Shakespeare and Pals: Recapping the Bard

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!
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 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!
Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to shakespeare.pals@gmail.com

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)

028 A Girl in Trousers!? Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker’s “The Roaring Girl” (1611)

Boy loves girl. Boy’s father thinks the girl isn’t rich enough. Boy pretends to be in love with a drag king.
We’re bringing back the “explicit” tag just for this episode. Tommy M and Tommy D’s saucy talents are on full display in this bawdy City Comedy. There are more innuendos than you can shake your rapier at. Is this play only memorable for its titular cross-dresser, or is there more meat on its bones?
Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to shakespeare.pals@gmail.com
Sources:
Librivox production of The Roaring Girl https://librivox.org/the-roaring-girl-by-thomas-middleton-and-thomas-dekker/
English Renaissance Drama: A Norton Anthology, eds. David Bevington et al. (W. W. Norton & Company)

027 Neither A Borrower Nor A Lender Be: The Merchant of Venice (1598)

One of Shakespeare’s great… comedies????
Bassanio needs some cash to impress the wealthy heiress Portia. This couldn’t possibly lead to his best friend getting imprisoned and disemboweled.
One of Shakespeare's great plays, full of poetry and incident and nuance, and Romance with a capital R. Is it toppled by the antisemitism at its centre?
Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to shakespeare.pals@gmail.com
Sources: 
The Oxford Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice (Oxford University Press)
Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, edited by Brian Vickers (Routledge)

026 Neo-Verona is about to EXPLODE: Studio Gonzo’s “Romeo X Juliet” Eps. 1-3 (2007)

It’s Romeo and Juliet as an anime! What more do you want?
It’s Shakespeare’s tale, but not as we know it. Verona is a far future city in the sky, and all the nobles ride pegasi. Years ago, the evil Lord Montague massacred the Capulets – all but one. Juliet survived, and now spends her adolescence cross-dressing as a boy and moonlighting as a masked vigilante. But how will her life change when she meets Romeo at ball?
Join us for flying horses, daring-do, and shoujo romance!
Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to shakespeare.pals@gmail.com
Romeo X Juliet can be watched on Crunchyroll

025 The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Kings: King John (1596)

The one that you forgot Shakespeare did.
King John just can’t catch a break. He’s got challengers to the throne, war with France, and now the Pope’s getting on his back. Desperate times call for desperate measures, which include knocking off his young nephew Arthur.
Does this play deserve the obscurity it’s fallen into? Sophie and Michael find out!
Sources:
The Oxford Shakespeare: King John (Oxford University Press)
Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, edited by Brian Vickers (Routledge)

024 Mr Sandman, Bring Me a Midsummer Nights' Dream: Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman #19 and #75

Shakespeare stole all his ideas… from the god of Dreams
One of the greatest comic book series of all time, Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman plays with almost all human culture, so how could Gaiman overlook Shakespeare? In The Sandman #19, Shakespeare plays Midsummer Night’s Dream for an audience of fairies. In The Sandman #75, Shakespeare longs to retire his magic pen just once he’s finished his play about Prospero laying down his magic wand.
Is Neil Gaiman’s use of Shakespeare more than just a clever idea?  Michael and Sophie find out!
Sources:
Neil Gaiman, The Sandman (DC Comics)

023 This is a comedy!?: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1596)

It’s the one with the donkey-headed tradie!
An Athenian hero with his Amazon war-bride condemns a young girl to death or nunnery, so young lovers flee into the forest, followed by two other young lovers who don’t love each other yet, so a fairy king tries to fix the love quadrangle, but not before he makes his wife fall for a donkey-man mutant to get revenge on her for not handing over an royal Indian toddler.
That old chestnut.
One of Shakespeare’s most famous… comedies??? Like a lot of Shakespearian comedies, this one has a dark edge. But does it work as farce or drama? Join Michael and Sophie 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: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oxford University Press)
Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, edited by Brian Vickers (Routledge)

022 “A pound of your fair flesh, Astro Boy!”: Osamu Tezuka’s ベニスの商人/Merchant of Venice (1959)

The Walt Disney of Japan took a break from Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion.
Did you know Osamu Tezuka adapted The Merchant of Venice? It’s like if Walt Disney adapted Crime and Punishment… which Osamu Tezuka also did… Tezuka had range! 
Does Tezuka’s style capture the folktale darkness of the Merchant of Venice? Tune in to find out!
Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to shakespeare.pals@gmail.com
Sources:
Japanese edition:
Osamu Tezuka, 虹のプレリュード/Rainbow Prelude (Tezuka Productions) (https://bookwalker.jp/def2c50a53-360e-4319-841d-ec4fd920bf7e/) 
Christopher Harding, The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives (Penguin Books)