Is it possible to stage Macbeth, a political tragedy set in 11th century Scotland, as a dark comedy set in a 70’s American burger joint?
Yes.
But should you?
Maybe not, but the cast and crew of Scotland, PA did it anyway.
Scotland, PA (2001)…

Arguably Shakespeare's most patriotic play, Henry Vcenters onthe charismatic yet cunning king, dubbed ‘This star of England’ (Epilogue, line 6), and his campaign in France. It explores issues relating to national identity, the ethics of war, and…

A gritty, unheroic and heavily-edited version of Shakespeare’s history play that cuts out the comedy, and takes the shimmer off the glory war and imperialism, Kenneth Branagh's Henry V reflects the disenchantment of the post-Vietnam period and the…

A tragedy of greed, ambition and treachery, but also of Celtic rebellion against imperial England? The Scottishness of the so-called 'Scottish play' has received scant attention, surprisingly, with actors such as Ian McKellen, who famously played the…

"The trade and profit of the city/ Consisteth of all nations” (3.3.30-31) Venice was arguably the most multicultural city in the world when Shakespeare penned The Merchant of Venice. At the crossroads between East and West, it was a major trading…

Haply the seas and countries differentWith variable objects shall expelThis something-settled matter in his heart,Whereon his brains still beating puts him thusFrom fashion of himself. (3.1.170-74) Analyzed often from a psychoanalytical perspective,…

Shakespeare's "lascivious Moor" and "extravagant and wheeling stranger," Othello, is in many respects the embodiment of early modern fears about miscegenation and the erosion of distinctions in an increasingly pluralistic society. The role, first…

A critical review of the 2000 production ofHamlet, directed byMichael Almereyda.

ACT II SCENE III

INT.: BALLROOM IN RUSSIAN DIGNITARY'S PALACE. 1967. NIGHT.

The ballroom is full of high-profile Russians and their
guests, dressed in their evening finest. They laugh, dance,
drink…

In response to Sylvia Wynter’s essay “Beyond Miranda’s Meanings: Un/silencing the ‘Demonic Ground’ of Caliban’s ‘Woman’,” this Caribbean-set, postcolonial rewriting of Shakespeare’s The Tempest contemplates the existence of a woman who, like Caliban,…