Shakespeare’s plays present a wealth of intercultural encounters, cross-dressing and disguises, and conflicts between personal motives and the public image, which manifest the theatrical and cultural importance of identity issues. The seminar focuses on these issues and explores problems of racism, anti-Semitism and misogyny from a cultural perspective of the early modern times. As we follow the performances of the characters, the aim is to discover how their design complicates identity issues in the context of nationality, race, gender and sexuality.