Shakespeare ENG 220
Presentation Assignment (20 pts)
Every Western culture (and some Eastern ones) have had their own Shakespeare—a
Shakespeare related to, but also distinct from the historical man who went about his
business in sixteenth-century London writing, acting, getting married, fathering children,
and being sued. Some of these Shakespeares have been heroic, and some villainous, some
highbrow, and some crude. Likewise, Shakespeare’s plays have taken a variety of shapes
depending on when, where, and why they’ve been performed: Lawrence Olivier’s
Othello (National Theater of Great Britain, 1965), is very different from Kenneth
Branagh’s (Warner Bros., 1995), which is very different from Gowri Ramnrayan’s (a
Japanese production, adapting Othello to the traditions of Mugen-Noh theater, 2005).
In this assignment, we will explore how Shakespeare and his plays have been
reimagined and transformed for use in new and different times and places.
Each of you will be responsible for making a 5-10 minute presentation analyzing a
representation of Shakespeare or of one of his works, and exploring its significance with
respect to the culture or cultural institution that produced it. I will provide specific
opportunities (where I will pick the cultural representation to work with), but I’m also
happy to provide general recommendations or to allow you complete freedom to pick
your own representation.
Parameters:
1. The representation you choose must be limited enough in scope so that we can
see it and you can tell us about it in 10 minutes. So, look for advertisements, art
work, passages from literature, scenes from Shakespeare productions,
holograms on credit cards… Anything that involves Shakespeare or one of his
works and into which you can sink your analytical teeth.
2. Analyze the representation, paying close attention to details, and explain not
only what the representation tells us about Shakespeare, but also what the
representation tells us about the culture that produced it. In other words, though
Laurence Olivier’s Othello no doubt tells us something about Shakespeare, it
also tells us A LOT about mid-twentieth-century England, about its
understanding of race, about its sense of cultural authority (England and
Shakespeare as the be-all-end-all of art and culture)…
Representation Suggestions:
 Take a look at the Global Shakespeare Project (linked to on our website under
“Performance”). It’s an MIT initiative gathering productions of Shakespeare’s
works from across cultures.
 Especially interesting is Kenneth Branagh’s reading of a part of Calaban’s speech
from the Tempest in Danny Boyle’s 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4As0e4de-rI, (around minute 16).
 Pick a scene from one of these film adaptations:
 Richard III
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Richard III (Robert Gemp, Frederick Warde), dir. Andre Calmettes
and James Keane, 1912.
 Richard III (Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud), dir. Laurence
Olivier, 1955.
 Richard III (Ian McKellen, Robert Downey Jr.), dir. Richard
Loncraine, 1995.
 Looking for Richard (Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey), dir. Al Pacino,
1996.
Midsummer Night’s Dream
 Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mickey Rooney, James Cagney), dir.
Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle, 1935.
 Midsummer Night’s Dream (Diana Rigg, Helen Mirren), dir. Peter
Hall, 1968.
 Midsummer Night’s Dream (Michelle Pfeiffer, Calista Flockhart),
dir. Michael Hoffman, 1999.
Richard II
 Richard II (Derek Jacobi, John Gielgud), dir. David Giles, 1978.
 King Richard II (David Birney, Paul Shenar), dir. William
Woodman, 1982.
Henry IV, Part I
 Chimes at Midnight (Falstaff) (Orson Wells, John Gielgud), dir.
Orson Wells, 1965.
 My Own Private Idaho (River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves), dir. Gus
Van Sant, 1992.
Hamlet
 Hamlet (Astra Nielson, Mathilde Brandt), dir. Sven Gade and
Heinz Schall, 1921.
 Hamlet (Laurence Olivier, Basil Sydney), dir. Laurence Olivier,
1948.
 Hamlet (Richard Burton, John Gielgud), dir. John Gielgud and Bill
Colleran, 1964.
 Hamlet (Mel Gibson, Glen Close), dir. Franco Zeffirelli, 1990.
 Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh, Kate Winslet), dir. Kenneth Branagh,
1996.
 Hamlet (Ethan Hawke, Bill Murray), dir. Michael Almereyda,
2000.
Othello
 The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (Orson Welles,
Suzanne Cloutier), dir. Orson Welles, 1952.
 Othello (Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith), dir. Stuart Burge, 1965.
 Otello (Placido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli) dir. Franco Zefirelli,
1986.
 Othello (Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh), dir. Oliver
Parker, 1995.
 O (Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles), dir. Tim Blake Nelson, 2001.
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The Tempest
 Forbidden Planet (Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon), dir. Fred M.
Wilcox 1956.
 The Tempest (Heathcote Williams, Peter Bull), dir. Derek Jarman,
1979.
 Tempest, (Susan Sarandon, John Cassavetes), dir. Paul Mazursky,
1982.
 Prospero’s Books (John Gielgud, Michael Clark), dir. Peter
Greenway, 1991.
 Tempest (Helen Mirren, Felicity Jones), dir. Julie Taymor, 2010.