Bard Flies

Several dozen plays later, Will and James host a wrap-up episode where they revisit, revise, and criticize one another's rankings, recognize the greatest and most outlandish characters with awards, and reflect on the experience of reading Shakespeare cover to cover over the past several years as they finish Season One of Bard Flies.CreditsIntro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous)Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)Illustrative Excerpts: “Pomp and Circumstance” (Edward Elgar); “First Blood,” dir. Ted Kotcheff (1982); “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” dir. Jay Roach (1997); “Friends: The One Where Phoebe Runs,” dir. Gary Halvorson (1999); “Top Gun,” dir. Tony Scott (1986); “Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back,” dir. Irvin Kershner (1980); “Goodfellas,” dir. Martin Scorsese (1990); John Gielgud, “Ages of Man,” Caedmon Records (1959); “Robin Hood,” dir. Wolfgang Reitherman and David Hand (1973); “Henry IV, Part One,” dir. Clive Brill (1998)

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)

In the final of the history plays, Shakespeare and his collaborator John Fletcher take on Henry VIII, the story of his first two wives, the birth of the future queen Elizabeth, and the establishment of the Church of England. In this episode, Will and James discuss why people have found the politics of Henry's court so compelling across the ages from Showtime's The Tudors to Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall to Broadway's Six, unpack the downfall speeches of Cardinal Wolsey and Katherine of Aragon, and consider whether you could pull it off today.CreditsIntro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous)Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)Illustrative Excerpts: Herman's Hermits, “Henry the Eighth, I Am,” The Ed Sullivan Show (1965); Arkangel / BBC, “History of Henry VIII” (1998); Bea Segura, “Henry VIII,” dir. Hannah Khalil, Shakespeare's Globe (2022)

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 this week's minisode, the pod features a conversation on Cymbeline with Dr. Dan Normandin, postdoctoral fellow in Early Modern English Literature at George Mason University and, even more importantly, a former classmate of James and Will. Dr. Normandin offers his insight on some of the topics James and Will debated about Cymbeline and shares war stories on his time teaching Shakespeare before a controversial lightning round.CreditsIntro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous)Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)

With plot twists that depend on poor facial recognition, one-sided bets over cuckoldry, one of the most idiotic kings in Shakespeare, and a truly villainous stepson whose beheading we are unfairly denied on stage, Shakespeare's “Cymbeline” is an interesting and often forgotten play in the Shakespeare canon. Will and James discuss which of these twists is most incredible as well as the Bard's portrait of Cloten, the aforementioned stepson whose incel tendencies lead to depravity, and what we should make of the play's British patriotism and ambivalent relationship to the Roman Empire.CreditsIntro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous)Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)Illustrative Excerpts: “Cymbeline,” dir. Michael Almereyda (2014); “Cymbeline,” dir. Cylan Brown, Shakespeare by the Sea, (2016); “Cymbeline,” dir. Laura Gordon, Band of Brothers Shakespeare Company (2019)

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)

In this week's minisode, Will interviews Dr. Eliot A. Cohen, former Counselor at the Department of State, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and co-host of the podcast Shield of the Republic. Dr. Cohen talks about his latest book project on Shakespeare and politics, the best stage to see the Bard come to life, what we can learn about war and peace from Coriolanus, and why Henry V is both the best and worst person to have in your foxhole. CreditsIntro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous)Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)

What happens when a virtuous general gets drafted to run for office after defeating Rome's enemies in battle? Nothing good! In this classic tale of martial virtue, popular politics, banishment, and treason, Shakespeare explores the divide between soldiers and the public, martial honor and private wounds, and some of the most epic “mommy issues” this side of Hamlet. Will and James discuss the protagonist Coriolanus's “great resignation” in this potent but lesser known tragedy.CreditsIntro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous)Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)Illustrative Excerpts: “Coriolanus,” dir. Ralph Fiennes (2011); “Coriolanus,” dir. Allen Fletcher, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (1953); “Coriolanus,” dir. Howard Sackler, Shakespeare Recording Society (1962)

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)

