Editorial: A Controversial Company: Debating the Casting of the RSC's The Orphan of Zhao

This introduction investigates the issues raised by asserting cultural ownership over specific traditions of performance. In particular, it highlights how casting – one of the least analysed areas of theatre practice – might both empower and complicate debates around who should participate in performance. How might authentic casting – of casting actors who ‘look like’ they are from the same geographical region as the performance text or tradition – and colour-blind casting practices come into conflict? The casting controversy surrounding the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC’s) 2012-13 production of The Orphan of Zhao provides an opportunity to tackle these questions.