BBC to film all 37 of Bard's plays (12-year Shakespeare project could top $200 Million)

The Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | November 18, 2007 | Chris Hastings and Stephanie Plentl

[Stoat]

BBC to film all 37 of Bard's plays

By Chris Hastings and Stephanie Plentl
 

Last Updated: 4:36pm GMT 18/11/2007

 

 

Boasting one of the greatest casts ever assembled and spanning more than seven years, the BBC's Shakespeare series 30 years ago was a defining moment in British television history.

• 	Helen Mirren in the 1980s version of Cymbeline

  Now the corporation aims to upstage its own classics by producing new versions of all 37 of the Bard's plays.

  It has enlisted Sam Mendes, Oscar-winning director of American Beauty and Road to Perdition, and his Neal Street company to produce the entire canon over a 12-year period.

  Some of the country's biggest stars – including Kate Winslet, who is married to Mendes, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Jude Law, Dame Helen Mirren, and James McAvoy – are being tipped to take part in what will be one of the BBC's most expensive and ambitious drama series.

  With quality television drama costing up to £900,000 an hour, the final bill could touch £100?million.

  Mendes, a former director of the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London, who took the original idea to the corporation and who will himself direct several of the productions, said the series promised to be extrordinary.

  He said: "The moment I took the idea to the BBC, they grasped it with both hands, and in a sense they are the only people who could help pull it off.

  "Thirty-seven plays over 12 years. Just think of the fantastic array of actors and directors, and of course the plays, those incredible plays.

  "And then think of them committed to film as a single entity.

  "There are lots of details still to be ironed out, and I don't know yet which of the plays I will direct myself."

  Timothy West, who starred as Cardinal Wolsey in the BBC's 1979 adaptation of Henry VIII said there was no reason why the new series shouldn't be a success.

  "I think it is a good idea in theory. I had a very good time on Henry VIII, which responded very well to television as a medium."

  But, he said, it was vital that any new productions stuck to the playwright's original text and only relied on casts with experience of classical acting.

  "People try to 'improve' the text, but I don't think the audience has a problem with the language if it is done well.

  "The question is, are they turning out good Shakespearean actors who are recognisable to television audiences? People who are coming into the business now and who are making their names early haven't had experience with the classical text. The question is, can they cope?"

  The new series marks a radical departure for the BBC, which in recent years has shied away from traditional interpretations of the Bard's works.

  In 2005, the corporation was accused of dumbing down when it produced new versions of Shakespeare plays which were shorn of the original dialogue.

  The BBC is discussing a co-financing deal for the new series with the American broadcasting giant HBO.

  News of the new venture has been welcomed by many Shakespeare enthusiasts, who believe that the first series has become dated.

  The treasurer of the British Shakespeare Association, Stuart Hampton-Reeves, said it was important that modern audiences weren't bombarded with too much text. He said: "Modern audiences are used to immediate language, plot delivery and fast cutaways. The best Shakespeare adaptations have cut the text in a way that is suitable for TV."

  But Sir Jonathan Miller, the acclaimed dramatist who produced three plays in the original cycle, last night questioned the wisdom of the project. He said BBC commissioning editors were guilty of "cultural illiteracy".

  He said: "I am not certain it was that interesting an enterprise when it happened the first time around. The BBC were enslaved to their American sponsors and we were unable to do anything adventurous with the plays. They were all very historic. It was like Stratford upon Shakespeare."

  He added: "What worries me is that the BBC can't see beyond the big names like Shakespeare and Austen. It is now only interested in literary celebrity. As a result, there is a vast body of English drama which is being ignored."

  A BBC spokeswoman said: "We are at an early stage at the moment, but we are planning to do the complete of works of Shakespeare with Sam Mendes and his Neal Street production company."

  Who was who the last time

  Derek Jacobi: title role in Hamlet
  Nicol Williamson: title role in Macbeth
  Warren Mitchell: Shylock in The Merchant of Venice
  Robert Lindsay and Cherie Lunghi: Benedick and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing
  Bob Hoskins and Anthony Hopkins: Iago and title role in Othello
  John Cleese and Sarah Badel: Petruchio and Katharina in The Taming of the Shrew
  Michael Hordern: Prospero in The Tempest
  Jonathan Pryce: title role in Timon of Athens

[Stoat]

The treasurer of the British Shakespeare Association, Stuart Hampton-Reeves, said it was important that modern audiences weren't bombarded with too much text. He said: "Modern audiences are used to immediate language, plot delivery and fast cutaways. The best Shakespeare adaptations have cut the text in a way that is suitable for TV."

There are still some of us out here who have an attention span better than that of a gnat on crack.  Hopefully it won't be a production optimized for the viewing habits of a 12 year old videogame addict with ADD.

[Stoat]

Ping :-)

[madison10]

I wish they’d leave it with the original text length and vernacular...then just make it all available on DVD. What a collectible that would be!

[LibFreeOrDie]

"The best Shakespeare adaptations have cut the text in a way that is suitable for TV."

And to leave room for all the modern political commentary and liberal preaching...

[Stoat]

wish they’d leave it with the original text length and vernacular...then just make it all available on DVD. What a collectible that would be!

That would be wonderful, wouldn't it? 