In one of the most famously torrid love affairs of all time, defined by extramarital cheating, lavish outfits, histrionics, and the shadow of collapsing empires, this episode's main characters define obsession and the insanity of passion. No, not Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton! Antony and Cleopatra! Picking up where “Julius Caesar” left off, Shakespeare cranks up the operatic dialogue and battle scenes as Rome tears itself asunder. Will and James discuss why Cleopatra is one of the most fascinating women in Shakespeare, the amazing language throughout the play, and whether their relationship represents puppy love or a clichéd midlife crisis.CreditsIntro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous)Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)Illustrative Excerpts: “Cleopatra,” dir. Joseph Mankiewicz (1963); “Antony & Cleopatra,” dir. Iqbal Khan, Royal Shakespeare Company (2017); “Antony & Cleopatra,” dir. Trevor Nunn, Royal Shakespeare Company, (1974); “Casablanca,” dir. Michael Curtiz (1942); “Antony and Cleopatra,” dir. Lawrence Carra (1984); “Antony and Cleopatra,” dirs. Gary Griffin/Barry Avrich, Stratford Festival (2015)

In this film club minisode, Will and James talk about what happens when two great masters collide in director Akira Kurosawa's adaptations of Shakespeare to the samurai epics of medieval Japan. Kurosawa's adaptation of "Macbeth" in his moody and gore-spattered "Throne of Blood" in 1957 and "King Lear" in his vivid, colorful 1985 masterpiece "Ran" are classics that take the Bard's plots and characters and mix them with katanas, castles, and visual spectacle beyond belief. // Credits // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)

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)

In a classic riches-to-rags story, the wealthy and generous Timon goes from commissioning artwork and giving interest free loans to subsisting on roots and railing against humanity in Shakespeare's bleak comedy. The atmosphere is lightened somewhat by how he seeks revenge on his faithless creditors and his city as a whole through practical jokes, the machinations of a dishonored general, and a cadre of women working in the world's oldest profession. Will and James discuss just how sorry we should actually feel for Timon, how to deal with bosses that don't want to hear bad news, and what the Bard can teach us about the National Security Council. // Credits // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: Al Jolson, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” NBC (1932); "Timon of Athens," dir. Robert B. Loper, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (1955); Nia Gwynne, "Timon of Athens," dir. Simon Godwin, Royal Shakespeare Company (2018)

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)

In a plot worthy of a day-time reality show, All's Well that Ends Well tells the story of a low-born ward named Helena who cures an ailing king and asks for the hand of a young nobleman who will do just about anything to avoid marrying her. Of course, she finds a way to snare the cad with some clever dece -- a plot development that leads Will and James to discuss who the real villain is in this play and whether anyone really learns anything in the end. // Credits // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “The Maury Povich Show”; “The Jerry Springer Show”; “All's Well that Ends Well,” dir. Robert B. Loper, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (1955)

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).

In the darkest episode of “Undercover Bosses” of all time, the Duke of Vienna announces he's taking a vacation and disguises himself as a monk, to see how his seemingly pious deputy Angelo runs the city -- only to find out that he's a hypocritical autocrat with a penchant for sexually blackmailing nuns. In order to depose Angelo and right his wrongs, our heroes develop a crazy scheme that strains credulity. Will and James discuss what Shakespeare was doing with this “problem play” and what it has to say about #MeToo, sex and the public square, and the point at which a plot requires just a little too much suspension of disbelief. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: John Gielgud, Ages of Man, Caedmon Records (1959); “Measure for Measure,” Brown Box Theater Project, dir. Kyler Taustin (2019); “Before Sunrise,” dir. Richard Linklater (1995)

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

This film club minisode tackles the most sampled movie on Bard Flies: “Shakespeare in Love,” starring (deep breath) Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck, Geoffrey Rush, Rupert Everett, Tom Wilkinson, and a coterie of other great actors. John Madden’s portrait of the starving artist as a young man tackles the big questions, including how to avoid your creditors, workshop a script, placate prima donna actors, fend off obnoxious producers, and conduct an illicit affair with a noblewoman with a penchant for the stage. Listen in to Will and James debate whether this is a faithful portrait of what makes Shakespeare great and whether it should have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. // Credits // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Shakespeare in Love,” dir. John Madden (1998)

Shipwrecks, women disguised as men, scolds getting their comeuppance, mismatched love matches, and twins! If you’re sensing some common themes in Shakespeare’s comedies, dear listener, you’d be correct. Yet Will and James do not find the combination becomes more charming with repetition despite the play’s reputation as one of the Bard’s best light-hearted laugh riots. In this rip-roaring lightning episode, they question whether the comedies are, as a rule, generally bad or whether it’s just them... // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Shakespeare in Love,” dir. John Madden (1998)

...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)

