To anyone with a lively interest in William Shakespeare, be it a professional interest or a personal one, I cannot recommend anything as an educational resource more than the Playing Shakespeare DVD set. It's manages to be accessible and engaging but also thorough and thought-provoking, providing a step-by-step approach to overcoming the toughest obstacles faced in "playing" Shakespearean theatre.
Playing Shakespeare originally aired as a nine-part television series hosted by John Barton, a respected figure in the theatre as well as academia, and the members of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Many years later, several of these actors — Ian McKellen, Ben Kingsley, Judi Dench, Patrick Stewart, David Suchet, to name a few -- have become household names in America both as film stars and accomplished Shakespearean actors. Their participation in the series — as "students" in Barton's workshop — lends it a great deal of authority, not to mention a great dramatic flair.
The nine segments of the series focus on the various difficulties in presenting the works of Shakespeare to a modern audience. Barton approaches the subject by effectively combining Shakespeare's the heightened, poetic style of Elizabethan drama with a naturalistic acting approach that's more familiar to the actors and the audience. The inherent conflict between the two styles is in fact the subject of the first show.
Barton's approach to the problems presented in the series — such as the use of verse, how to approach a soliloquy, and the study of character — is well-thought out and quite helpful. He makes the material interesting by keeping the actors committed to the truth of the moment, but also gives a lot of useful tips on how to manage the more unrealistic, or dated, aspects of Shakespearean drama. The marriage of the two is a winning combination.
Barton is helped greatly by the great panel of actors he has at his disposal. The episode devoted to a discussion of character is especially intriguing, as he talks to both Patrick Stewart and David Suchet about their interpretation of the character of Shylock, the evil Jewish moneylender from The Merchant of Venice. Especially in recent years, actors and directors presenting the play have met with a good deal of controversy as well as some ethical quandaries.
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