The Good, The Bard, and The Ugly: Recent Episodes
Cincy Shakes
Each week Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s own Jeremy Dubin and accomplished Shakespeare scholar (and friend of the theatre) Dr. Niamh O’Leary explore the wealth of Shakespeare-centric entertainment that can be enjoyed right from the comfort of your living room! Joined by a rotating panel of guests from CSC and beyond, they tuck into the wide (and occasionally weird) array of Shakespeare movies, recorded performances, adaptations and more available for your consumption.
In honor of Cincy Shakes' production of King Lear, Niamh and Dubin are discussing the 2016 Talawa production starring Don Warrington.
Maggie Lou Rader join Niamh and Jeremy to discuss a Taming of the Shrew that we all... might love? Turns out the secret to a perfect Taming of the Shrew lies in the 1970s!
Hijinks about as we are joined by CSC's Crystian Wiltshire to discuss Dominic Cooke's 2012 Comedy of Errors!
Vanessa Corredera, Andrews University, joins us to discuss Shakespeare, race, and Anthony and Cleopatra!
Today Niamh and Jeremy are joined by Courtney Anthony, former docent at the Folger Shakespeare Library, to discuss Jonathon Munby's 2015 Globe Theatre production of Merchant of Venice!
It's a Minisode! Jeremy and Niamh discuss Christopher Moore's 2009 novel Fool and how fun it is to watch this unnamed King Lear character take center stage.
Niamh and Jeremy are joined to discuss Robert Lepage's 2019 production of Coriolanus by Jemma Alix Levy, WLU associate professor of theatre and director of CSC's Miss Holmes!
We're joined by scholar Ambereen Dadabhoy to discuss the 2019 Paul Ireland adaptation of Measure for Measure.
https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/15/16644938/shakespeare-measure-for-measure-weinstein-sexual-harassment-play-theater
Today we're joined by local English teachers Heather Jones and Samantha Jones to discuss a modern classic-Shakespeare in Love!
We're joined once again by Caitlin McWethy to discuss the mid-2000s answer to 10 Things I Hate About You, She's the Man! Spoiler alert: We don't love it.
Niamh and Jeremy are joined by Geoffrey Barnes II to discuss Kenneth Branagh's As You Like It!
Jeremy and Niamh are joined by Courtney Lucien and Crystian Wiltshire to discuss the epic 2021 film/theatre adaptation of Romeo and Juliet from National Theatre, available on the PBS video app.
Hello friends! After an early-summer hiatus, we are back with a vengeance! To ring in our newest season, we spoke with some of the kids at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Summer Camp about their favorite Shakespeare plays. Enjoy!
Friend of the Pod Kelly Mengelkoch join us to discuss our very first Julius Caesar production!
https://beforeshakespeare.com/2018/02/16/julius-caesar-and-the-politics-of-having-an-audience/
Robben Island Shakespeare
Jeremy and Niamh are joined by Cincinnati Shakespeare's own Henry VI, Darnell Benjamin, to talk about the BBC Hollow Crown production of Henry VI.
Jeremy and Niamh discuss the theatre of the FUTURE and chat "Dream," a recent foray into VR by the RSC.
Jeremy, Niamh, and Producer Alice once again journey up north to the fictional New Burbage theatre to discuss the second half of season one of Slings and Arrows!
Producer Alice joins Jeremy and Niamh to chat about the television show Slings and Arrows, a Canadian cult classic and favorite among regional Shakespeare companies.
This is one of two episodes about the six episodes of Slings and Arrows season 1.
Join Niamh, Jeremy, and CSC's very own Prince Hal, Justin McCombs, to discuss this Henry IV-adjacent 90s cult classic, starring Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix.
Niamh and Jeremy are joined by Manuel Jacquez of Ohio State University to discuss David Tennant's 2013 acclaimed Richard II. Spoiler alert: Everyone loves it.
Plus, a reminder about a digital theatre piece coming up this weekend! Find more information about "Dream" at the link below. https://www.rsc.org.uk/news/dream-explore-the-future-of-theatre-in-the-virtual-forest
It's here--We finally discuss Lion King! Jeremy and Niamh are joined by Sara of the Ripe Good Scholar blog and Breaking Bard podcast to discuss how to introduce Shakespeare to kids, and The Lion King, and how it mirrors many Shakespeare plays--not just Hamlet.
Jeremy and Niamh are joined by Taarini Mookherjee to discuss Noblemen a retelling of sorts of Merchant of Venicethrough the lens of an Indian prep school.
(Noblemen is available on Netflix.)
Candice Handy joins Jeremy and Niamh to talk about the 2001 teen Shakespeare classic adaptation, O. This was recorded December 31st of 2020, so get ready for some 2021 excitement that we're not sure January lived up to!
Jeremy and Niamh go back to the wacky 80s with Kelly Mengelkoch and her twin, Kristen, to discuss the ties Big Business has with Comedy of Errors!
Niamh and Dubin discuss their favorites from this year, and what we're looking forward to in 2021!
The entire cast of this year's Drunk Santa X-Mas Spectacular joins Niamh and Jeremy to chat about the filming process, their own favorite Christmas classics, and quality over quantity in terms of how many whiskeys we've all had.
(Not really appropriate for anyone who still believes in Santa!)
Producer Alice and local man-about-town Rory Sheridan join Niamh and Dubin to talk about Scotland, PA, a Macbeth send up that makes us all appreciate Maura Tierney even more than before.
Join Niamh, Jeremy, local boardgame store Woodburn Games proprietor Michael Hubbard, and Kensington Books Editor Esi Sogah, as they discuss the Gen X classic Romeo + Juliet, starring Claire Danes and Leo DiCaprio at his heartthrobbiest.