All the world’s a stage in "As You Like It," a tale of exile, disguise, revenge, requited love, unrequited love, roleplay therapy, and illegal professional wrestling chokeholds. Will and James discuss one of Shakespeare’s most beloved heroines in the plucky Rosalind (or is it her handsome male alter ego Ganymede?), whether love is like a contagious virus, and the characters’ meanderings through the beautiful French forest of Arden. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Tootsie,” dir. Sydney Pollack (1982), “As You Like It,” Oregon Shakespeare Festival, dir. Don Hunter (1950), “The Seven Ages of Man,” Morgan Freeman (Date Unknown)

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)

In the culmination of Shakespeare’s second tetralogy, the new elevated Hal has put away childish things and readies himself to conquer France after receiving dubious legal advice from his clergymen and an insulting gift of tennis balls from the Dauphin. In this episode, Will and James discuss the plethora of Henry V’s amazing speeches, which are the gold standard against which most political rhetoric falls woefully short, and how much our king has learned along the way. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “The Darkest Hour,” dir. Joe Wright (2017); “Henry V,” dir. Kenneth Branagh (1989)

Will and James reflect on how their understanding of Shakespeare and his relevance have changed now that they're halfway through the plays. Plus, rankings mea culpas!

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)

England, Prince Hal, and John Falstaff are still a hot mess in the third part of Shakespeare’s Henriad, but maturity and the burdens of the crown are on the horizon as another rebellion materializes, King Henry falls ill, and Sir Jack feels his age while hanging around a house of ill repute. In this episode, Will and James discuss toxic friendships, the responsibilities of leadership, and why Falstaff is the equivalent of Matthew McConaughey’s character in “Dazed and Confused.” All right, all right, all right! // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Chimes at Midnight,” dir. Orson Welles (1965); “Dazed and Confused,” dir. Richard Linklater (1993)

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)

Can honor set a leg? Are gluttony and drunkenness ever virtues? And just how many capons and slain enemies will it take to settle the immortal question of who should be King of England? In this week’s episode, Will and James debate the relative merits and demerits of Sir John Falstaff and Sir Henry Hotspur, how wars evolve differently depending whether they are caused by fear, honor, and interest, and parallels between The Iliad, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and Shakespeare’s canon. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “The Hollow Crown: Henry IV, Part 1,” dir. Richard Eyre (2012); “Henry IV, Part 1,” dir. Dominic Dromgoole (2010); John Gielgud, "The Ages of Man" (1966); The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, "The First Part of King Henry IV," dir Richard Graham, Philip Hanson, and Angus Bowmer (1960)

In this week’s minisode, Will and James discuss Michael Radford’s 2004 adaptation of The Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, and Joseph Fiennes’ distinctive mullet. Despite its sumptuous costume and scenery that Pacino avoids chewing during the course of his humane performance as Shylock, the movie still doesn’t quite work. The guys break down why and discuss whether Merchant can work as a movie today. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpt: “The Merchant of Venice,” dir. Michael Radford (2004)

"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)

In one of Shakespeare’s lesser known outings, a king better known for his role as a villain in countless retellings of the legend of Robin Hood is a flawed hero fighting against the hated French! Amid the endless twists and turns of the plot, Will and James dissect the politics of foreign wars, nationalism, the Catholic Church, historical memory, and, of course, the Magna Carta and Carl von Clausewitz. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “Robin Hood,” dir. Wolfgang Reitherman (1973); “The Life and Death of King John,” Oregon Shakespeare Festival (1959)

In this trippy comedy featuring magic, hallucinogenic potions, spiteful gods, pickup artists, hybrid man-animal horrors, and worse wedding entertainment than a Nickelback cover band, the mischievous Puck holds sway over Athens and court of the Fairy King alike. James and Will try to make sense of the chaos of one of Shakespeare’s most original and zaniest plays. // Credits // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” dir. Max Reinhardt (1935); “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” dir. Celia de Wolff (2018)

Written for the Earl of Southampton in 1594, Shakespeare’s “Lucrece” recounts the fall of Rome’s corrupt kings. The precipitating event is the sexual assault of the noblewoman Lucrece by King Tarquin’s son. Her decision to come forward and demand justice leads to the rise of the Roman Republic. In this Bard Flies minisode, Will and James discuss how the story of Lucrece relates to our world today and how it contrasts with Shakespeare's "Venus and Adonis." // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)

