Shakespeare in the world
Something is rotten in the state of Gotham: Shakespeare and The Batman
Austin Tichenor draws connections between Hamlet and Batman, noting the range of interpretations.
John, Paul, Pyramus, and Thisbe: The Beatles performing Shakespeare
Did you know that the Beatles once performed the “Pyramus and Thisbe” scene from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”? Although they mainly stick to Shakespeare’s script, the moments when they play with the text stand out.
Nathan the Wise: An 18th-century German counterpoint to Shakespeare’s Shylock
“Nathan the Wise” and “The Merchant of Venice” are very different works, though religious tension is a subject in each, as is the potential for love and loss, wealth and poverty, bloodshed and peace. But it is the character of…
Actors taking on tyrants: Ernst Lubitsch’s 'To Be or Not to Be'
A Polish acting troupe outwits the Nazis using Shakespeare codes and theatrical smarts in Ernst Lubitsch’s 1942 film “To Be or Not to Be,” an audacious comedy filmed as Hitler was devastating Europe. Almost the definition of a joke told…
Is Shakespeare for everyone?
Austin Tichenor makes the case for why we should say “Shakespeare is for anyone who wants him” instead of “Shakespeare is for everyone.”
The evolution of American Moor: The Untitled Othello Project
Keith Hamilton Cobb reflects on his play American Moor and how the questions he received in response to it led to the development of the Untitled Othello Project, a deeply scrutinizing exploration of Shakespeare’s text.
West Side Story: A new take on Romeo and Juliet, 60 years later
Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story is a layering of theatrical devices, a Hollywood riff on both a famous musical and a Shakespearean story for 21st-century audiences.
“The world unwinding”: Station Eleven, Shakespeare, and an artist’s-eye view of apocalypse
During the covid-19 pandemic, two methods of escape for me have been Shakespeare and depictions of fictional catastrophes, so you can imagine my excitement when I learned that a novel that combines both — Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven…
Such Sweet Thunder: The musical sonnets in Duke Ellington's Shakespeare suite
Duke Ellington includes “musical sonnets” in his 12-song Shakespeare jazz suite, Such Sweet Thunder. Learn more about this 1957 milestone in the story of jazz and Shakespeare from an interview with Douglas Lanier.
Of Roys and kings: “The shadow of Succession”
Austin Tichenor explores the copious Shakespearean echoes in HBO’s Succession series, in which the Shakespearean actor Brian Cox plays a key role.
Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet turns 25
Carla Della Gatta writes about Baz Luhrmann’s movie Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, which became an indelible version for Gen X, Gen Y, and even Gen Z. In homage to West Side Story, it Latin-izes the…
Sweet are the comedies of adversity: Shakespeare and Ted Lasso
Austin Tichenor explores some surprising parallels between “Ted Lasso” and Shakespeare’s comedies, then tops off the post with paired quotes from both.