Three of them love it, one of them hates it, and we bet you can figure out which one within the first five minutes.
The Doctor, Jean Luc Picard, and Shakespeare walk into a bar, in what swiftly becomes one of our most scholarly episodes yet!
Niamh and Jeremy are joined by Charlie Gustafson-Barrett and Graley Herren to discuss The Royal Shakespeare Company's 2009 award-winning production of Hamlet in this week's episode!
What does Ethan Hawke have to do with Shakespeare?
If you said Hamlet, you'd technically be right, but off the mark for today's pod! Jeremy and Niamh are joined by Cincinnati actor Corinne Mohlenhoff and publicist of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC Colleen Kennedy to discuss Ethan Hawke's other Shakespeare outing, Cymbeline, which they watched so that you don't have to.
Michael Fassbender plays Macbeth, and Jeremy and Niamh... can't quite understand what he's saying?
Join us for this week's minisode, a rerecording of an old, corrupted, never-before released episode!
CSC's own Lavinia, Maggie Lou Rader, and Rebecca Muich of UNC Greenboro join Dubin and Niamh for a special Halloween episode to discuss the much-maligned but equally beloved Titus Andronicus, focusing specifically on Julie Taymor's 1999 Titus, starring Anthony Hopkins, Alan Cumming, and Jessica Lange.
Happy Halloween, and look out for those meat pies this season!
Jeremy and Niamh are joined by Candice Handy and local fight choreographer and kung-fu movie aficionado Gina Cerimele-Mechley to discuss one of Niamh's favorites, The Banquet!
Four people who feel "meh" about Hamlet at best discussing a Hamlet interpretation that three of them love. What could go wrong?
Watch The Banquet here on youtube!
That's right... This week we're joined by Justin McCombs and Geoffrey Barnes to chat Comedy of Errors starring, somehow, the one and only Roger Daltry!
Less "drug-induced fever dream" and more "Imagination Station" than any of us expected, listen to find out if it's worth the ride! (You can stream this movie with your Amazon Prime subscription.)
Join us as Jeremy and Niamh, as well as actor Kelly Mengelkoch and actor, professor, and director Torie Wiggins discuss Anthony Hopkins' King Lear. Did we like it? Weeeelllll....... you'll see!
Niamh and Jeremy are joined by Dawn Caudill and Montez Greer to chat Shakespeare in another language... British Sign Language! The conversation is fascinating, and the play is a delight.
Find the episode transcription here!
You've been hearing about it for months--and now here it finally is! Miranda McGee and Crystian Wiltshire, both Much Ado veterans, join Jeremy and Niamh to discuss arguably the best Shakespeare film adaptation around--Kenneth Braunagh's Much Ado About Nothing.
Niamh and Jeremy are joined by Maggie Lou Rader and Cincy Shakes' own Richard III, Billy Chace, to discuss the 1995 film Richard III starring Sir Ian McKellen himself.
Two households, both alike in... their desire for BRAAAAAAINS?
This week, Niamh and Dubin are joined by Kenny Hamilton and Courtney Lucien to discuss the Zombie answer to the early aughts Twilight phenomenon, Warm Bodies. We discuss whether or not it's a good adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, whether or not it's a good movie in and of itself, the merits of a Zombie makeover scene set to "Pretty Woman," and we even get to discuss it with bonafide teen Talia Rader-Roth in our "Phone-a-Pleb" segment!
Jeremy and Niamh are joined by poet and Professor Emeritus Norman Finkelstein to discuss the romp that is the 2013 Globe Theatre production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
You can find this production available for rent or purchase at the link below!
https://globeplayer.tv/videos/a-midsummer-night-s-dream-english
Niamh tries to convince Jeremy, Caitlin McWethy, and Geoffrey Barnes that the 2007 Evan Rachel Wood/Michael Douglas vehicle King of Californiais a Tempest adaptation and she... kind of succeeds?
(Please note, as we are recording this socially distant via the internet, there is some occasional clicking in this episode!)
Even Shakespeare Scholars need a break! This week we're so excited to offer up our first "minisode," a half hour conversation between Jeremy and Niamh about the 2016 Stratford Festival production of Pericles.
Caitlin McWethy and Darnell Benjamin join us to discuss Niamh's favorite Shakespeare onscreen-although Jeremy doesn't necessarily agree!
Niamh and Jeremy are joined by Geoffrey Barnes and Alice Flanders to discuss the 2020 Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA for short!) production of Macbeth, as well as introducing and teaching Shakespeare to kids.
Join Jeremy, Niamh, Kelly Mengelkoch, and CSC's own Henry V, Justin McCombs for an in-depth discussion of Kenneth Branagh's first movie, Henry V! Spoiler Alert: We all think it's pretty perfect.
Jeremy and Niamh are joined by Brian Isaac Phillips, Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and Lauren Ginsberg of the University of Cincinnati Classics Department, to discuss Ralph Fienne's 2011 movie adaptation of Coriolanus.
Today we are joined by Actor, Dancer, Activist, and general amazing human Darnell Pierre Benjamin and the founder of Cincinnati Black Artists Collective (check out their weekly monologue series on Facebook!) Candice Handy to discuss Kenny Leone's all Black production of Much Ado About Nothing.
Straight from the couches of your favorite CSC actors, a brand new podcast about some of your favorite Shakespeare plays and adaptations!
For transcription, please click here.
Jeremy and Niamh are joined by Maggie Lou Rader and Alice Flanders to talk Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate About You as things get fiery in our pilot episode!