21st Folio Podcast Discussing modern Shakespeare productions of stage and screen

In this episode, we discuss the Schaubühne Berlin's recorded productions of Hamlet and Richard III, both directed by Thomas Ostermeier and starring Lars Eidinger. The productions are in German with English subtitles, and were recently streamed on the Schaubühne's website as part of their quarantine programming. The productions are modern dress and in German, with modernized German dialogue, though the English subtitles reproduce Shakespeare's text (rather than translating the modern German back into English). We discuss Ostermeier's interpretations of the two plays, Eidinger's performances, the problematic misogyny in both, the excitement of the improvisations, the costumes, and much more. Excerpts of the productions are available on YouTube though not always with English subtitles!For detailed show notes, visit: :http://21stfolio.com/2020/04/20/ep-29-hamlet-richard-iii-schaubuhneHost: Alex Heeney, Editor-in-Chief at Seventh Row (@bwestcineaste)Guests: Noemi Berkowitz, actor, director, and contributing writer at Seventh Row (@noemiola)Mary Angela Rowe, Editor-at-Large at Seventh Row (@lapsedvictorian)Editor: Edward von AderkisFind 21st Folio online at http://21stfolio.comFollow us on Twitter @21stFolioThis podcast is a subsidiary of Seventh Row, an online publication dedicated to interdisciplinary film criticism. Find us at http://seventh-row.com and on Twitter @SeventhRow.
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In this episode, we discuss the Groundling Theatre Company's current production of Julius Caesar; the genius of Moya O'Connell, André Sills, and Michelle Giroux; and the influence of Nicholas Hytner.This production is heavily inspired by Nicholas Hytner’s 2018 production (which we discussed here) of the play, featuring similar approaches to gender-swapping characters, as well as much of the same blocking and sets. Directed by Chris Abraham, the Groundling production is in the round in a large space with high ceilings, often with the effect of it feeling like an intimate arena. Unlike Hytner’s production, this is very much Cassius’s show, and Moya O’Connell regularly steals every scene she’s in right out from under Johnstone’s Brutus. André Sills, as Casca, also shines, having been given short shrift as Coriolanus in Stratford’s Coriolanus. And Michelle Giroux, who previously played Marc Antony at Stratford in 2018, shines in a series of smaller parts, including as Brutus’s wife.Groundling is an independent off-shoot of Ontario’s Stratford Festival, featuring many of the same actors and directors that appear at Stratford; their productions are mounted during Stratford’s off-season. Last year, Groundling produced a revelatory production of Lear starring Seana McKenna. For a history of past productions, visit their website here.For detailed show notes, visit:https://21stfolio.com/2020/01/27/ep-28-groundling-theatre-julius-caesar/‎Host: Alex Heeney (@bwestcineaste)Guests: Mary Angela Rowe (@lapsedvictorian)Editor: Edward von AderkasFollow the 21st Folio on Twitter @21stFolio, or visit our website at 21stfolio.comFind out more about Seventh Row at seventh-row.com
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In the latest attempt to adapt Shakespeare for modern audiences, Australian director David Michôd (The Rover) directs Timothée Chalamet in The King, a sort-of rewriting of Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1 & 2 and Henry V. The film is set in the original time period, but Shakespeare's language has been gutted, while his structure is preserved, in favour of modern English with the occasional "ye olde" touch. The script, written by Joel Edgerton (who stars as Falstaff) and Michôd, turns Falstaff into one of the stars of Henry V (instead of showing his death...) who goes to Agincourt with Hal. In this episode, we try to make sense of why Netflix's The King was made, who it's for, how it hews closely to some aspects of Shakespeare and veers wildly away from it, and why it made us so angry.For show notes, visit: https://21stfolio.com/2019/12/09/ep-27-the-king/‎Host: Alex Heeney (@bwestcineaste)Guests: Mary Angela Rowe (@lapsedvictorian), Laura Anne Harris (@lauraanneharri1), and Caitlin Merriman (@CaitlinSnark)Editor: Edward von AderkasFollow the 21st Folio on Twitter @21stFolio, or visit our website at http://21stfolio.comFind out more about Seventh Row at seventh-row.com
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In this episode, we discuss Richard Eyre's film adaptation of King Lear starring Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, and Florence Pugh. Director Richard Eyre (The Hollow Crown Henry IV Part 1 & 2, The Children Act) adapted King Lear for the small screen in 2018, airing on the BBC in the UK and Amazon Prime in the US. (It's on iTunes in Canada).Set in the present day, Emma Thompson stars as Goneril, alongside Emily Watson as Regan, Florence Pugh as Cordelia, Andrew Scott as Edgar, Jim Broadbent as Gloucester, Tobias Menzies as Cornwall, Christopher Eccleston as Oswald, and Karl Johnson as The Fool. This production of Lear is really an ensemble piece, which takes the time to flesh out each of the daughters and their relationships to their husbands. The acting, across the board, is top notch.For detailed show notes, visit: http://21stfolio.com/2019/10/21/ep-26-richard-eyres-king-lear/‎CREDITSHost: Alex Heeney, Editor-in-Chief of Seventh Row (@bwestcineaste)Guests: Seventh Row Editor at Large Mary Angela Rowe, of (@lapsedvictorian), Caitlin Merriman (@CaitlinSnark) and Laura Anne Harris (@lauraanneharri1)Editor: Edward von AderkisFind us online at 21stfolio.comFollow the 21st Folio on Twitter @21stFolio.
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In this episode, we discuss the 2019 Almeida Theatre's production of Richard II starring Simon Russell Beale, which was broadcast to cinemas worldwide via NTLive.Joe Hill-Gibbons directed this streamlined 1 hour and 40 minutes (no interval) production of Richard II starring Simon Russell Beale. For detailed show notes, visit: https://21stfolio.com/2019/07/22/ep-26-simon-russell-beale-in-richard-ii/CREDITSHost: Alex Heeney, Editor-in-Chief of Seventh Row (@bwestcineaste)Guests: Mary Angela Rowe, Editor at Large of Seventh Row (@lapsedvictorian) and Noemi Berkowitz (@noemiola)Sound Recordist and Editor: Cam White (@JediDusk)Find us online at 21stfolio.comFollow the 21st Folio on Twitter @21stFolio.
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This is the second part of our discussion of the current 2018 Stratford Festival production of Coriolanus directed by Robert Lepage. In this episode, we discuss how the production approaches the relationships between each of the key characters: Volumnia and Coriolanus, Volumnia and Menenius, Menenius and the Tribunes, Menenius and Coriolanus, and Coriolanus and Aufidius. We also delve deeper into how the design choices for the production affect our interpretation of each of the characters and how they relate to each other.This production runs until October 2018. For detailed notes on the production and this episode (including the trailer for the production and a gallery of stills from the production), visit the episode page here: http://21stfolio.com/2018/08/17/robert-lepage-coriolanus-stratford/-----CREDITSHost: Alex Heeney, Editor-in-Chief of Seventh Row (@bwestcineaste)Guests: Mary Angela Rowe, Editor at Large of Seventh Row (@lapsedvictorian) and Craig Ruttan (@crut)Sound Recordist and Editor: Cam White (@JediDusk)Find us online at 21stfolio.comFollow the 21st Folio on Twitter @21stFolio.
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