Young love has a body count in "Romeo and Juliet," as packs of young scallywags, roustabouts, and jabronis from House Montague and House Capulet roam the streets of fair Verona - much to the chagrin of their parents and the local authorities. It also contains some of the most powerful love poetry in Shakespeare’s work, delivered by characters with verve, wit, and unique personalities. Will and James discuss why this play endures and resonates in so many different forms and cultures around the world, and speculate on whether it forms part of a wider Shakespeare expanded universe that includes "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative Excerpts: Shakespeare in Love, dir. John Madden (1998); West Side Story, dir. Robert Wise (1961); Romeo + Juliet, dir. Baz Luhrmann (1996); Romeo and Juliet, dir. Franco Zeffirelli (1968)

England is a “teeming womb of royal kings, fear’d by their breed, and famous by their birth” in Shakespeare’s Richard II, which features a philosopher-sovereign with a taste for the finer things in life whose arrogance, capriciousness, and cruelty is either a sign of disinterest, dictatorship, or insanity depending on one's interpretation. Following a botched trial by combat to settle a dispute between two nobles, Richard’s disinheritance of one of his chief rivals leads to predictable chaos and epic poetry that pits the divine right of kings against patriotism, legitimacy against practical politics, and high-handed arrogance against duplicitous skullduggery in the prelude to the epics of "Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2" and "Henry V." // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); illustrative excerpts from "The Hollow Crown: Richard II," dir. Rupert Goold (2012) and from "Game of Thrones," Season 3, Episode 10, "Mhysa," dir. David Nutter (2013)

What happens when four young noblemen take chastity pledges to focus on their academic studies only to have the Princess of France and her ladies-in-waiting camp outside their castle? Catfishing, verbal one-upmanship, and the pitching of woo while disguised in traditional Russian garb, naturally! In this episode of Bard Flies, Will and James discuss "Love’s Labour’s Lost," a charming comedy with a serious turn in the fifth act that transforms it from a showcase for Shakespeare’s linguistic prowess to a surprisingly deep commentary on love, commitment, and growing up. // CREDITS //. Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); illustrative excerpts from "Love’s Labour’s Lost," dir. Kenneth Branagh (2000) and "BBC Play of the Month: Love's Labour's Lost," dir. Basil Coleman (1975)

Mistaken identities, undeserved beatings, gaslighting, probable affairs, exorcisms, misplaced bags of gold, and two sets of twins amounts to double the trouble and double the fun as Shakespeare brings on the jokes after a spate of history plays. Will and James dissect the finer points of farce in The Comedy of Errors, a zany slapstick affair with insult comedy galore. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); illustrative excerpts from: The Parent Trap, dir. Nancy Meyers (1998) and BBC Shakespeare: Comedy of Errors, dir. James Cellan Jones (1983); monologue from Act II, Scene 1 performed by Matthew Bohrer.

Defined by repetitive battles, inappropriate romantic gestures, gratuitous insults to the Scots, and the murky question of who wrote most of its scenes, "Edward III" is a bad play that can teach us a good deal about collaborating on art, script doctoring for the stage and screen, and the questionable parenting practices of the Plantagenet dynasty. Will and James break down why some scholars believe Shakespeare wrote the one comedic part in an otherwise listless history play and the parallels between the theater business in the Bard’s day and Hollywood in our own. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative excerpt from: World Without End, dir. Michael Caton-Jones (2012)

Richard Loncraine’s brilliant 1995 film adaptation of "Richard III" takes Shakespeare’s classic and sets in the Europe of the 1930s amid the rise of fascism with a blackhearted Sir Ian McKellen in the title role. Will and James discuss what makes this movie so successful -- from its all-star cast and impeccable art direction to the insights it offers about totalitarianism and the breakdown of political order. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)

In Richard III, the conclusion to the War of the Roses tetralogy, Richard of York connives, lies, and murders his way to the top. In the process, he dispatches his brothers, nephews, and his own wife with aplomb, plenty of puns, a broken fourth wall that paved the way for House of Cards, and a plot that both Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth infamously loved. As the tyrannical anti-hero of Shakespeare’s early masterpiece, Richard III stands without peer. //WORKS REFERENCED // James Mann, The Great Rift: Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and the Broken Friendship That Defined an Era (2020) // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); Illustrative excepts from: Richard III, dir. Richard Loncraine (1995) and Richard III, dir. Laurence Olivier (1955)

