Happy Birthday to the Bard!

Written by Jon Williams

On this day 450 years ago, William Shakespeare was born. And on this day 398 years ago, he died. In between, in his exactly 52 years of life, he created many of the finest works of literature and drama in the English language.

Being so long ago, the chronology of Shakespeare’s work is difficult to nail down with any accuracy. However, it is widely believed that the historical plays Richard III and Henry VI are his earliest works, likely written in the early 1590s. Shortly thereafter, the mid-1590s saw Shakespeare writing a number of his great comedies, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado about Nothing, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night. These are balanced, of course, by fantastic tragedies like Julius Caesar, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth—not to mention Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, two of the best-loved and most-performed plays of all time.

Of course, reading or hearing Shakespeare’s plays read is just one way to savor the Bard’s genius. Seeing them performed onstage is yet another. For the truly dedicated and ambitious, the BBC offers a 37-volume DVD set comprising recorded performances of all of Shakespeare’s plays. For the less ambitious, each of those volumes is available individually as well, as are many different versions of both his most famous and his lesser-known works.

In addition to staged performances, Shakespeare has provided plenty of inspiration for Hollywood over the years. One of the most recent instances is Joss Whedon’s acclaimed 2012 production of Much Ado about Nothing, filmed at his own house. Other notable examples include two versions of Hamlet— the essential 1948 version starring Sir Laurence Olivier as the Danish prince, and the 1990 version starring Mel Gibson—and Baz Lurhmann’s 1996 adaptation of Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as the star-crossed lovers. And there are a number of films that take the premises of Shakespeare’s stories and repurpose them, like Kiss Me, Kate and 10 Things I Hate About You, both based on The Taming of the Shrew, and any number from Romeo and Juliet—among them West Side Story and the 2013 zomromcom Warm Bodies.

And all this is just scratching the surface of the sheer wealth of material by, about, and adapted from Shakespeare and his works (after all, we haven’t even mentioned his sonnets). For plenty more, be sure to SmartBrowse ‘Shakespeare’ on our website. And be sure to let your Bard-loving patrons know that a number of his plays are available in audiobook form on hoopla, as well as some other materials they may find interesting.

Unearthing Richard III

Written by Kyle Slagley

Some men are born great, others achieve greatness, and some are buried under the parking garage.

By now I’m sure most of you have heard about the discovery of the skeleton of Richard III under a car park in Leicester, England. Leicester, in case you weren’t sure, is about 100 miles north-northwest of London.

Historically, Richard is known for being the last king in the House of York, and also for being the last King of England to die on the battlefield after scheming and killing his way to the throne.

Most people are familiar with Richard III as the man who said things like “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” and “Now is the winter of our discontent!” For that we thank none other than the great William Shakespeare, whose tragedy has been performed countless times all across the world.

Having read the majority of the Bard’s plays, Richard III is definitely one of my favorites. Richard is one of those characters you love to hate. Whether he was actually as dastardly and despicable as the play makes him out to be may never truly be known, though. Here’s a look at some of the adaptations of Richard III out there.

The Naxos Audiobooks minimalist recording of the entire play is quite possibly the most definitive version out there, starring Kenneth Branagh as Richard. There are very few sound effects except the reading by the actors, making it seem as though the listener is sitting in on a casual read-through of the production. Quite simply, this is THE audiobook version to share with your patrons.

The 1955 Criterion version is widely considered to be THE film version of this play, mainly because it stars the be-all-end-all when it comes to Shakespearian actors, Sir Lawrence Olivier. I’ve seen this film a few times, and can definitely appreciate it as being the quintessential British theatre version. I have to admit my affection for this film only goes so far because in true Olivier style it is grand and magnificent, but I also find it stiff and uptight – particularly during the opening monologue.

The Murders of Richard III is a novel by Elizabeth Peters about an American librarian named Jacqueline Kirby who happens to be in England attending a Richard-themed murder mystery in a large manor house. As you might expect, the play-murders turn real and Kirby must solve the mystery. I’ve not read the book, but if you like the Jacqueline Kirby books, I’m told it’s one of the best in the series.

Sadly, my two favorite film versions of Richard III are unavailable. In 1995, MGM released a modern adaptation of the film starring Sir Ian McKellan as Richard, set in the 1930s. It has an all-star supporting cast that includes Annette Bening, Robert Downey Jr, and Jim Broadbent. Then in 1996, Al Pacino put out a docu-drama called Looking for Richard that includes clips from the play that are filmed in states from black-box rehearsal format to full-on film production. It also shows discussions about the academic elements of the play like character development, motive, and historical influence – all of which fascinate the theater enthusiasts. If you happen to have either of these films on your shelves already, I invite you to revisit them and share them with your patrons.