Bard Flies

In Shakespeare's final -- yes, final -- play, he returns to where he started with the plight of noblemen in love with the same woman. Working again with John Fletcher, Shakespeare borrows from Chaucer for a tale set in ancient Greece featuring duels, delusions, exposure therapy, and prayers to the gods that get answered like the wishes on a monkey's paw -- but all in the service of a story that ends happily. (Except for the guy who gets thrown from his horse and dies in his hour of triumph.)CreditsIntro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous)Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)Illustrative Excerpts: Arkangel / BBC, “The Two Noble Kinsmen” (2006)

Magic, monsters, sprites, witches, shipwrecks, betrayal, love stories on an enchanted isle, and emotional catharsis driven by a puppet master pulling all the stings: no, dear listeners, it’s not a Dungeons & Dragons campaign but Shakespeare’s The Tempest! Will and James discuss the play know as Shakespeare’s affectionate late-career farewell to the theatre, portrayals of Caliban throughout the years, its possible setting in the New World, and whether a play with an almost all-powerful protagonist can be truly dramatic.CreditsIntro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous)Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)Illustrative Excerpts: “The Tempest,” dir. Julie Taymor (2010); John Gielgud, “Ages of Man,” Caedmon Records (1959)

In a land ruled by a paranoid and jealous king hell-bent on destroying his own family and buffeted by violent storms, miracles, and a very large and hungry bear, Shakespeare’s characters go from intense melodrama to comedy to redemption in the five wild acts of The Winter’s Tale. In this week’s episode, Will and James find themselves surprised by how much they liked this romance and debate what makes it so much more successful than some of the Bard’s later plays.CreditsIntro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous)Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)Illustrative Excerpts: “The Winter’s Tale,” dir. Gregory Doran, Heritage Theatre (1999); “The Winter’s Tale,” dir. Kenneth Branagh, Garrick Theatre (2015)

On a tour with the least linear ports of call since The Odyssey, Shakespeare’s Pericles tries to win the hand of a princess in an incestuous relationship with her father by solving a riddle, ends a famine, gets into a shipwreck, wins a different bride in a tournament, and loses his family to a storm and pirates involved prostitution, only to miraculously reunite with them in the end. Will and James discuss this strange epic, the possible identity of its co-author, and whether Marina’s destruction of prostitution in Mytilene is the best brothel scene in Shakespeare.CreditsIntro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous)Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)Illustrative Excerpts: “Pericles,” dir. Howard Sackler, Shakespeare Recording Society (1964)

Double, double toil and trouble! Fire burn and cauldron bubble! Haunted by witches, ghostly daggers, murder, Macbeth is an obvious classic. But why? Will and James discuss Shakespeare's finest marriage story, the power of ambition and guilt, and a short play packed with an improbable concentration of amazing soliloquies, phrases, and speeches. // Credits // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: Judi Dench, "Thames Shakespeare Collection: Macbeth", dir. Philip Casson (1979); "Macbeth," dir. Roman Polanski (1971); Alan Cumming, "Macbeth," dirs. John Tiffany and Andrew Goldberg (2013); Patrick Stewart, "Macbeth," dir. Rupert Goold (2010)

Pro tip from King Lear to parents of all varieties, especially those running hereditary monarchies and dictatorships: retirement ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be! The British ruler’s efforts to step away to enjoy his dotage by dividing his kingdom among his daughters backfires horribly in a dark play chronicling vanity, aging, madness, and favoritism among siblings. Will and James discuss how actors have tackled Shakespeare’s greatest role for thespians with AARP cards, whether Cordelia should have just humored her dad to spare everyone pain, and the bleakness of one of Shakespeare’s darkest plays. // Credits // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “King Lear,” dir. Jonathan Miller, BBC (1975); “King Lear,” dir. Gregory Doran, Royal Shakespeare Company (2016); “King Lear,” dir. Richard Eyre (2018)

Lust, jealousy, rage, race, and one very inconveniently misplaced handkerchief lie at the center of Shakespeare’s "Othello," an emotional tour de force that takes manipulation and evil to new levels. Will and James discuss where Iago falls in the pantheon of Shakespearean villains, their visceral reactions to the breakdown of Othello and Desdemona’s marriage, and the role that Othello’s race and status as an outsider in Venice play in his downfall. // Credits // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: "Inception," dir. Christopher Nolan (2010); "Othello," dir. Oliver Parker (1995); Eileen Atkins, “If wives do fall,” The Guardian (2016).

