Abstract
This paper investigates the intersection of eco-dramaturgy, Shakespearean villainy and botanical precarity, exploring how Shakespeare’s infamous antagonists resonate with the extraordinary yet vulnerable dynamics of carnivorous plants. By examining the behavioural mechanisms of critically endangered Australian species, this interdisciplinary study considers how these botanical entities function as metaphors for survival, exploitation and environmental fragility. Drawing on ecocriticism and ecological performance studies, we propose that the behaviours of carnivorous plants, such as trapping and consumption, offer a compelling ecological lens through which to reinterpret Shakespeare’s calculating but also ambivalent figures within the play’s landscape. We consider the ways in which these characters’ strategies and power dynamics align with the captivating yet precarious existence of these plants, whose survival depends on both their agency and their vulnerability within delicate ecosystems. Through applying ecological textual readings, eco-performance and pedagogical methodologies, this research contributes to Shakespearean studies’ vibrant engagement with urgent ecological concerns. Discussion further reflects on the role of interdisciplinary creative practice in advancing environmental advocacy, artistic intervention and cross-disciplinary scholarship. This paper forms part of a larger project integrating botanical art, eco-performance and public engagement to reimagine Shakespeare’s villains through an ecological framework, amplifying awareness of endangered plant species in an era of ecological crisis.