless themes with modern romance. From chaotic weddings to sharp banter, her novels reflect the humor and humanity of Shakespeare’s work while offering fresh perspectives for today’s readers. Nisha Sharma is the critically acclaimed author of YA and adult contemporary romances including My So-Called Bollywood Life, Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance, The Singh Family Trilogy, and the If Shakespeare was an Auntie series. Her books have been included in best-of lists by the New York Times, the Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, and more. She lives in Pennsylvania with her Alaskan husband, her cat Lizzie Bennett, and her dogs Nancey Drew and Madeline. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published January 28, 2025. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the Executive Producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the Fulger Shakespeare Library, this is Shakespeare Unlimited.
0:07.3	I'm Farah Kareem Cooper, the Fulger's director.
0:12.6	One of the things that makes Shakespeare's work so timeless is how endlessly adaptable it is.
0:19.2	Take the taming of the shrew and drop it into an American high school
0:22.9	in the 90s. You get ten things I hate about you. The tempest in outer space? That's forbidden planet,
0:30.1	of course. The author Nisha Sharma has written a trilogy of romance novels loosely based on
0:37.3	Shakespearean comedies.
0:39.3	She set them in the present, drawing her wealthy young characters from the South Asian diaspora.
0:45.8	Shakespeare himself takes the role of a meddling older relative, what the characters would call an auntie.
0:52.7	In fact, the whole trilogy is called,
0:55.2	if Shakespeare were an auntie. The first book in the series, dating Dr. Dill, is based on
1:02.3	the taming of the shrew. The second, tastes like shocker, updates much ado about nothing.
1:08.9	And the final novel, Marriage and Musti, adapts 12th night.
1:13.8	Over the course of the trilogy, Sharma's characters pair off and find love, despite many
1:19.5	obstacles and missteps along the way. Here's Nisha Sharma in conversation with Barbara
1:26.2	Bogue.
1:33.6	You know, I want to start with your second novel in your series,
1:40.1	tastes like Shakar, because I understand it's inspired by your favorite Shakespeare play,
1:45.1	much ado about nothing. What is it about that comedy that puts it above the rest for you?
1:58.0	Oh, my goodness. I think I resonated with Much Ado About Nothing so much because the most dynamic characters in the play are always in service of others.
2:04.2	And as the oldest daughter in an immigrant family, I felt like that was something that I connected with so well. So Beatrice was concerned about her cousin and was putting
2:13.3	her family first. And Benedict, of course, was always in service of, you know, the prince,
	...

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