I would imagine that it will 'eventually' be released on DVD, as they have released other BBC Shakespeare productions on DVD as well

Amazon.com bbc shakespeare DVD

In addition to dumbing down the language, a concern is that depictions of the numerous murders may run afoul of the UK "Health and Safety" laws

PC publishers ban dragon from breathing fire in children's book... because it's too dangerous the Daily Mail

[ClearCase_guy]

He said: "I am not certain it was that interesting an enterprise when it happened the first time around. The BBC were enslaved to their American sponsors and we were unable to do anything adventurous with the plays. They were all very historic."

He sounds like the kind of guy who wants Romeo and Juliet to star two men in a San Fran bathhouse.

[Stoat]

"The best Shakespeare adaptations have cut the text in a way that is suitable for TV."

And to leave room for all the modern political commentary and liberal preaching...

Undoubtedly Lady Macbeth will be portrayed by a Condoleezza Rice lookalike and all evildoers will bear a marked physical resemblance to President Bush.

"The best Shakespeare adaptations have cut the text in a way that is suitable for TV."

And to leave room for all the modern political commentary and liberal preaching...

[Stoat]

He said: "I am not certain it was that interesting an enterprise when it happened the first time around. The BBC were enslaved to their American sponsors and we were unable to do anything adventurous with the plays. They were all very historic."

He sounds like the kind of guy who wants Romeo and Juliet to star two men in a San Fran bathhouse.

Yes, and Lady Macbeth's "Unsexing speech" will be deemed as offensive to womyn as it suggests that a woman can't be as strong as a man.

Considering the multitude of scandals that the BBC has been involved with recently, most involving staffers cheating or being breathtakingly dishonest in one fashion or another, a project such as this is an excellent opportunity for them to do something right for a change and to reclaim their place as a respectable institution, but their recent history suggests that it will be merely a slap in the face of a "dead white male" and a colossal insult to anyone who has ever picked up a book in their lives.  I will undoubtedly end up watching it when it's released, but I don't have terribly high hopes for the content.  I do sincerely hope that I will be proven completely wrong.

He said: "I am not certain it was that interesting an enterprise when it happened the first time around. The BBC were enslaved to their American sponsors and we were unable to do anything adventurous with the plays. They were all very historic."

He sounds like the kind of guy who wants Romeo and Juliet to star two men in a San Fran bathhouse.

[scrabblehack]

If memory serves, the Jonathan Miller productions (1980-82) were supposed to include all the Shakespeare plays. But the project was apparently ended after 12 plays.

[Tax-chick]

I’ve seen the Royal Shakespeare Company productions on DVD in a catalog, but the whole set is SO expensive, like $200.

There are plenty of things in Shakespeare that I don’t really want the children seeing, I have to say. Couldn’t let them watch “Titus” when I checked it out last year!

[Stoat]

I’ve seen the Royal Shakespeare Company productions on DVD in a catalog, but the whole set is SO expensive, like $200.

Aren't they available for rent at your neighborhood video store, or perhaps one of the mail order rental places?

There are plenty of things in Shakespeare that I don’t really want the children seeing, I have to say. Couldn’t let them watch “Titus” when I checked it out last year!

Right offhand I can't think of a single Shakespearean play that I would consider suitable for "very" young children.  They were clearly written with mature young people and adults in mind, and if they are produced with even a passing glance in the direction of faithfulness to the original works they will be too complex for very young children to grasp anyway, in addition to any violent content that is frequently present.

Hopefully this new BBC production will not be an effort to make Shakespeare's works suitable for very young children...the Bard would be spinning in his grave.......

I’ve seen the Royal Shakespeare Company productions on DVD in a catalog, but the whole set is SO expensive, like $200.

Aren't they available for rent at your neighborhood video store, or perhaps one of the mail order rental places?

There are plenty of things in Shakespeare that I don’t really want the children seeing, I have to say. Couldn’t let them watch “Titus” when I checked it out last year!

[Tax-chick]

They might be available for rental by mail. I haven’t seen them in the Blockbuster or the library. Maybe they haven’t been released for general distribution in the same way as the Hollywood Shakespeare productions, like Laurence Olivier’s Richard III and so on.

I don’t think changes should be made to make the plays suitable for children. They weren’t the intended audience!

[RightWhale]

They will cut most of the poetry, which is to say, most of the sense.

[MS.BEHAVIN]

PING!

[windcliff]

ping

[SunkenCiv]

I’d prefer if the BBC TV versions from the 1970s (mentioned in the article) were made available on DVD for a reasonable cost. Of course, I’ve not checked in a couple of years...

[Stoat]

I’d prefer if the BBC TV versions from the 1970s (mentioned in the article) were made available on DVD for a reasonable cost. Of course, I’ve not checked in a couple of years...

I'm seeing them packaged in small "gift box" sets at Amazon

Amazon.com bbc shakespeare DVD

But it looks like the better deal is for the whole set at eBay.  Even though it's shipped from Australia, you save money over Amazon's packaging

THE BBC TV SHAKESPEARE DVD COLLECTION NEW-SEALED - (eBay item 200174998420 end time Nov-27-07 080201 PST)

This set is in the PAL video format and so it will only play on your computer, not on your home DVD player in the USA....I'm not seeing it being marketed in the USA.

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

A couple of shopping seasons ago, Sam’s Club had a 5 disk package of the most popular plays, around $80 I think. But on occasion I check disks out of the public library, which is where I first saw them.

[onedoug]

Robert Lindsay and Cherie Lunghi: Benedick and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing

'Saw this and a few others from the LA Library.

"You always end with a jade's trick: I know you of old."