After defeating the Goths, Rome descends into chaos in Titus Andronicus -- or, Will and James prefer to call it, The Titus Chainsaw Massacre. In Shakespeare’s goriest play, which is larded with a dozen on-stage murders, wanton dismemberment, appalling cruelty, and, of course, questionable culinary choices baked in throughout. In this episode, Will and James explore the lines between tragedy, satire, and horror and why this play went from being one of the most popular of Shakespeare’s plays in his lifetime only to be discarded for two centuries until shortly after World War I. // WORKS REFERENCED // Mark Van Doren, Shakespeare (1939); Titus Andronicus, dir. Julie Taymor (1999); The Silence of the Lambs, dir. Jonathan Demme (1991); Night of the Living Dead, dir. George Romero (1968); Alien, dir. Ripley Scott (1979); American Psycho, dir. Mary Harron (2000); Hostel, dir. Eli Roth (2005); Saw, dir. James Wan (2004) // NON-SHAKESPEAREAN RECOMMENDATIONS // Will: Ross Macdonald, The Zebra-Striped Hearse (1962)' James: Orlando Figes, A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891–1924 (1996) // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); illustrative excepts from: Silence of the Lambs, dir. Jonathan Demme (1991) and Titus Andronicus, dir. Julie Taymor (1999)

With the Wars of the Roses now thoroughly underway between King Henry VI, Queen Margaret, and the Duke of York, we get to witness England descend into a state of barbarism -- ruled by a king who wonders why we can’t all just get along. Full of increasingly intense battle and betrayal, Henry VI, Part 3 brings the degradation of civil war to life -- and reveals Shakespeare’s first fully fleshed out character in the Machivellian Richard, Duke of Gloucester -- and soon to be King Richard III. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous); illustrative excerpts from: A Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 3, “What is Dead May Never Die,” dir. Alik Sakharov; and from YouTube video "This Battle Fares...", performed by Ian McGarrett.

From 1592 to 1594, plague stalked London, leading authorities to close playhouses as a public health measure. Amid this mandatory social distancing, Shakespeare sharpened his quill at home and turned to narrative poetry with “Venus and Adonis,” a retelling of the famous Greek myth that recasts a young Adonis as a victim of the older Venus’s lustful aggression. In the first Bard Flies minisode, Will and James examine the enduring relevance of Shakespeare’s work in the era of self-quarantine amid COVID-19 and the #MeToo movement. // CREDITS // Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous)

Treachery! Necromancy! Pirates! Rebellion! Unmerciful executions! In Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 2, England takes a turn for the worse as the pitiful Henry and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (the O.G. Ned Stark of our tale) get taken for a ride by just about everyone, as nobles orchestrate baroque conspiracies against one another, the leader of a popular revolt puts Robespierre to shame in London as heads roll, and the War of the Roses finally breaks out. Intro music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous); outro music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous). Illustrative excerpts were taken from: A Game of Thrones, Season 1, Episode 5, “A Golden Crown,” dir. Daniel Minahan; The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses - Henry VI, Part 2, dir. Dominic Cooke (2016); Mark Rylance as Jack Cade from the 2017 Shakespeare Authorship Trust Conference.

The first of Shakespeare’s history plays, "Henry VI, Part 1" is a gore-spattered prelude to his War of the Roses tetralogy, which ends with the early masterpiece "Richard III." England has a new, oblivious king who makes Tommen Baratheon look competent and is barely holding his kingdom together in the face of a war against the French armies of the demonic and wily Joan of Arc. Meanwhile, petty discord among the English aristocracy brings more drama than divorce proceedings in the House of Windsor. Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous). Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous). Illustrative excerpt from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," dir. Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones (1975).

Famously adapted for the screen in the classic teen movie "10 Things I Hate About You", "The Taming of the Shrew" tells the story of a brutal battle of the sexes featuring unpleasant characters, unrepentant chauvinism, psychological torture, and some of the most controversial passages in Shakespeare… and yet, it is one of his best known and most widely performed comedies. Why is that? Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous). Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous). Illustrative excerpt from "10 Things I Hate About You," dir. Gil Junger (1999).

Shakespeare’s first play has everything: a love quadrangle, gender-swapping disguises, banditry, erroneous Italian geography, one beautiful soliloquy, and a bit with dog. Lamentably, Will and James conclude, beginner’s luck largely does not apply in “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” a decidedly unromantic comedy centered around two women who deserve better than the titular bros with whom they end up. Intro Music: Jon Sayles, "The Witches' Dance" (composed by anonymous). Outro Music: Jon Sayles, “Saltarello” (composed by anonymous). Illustrative excerpts featuring Geoffrey Rush and Gwyneth Paltrow from "Shakespeare in Love," dir. John Madden (1998).