Picking up where Homer left off, Shakespeare’s little known Troilus and Cressida tells the story of the Trojan War with contemptuous aplomb. All the heroes are here, in their worst possible lights: the vainglorious Achilles refuses to fight, his noble opponent Hector laments the stupidity of war, the title characters fall in lust only to torn asunder, and Ulysses devises a sly scheme to win that doesn’t involve a gigantic wooden horse. Will and James dissect this messy “problem play” that mocks the very ideas of love and martial glory amid plenty of ribaldry, debasement, and gore. Featuring a very special guest performance from Dileep Rao! // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous) // Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous) // Illustrative Excerpts: “Troy,” dir. Wolfgang Petersen (2004); Dileep Rao, “On Degree,” 2021

...what can one say about the Melancholy Dane that hasn’t already been said? It’s the big one, the work that casts the longest shadow in all of English literature outside of the King James Bible. We quote it without thinking. It helped inspire The Lion King. And its most famous soliloquy has launched a thousand parodies. Will and James break down the epic monologues, the bloody action, the meditations on mortality, depression, mental illness, tortured love affairs, murder, suicide, conspiracy, invasion, and a savagely bloody denouement in which (spoiler alert!) everyone dies. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Tales from the Public Domain,” The Simpsons, dir., Mike B. Anderson (2002); “Hamlet,” feat. Kenneth Branagh, dir. Kenneth Branagh (1996); John Gielgud,“Ages of Man,” Caedmon Records (1959); “Hamlet,” feat. Clarence Smith, dir. Simon Godwin, Royal Shakespeare Company (2016); “Hamlet,” feat. Bill Murray, dir. Michael Almereyda (2000); “Hamlet,” feat. Andrew Scott, dir. Robert Icke (2017); “Hamlet,” feat. David Tennant, dir. Gregory Doran (2009)

Cry havoc! And let slip this explosive episode of Bard Flies, in which Will and James debate the merits of the Romans vying for power in Julius Caesar -- from the dictator himself to his usurpers -- and discuss the grim, all-too-apparent parallels between the incitement of mob violence in the Shakespeare’s play and the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Julius Caesar,” dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1953); “Julius Caesar,” dir. Stuart Burge (1970); “Julius Caesar,” dir. Trevor Nunn, Royal Shakespeare Company (1973); John Gielgud, “Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene 2: Ages of Man” (1959)

Will they? Won’t they? In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick sink their wickedly sharp wits into one another, cutting through sexual tension and the conventions that held back Shakespeare’s earlier comedies. Will and James discuss whether Much Ado is the first truly successful modern rom com and why it continues to resonate with us so much today. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Much Ado About Nothing,” dir. Kenneth Branagh (1993); “Much Ado About Nothing,” dir. Robert Delamere (2011)

In this delightfully farcical and absurdly complicated comedy, Sir John Falstaff takes a break from partying with the Prince of Wales to woo two not-so-desperate housewives at the same time in the London suburb of Windsor while a Frenchman, a judge, and the boy-next-door seek to marry one of those housewives’ daughters. In their discussion of a play that some commentators allege that Shakespeare wrote at the request of Queen Elizabeth I, Will and James discuss whether it counts as a spin-off and whether or not spin-offs can succeed on their own merits. //. Credits //. Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” dir. Fiona Laird, Royal Shakespeare Company (2018); “The Simpsons Spinoff Showcase,” The Simpsons, dir. Neil Affleck (1997)

"Shylock." The very name of Shakespeare’s infamous Venetian moneylender overshadows the plot of this complex and twisted comedy about love, marriage, and the importance of always reading the fine print in your credit card agreement. Is he an anti-Semitic caricature? A representation of vengeful legalism run amok, contrasted with the concept of mercy and grace? An anti-hero who deserves sympathy? The voice of one of Shakespeare’s most humanistic and moving speeches? In this episode with discussions of everything from The Sopranos to capital markets in the Mediterranean to critiques of the merchant Antonio’s moronic business practices, Will and James argue that the answer is “all of the above.” // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “In Camelot,” The Sopranos, dir. Steve Buscemi (2004); “The Merchant of Venice,” dir. Michael Radford (2004)