The latest from Shakespeare Magazine
Stanzas in Solidarity: A rare chance to hear the sensual supremacy of Shakespeare’s epic-length 1593 poem ‘Venus and Adonis’ performed by a massed ensemble of almost 200 British theatre artists.
Earlier this year, the Stanzas in Solidarity project was formed as an artistic response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its initial offering was an online collaborative performance of Shakespeare's 'Venus and Adonis'. A collective endeavour by no less than … [Read More...]
What’s Love Got To Do With It? Quite a lot, actually, when it comes to the key characters of Hamlet. Jeffrey R. Wilson throws light on Shakespeare’s fascinating foray into perhaps the most complex emotion of all.
What is Shakespeare’s Hamlet about? It’s a deceptively difficult question, and will elicit no consensus. Even though Hamlet is the most frequently assigned Shakespearean text in schools, and the most frequently written about in academic Shakespeare studies—or, probably, because of those facts—we have difficulty agreeing on its basic concerns. According to SparkNotes, the study aid that thousands of students […]
Shakespeare Reinvented or just another Tragedy of Errors? Earlier this year, we live-Tweeted our lockdown viewing of the opulent 2018 Ophelia film directed by Claire McCarthy which starred Daisy Ridley, Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. Here it is in all its irreverent glory…
Right, it’s 8.06pm UK time – let’s watch Ophelia. (Hits ‘Play’) Creepy skull in crown logo, very Shakespearean gothic. Quickly introducing all the main characters. Claudius is a total rogue, played by Clive Owen. Hamlet is just 15, which is about the right age for a student Prince in those days. Naomi Watts as an […]
Dating back to the first half of the nineteenth century, the earliest Finnish language translation of a Shakespeare play was fated to fade into obscurity. Almost 200 years later, Kayleigh Töyrä unearths the intriguing tale of how Macbeth was adapted to the forests of Finland.
“To be a well-favoured man is the gift of fortune; but to write and read comes by nature.” – Much Ado About Nothing, 3:3:14 What do you do when Shakespeare isn’t written in a language you can speak or read? You translate. You adapt. You make it your own. And for a young Nordic country […]
Waiting for Shakespeare to make his entrance: References and remembrances in two classic twentieth century ‘New York’ novels, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
As a fellow Shakespeare fan, perhaps you experience this too. Quite often when I’m reading a book or watching a film or having a look at something on television, I get a slightly eerie sense of premonition, the feeling that a Shakespeare reference is about to be deployed. Big deal, you’re probably thinking. After all, […]
This Victorian Shakespeare Colouring Book is FREE for everyone to download and print out at home!
Dr Michael Goodman, curator of the Victorian Illustrated Shakespeare Archive, has made a unique Shakespeare colouring book, and it is free for everyone to download and print out at home! The colouring book features 35 gorgeous Victorian illustrations by the great H.C. Selous from the title pages of 35 Shakespeare plays. “If you want to engage your […]
Watch an exclusive archive clip of actor Tom Hiddleston talking about Shakespeare!
Film-maker Richard Denton, co-producer of some of our favourite Shakespeare documentaries, has very kindly shared a fantastic clip of actor Tom Hiddleston talking about his formative Shakespeare experiences. The clip is available to view on Shakespeare Magazine’s Facebook Page. Enjoy! UPDATE! Richard Denton has now shared another clip of Tom Hiddleston talking about Henry V, including […]
Watch Hamlet (George MacKay) take on Claudius (Clive Owen) in this Exclusive Clip from director Claire McCarthy’s new Shakespeare-inspired film OPHELIA starring Daisy Ridley in the title role, with Naomi Watts as Gertrude and Tom Felton as Laertes
OPHELIA is screening in selected UK cinemas from Friday 22 November, and will then be available on demand from Wednesday 27 November on these platforms: iTunes, Amazon, Sky Store, Virgin, Rakuten, Chili. A full Shakespeare Magazine review of OPHELIA will follow shortly.
Timothée Chalamet in The King: England’s legendary warrior prince is reinvented as a petulant and introverted man-child in this ponderous revision of Shakespeare’s Henry IV and Henry V plays
Warning: This review contains spoilers. There’s never any Shakespeare on Netflix, the online streaming channel which seems to specialise in teenage shows about Satanism and suicide. Still, we’ve held off cancelling our subscription in order to see The King. The film is the brainchild of Joel Edgerton, who co-writes, produces and plays Falstaff. His fellow Australian David […]
About Shakespeare Magazine
Pat Reid, Editor
As you’d expect from the name, it’s a magazine dedicated to exploring and celebrating the life and works of William Shakespeare.
We launched our first issue on 23 April 2014, as the world celebrated 450 years since the birth of the Bard.
We’ve quickly found readers in all corners of the globe, and it’s clear that Shakespeare Magazine is a truly international publication.
Shakespeare is England’s greatest gift to the world, so Shakespeare Magazine is completely free to anyone and everyone, no matter who you are or where you are.
The Shakespeare Magazine website is a place where you can read the latest issue of the magazine and peruse the latest Shakespeare News.
You can also follow our Twitter feed (with other social media channels coming soon). And we’ll be posting Shakespeare features, offers and competitions that won’t be available elsewhere.
Shakespeare Magazine aims to give a new voice to Shakespeare fans everywhere. I hope you’ll visit us often.
Enjoy your magazine and website.
Pat Reid
Founder & Editor, Shakespeare Magazine
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