Shakespeare and Pals: Recapping the Bard

038 The Ides of March: Julius Caesar (1599)

The one where Brutus gets radicalised by anonymous commenters
Conspiracy, assassination, sky-rending omens. Julius Caesar is dictator-for-life, and some people think this might be bad for democracy. But is it right to kill him?
And then the second half of the play is about a war that no one remembers.
Does Julius Caesar deserve its place among Shakespeare's A-list? Join Michael and Sophie to find out!
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Sources: 
The Oxford Shakespeare: Julius Caesar (Oxford University Press)
 

037 Stabby Stabby: Plutarch's Life of Julius Caesar (100s AD)

We're traveling back in time to the inspiration for Shakespeare's Roman plays - Plutarch!
Plutarch wrote compact, anecdote-filled, politically-astute biographies of the great Greeks and Romans, and who greater than Julius Caesar? Would Plutarch's tale of the rise and fall of Julius Caesar be worth reading even if Shakespeare never based his Julius Caesar on it? Join us to find out!
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Sources: 
Plutarch (trans. Robin Waterfield), Roman Lives (Oxford University Press)
Plutarch (trans. Bernadotte Perrin), Caesar (Perseus Digital Library)

036 Take My Mistress, Please... AGAIN!: The Two Gentlemen of Verona REDUX (1589)

We're having a second chance at a first impression. Shakespeare's first play -- AGAIN!
Just like Shakespeare got better, so have we. Sophie and Michael go back to Shakespeare's very first play. Does Shakespeare's debut -- packed with love triangles, cross-dressing, and love-able rogues, and hate-able heroes -- benefit from a new light? Tune in to our new episode 1 and episode 36.
Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to shakespeare.pals@gmail.com
Sources: 
The Oxford Shakespeare: The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Oxford University Press)
Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, edited by Brian Vickers (Routledge)

035 The Elizabethan James Cameron: Henry V (1599)

Is Henry V great? Or propaganda? It's great propaganda!
In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare invented the modern romantic comedy. Now he invents the modern war film. Henry V fights the valiant, villainous French with a country-crossing army of ethnically diverse warriors (English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh). 
Does this patriotic crowd-pleaser still work in our more cynical times? Is it patriotic at all?
Join us to find out!
Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to shakespeare.pals@gmail.com
Sources: 
The Oxford Shakespeare: Henry V (Oxford University Press)
Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, edited by Brian Vickers (Routledge)
 

034 Put Away Your Sword: Aristophanes' Lysistrata (411 BCE)

Bringing back the explicit tag for this one!
The ladies of Ancient Greece are fed up with the war. Well, you know what men love more than killing each other? Sex! Greek citizenesses are going on a sex-strike till the peace.
Comedy ages notoriously badly, but is Aristophanes' edgy, bawdy, snappy satire still a hit? Join us to find out!
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Sources: 
Lysistrata and Other Plays, by Aristophanes, trans. Alan H Sommerstein (Penguin Books)
Lysistrata, by Aristophanes, trans. Jack Lyndsay (Perseus Digital Library)

033 Listening to Your Evil Friend: Much Ado About Nothing (1598)

Believe Your Girlfriend: The Play
Benedict likes Beatrice, and Beatrice likes Benedict, but Benedict and Beatrice don't like that they like each other, so their friends trick them into getting together. Meanwhile, Claudio likes Hero, and Hero likes Claudio, but Don John doesn't like people being happy, so he tricks Claudio into thinking Hero is cheating on him. Claudio... does not take it well.
"Romeo and Juliet" was a comedy that became a tragedy. "Much Ado About Nothing" is a comedy that becomes a tragedy and becomes a comedy again. Does it work? Join us to find out!
 
Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to shakespeare.pals@gmail.com
Sources: 
The Oxford Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing (Oxford University Press)
Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, edited by Brian Vickers (Routledge)

032 Keanu Reeves is Trust Fund Prince Hal: Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Gay Henry IV! Except not really... Except very much yes!
Gus Van Sant's classic of queer cinema recontextualises Henry IV into the world of gay hustlers. Prince Hal is a trust fund kid slumming it, and Poins is our narcoleptic viewpoint character. With lines directly adapted from Henry IV, and sequences remixed from Orson Welles' Chimes at Midnight, Gus Van Sant rams Henry IV into modern day.
Does it work? Join us to find out!
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Sources: 
Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho (1991)
 

031 Princely Hypocrite: King Henry IV, Part 2 (1597)

Shakespeare's only true sequel, a play that depends on its prequel. Does it work? Are the character arcs continued and deepened? Or does this basically redo the previous play but with less focus? Join us to discuss King Henry IV, Part 2!
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Sources: 
The Oxford Shakespeare: King Henry IV, Part 2 (Oxford University Press)
Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, edited by Brian Vickers (Routledge)

030 The Only Good Man in Literature: Orson Welles' The Chimes At Midnight (1966)

What if the comic relief was the main character?
The Chimes and Midnight reframes the whole story around Prince Hal's buddy Falstaff. No longer a coming of age story, but a portrait of slow decline of an old thief. This comedy drama is considered one of the greatest Shakespeare films ever made, and Orson Welles one of the greatest Falstaffs. Does it live up to its reputation? Join us to find out!
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029 Notice Me, Dad! King Henry IV, Part 1 (1597)

You ever have to choose between your King dad and your thief dad?
King Henry IV's got two problems - rebelling nobles and a rebellious son. Prince Hal spends all his time with low lives in taverns. Could Hal ever possibly rise to the occasion and save the day?
Does Shakespeare's coming-of-age, war comedy still hold up? Join Michael and Sophie and find out!
Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to shakespeare.pals@gmail.com
Sources: 
The Oxford Shakespeare: King Henry IV, Part 1 (Oxford University Press)
Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, edited by Brian Vickers (Routledge)