Today we feature three movies that owe their storylines to the plot of William Shakespeare’s play ‘The Tempest. It is one of his later plays and is usally described as a tragi-comedy, in that it appears to be a full blown tragedy but actually concludes with a happy ending. Yellow Sky is a 1948 American […]
Bard Movies 6
Our Shakespeare play today is the perennial favourite ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. As you might expect the actual play has been captured many times on film, from the earliest days of cinema in 1909 to the latest in 2017. That being said, the number of movies that adapt the story are relatively few. I chosen […]
Bard Movies 5
Today we turn our attention to Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, which legend has it was written specifically for a performance at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Whilst there a several versions of the play on film, I have been able to identify three that merely use the premise for their storyline. Just One of […]
Bard Movies 4
Our final reflection on movies based around the story of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, takes a slightly different tack. Here, scenes from the play are being rehearsed as part of the drama surrounding the meeting of the Bard and Viola De Lesseps. Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 romantic period comedy drama film directed by […]
Bard Words – Honourable Mentions 5
Our final honourable mention is a collection of sketches based on Shakespeare and his plays. The bard has provided a rich vein of comedy for those who wish to create parody or use his play plays for their inspiriation. After this series concludes we shall be embarking on a sequal entitled ‘Bard Movies’ which will […]
Bard Words – Honourable Mentions 4
Slings & Arrows is a Canadian television series set at the fictional New Burbage Festival, a Shakespearean festival similar to the real-world Stratford Festival. It stars Paul Gross, Stephen Ouimette and Martha Burns. Rachel McAdams appeared in the first season. The darkly comic series first aired on Canada’s Movie Central channels in 2003, and received […]
Bard Words – Honourable Mentions 3
“Upstart Crow” is a sitcom based on the life of William Shakespeare. Written by Ben Elton, it premiered in May 2016 on BBC 2 as part of the commemorations of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Its title quotes “an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers”, a critique of Shakespeare by his rival Robert Greene […]
Bard Words – Honourable Mentions 2
The Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC) is an American touring acting troupe that performs fast-paced, seemingly improvisational condensations of different topics. The company’s style has been described as “New Vaudeville,” combining both physical and verbal humour, as well as highbrow and lowbrow. The company was founded in 1981 by Daniel Singer, who wrote a 25-minute, four-actor […]
Bard Words – Honourable Mentions 1
Horrible Histories is a British children’s live-action historical and musical sketch comedy television series, based on the bestselling book series of the same name by Terry Deary. The show was produced for CBBC by Lion Television with Citrus Television and ran from 2009 to 2014 for five series of thirteen half-hour episodes, with additional one-off […]
Bard Words (36)
“Now my charms are all o’erthrown” (The Tempest) Ariel tells Prospero that the day has reached its “sixth hour” (6 p.m.), when Ariel is allowed to stop working. Prospero acknowledges Ariel’s request and asks how the king and his followers are faring. Ariel tells him that they are currently imprisoned, as Prospero ordered, in a […]