On this page you will discover information that introduces you to William Shakespeare's world, including resources that address notable productions and film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, important actors and actresses whose performances of Shakespeare stand the test of time, and directors whose work with Shakespeare continues to inspire audiences and theater artists alike.
The Royal Shakespeare Company performs Shakespeare's plays as well as those of his contemporaries. The company has a home learning page, with links to online performances, virtual tours of the theatres, and more. They also have a Youtube channel with clips and videos of past performances.
Shakespeare's Globe is a performance venue and historical landmark. They perform the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries and offer recordings of some of their performances. Their website contains a useful discover page, which links to several resources, like their blog, podcast, and a virtual tour of the building. In addition, the learn page contains links to workshops, research and collections, and programs for higher education.
The Chicago Shakespeare Theater performs many programs a year, several of which celebrate Shakespeare and his works. They also have a variety of educational tools available, including teaching resources and a useful education page.
The American Shakespeare Center is a Virginia-based theatre company. In addition to performing at their theatre--which is a re-creation of Shakespeare's original indoor theatre--they tour, host workshops for educators and students, and have a production archive, which is freely accessible.
To discover film adaptions of Shakespeare's plays owned by the UIUC LIbrary, please visit the Library Catalog.
Oliver Parker's 1995 production of Othello is notable for several reasons, the most significant of which is the casting of Othello, who is played by Laurence Fishburne. This was the first time a Black actor was cast in the title role in a major studio production. The film also stars Kenneth Branagh as Iago and Irène Jacob as Desdemona.
Citation: IMDb
Shakespeare's infamous work has been adapted for many film productions, but two of the most famous are Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 Romeo and Juliet, as well as Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film of the same name. Zeffirelli's adaptation is a much more traditional telling, while Luhrmann's is more modern, taking place in Verona Beach.
Citation: IMDb
There are plenty of productions of Hamlet, but Kenneth Branagh's adaptation, released in 1996, is one of the most famous. This production is unabridged (run time: ~4 hours), but despite its length, it is regarded as one of the best film adaptations of Shakespeare. It was also nominated for four Academy Awards, including best writing, best original score, best costume design, and best art direction.
Citation: IMDb
Richard Burbage was a leading actor in the Lord Chamberlain's Men. He is thought to have been the leading actor in several Shakespeare productions, including Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear. His acting style was described as more subtle and nuanced than those of his contemporaries, who tended to play larger-than-life characters.
Henry Condell was an actor and an instrumental part of the creation of Shakespeare's first folio in 1623. For the length of his career he remained in Shakespeare's acting troupe and was close enough with Shakespeare to be given money from Shakespreare's will upon his death. Though he stopped acting around 1619, it is believed that he maintained a business connection with the King's Men.
John Heminges was an actor as well as the business manager for the King's Men. He was one of the original housekeepers of the Globe, and alongside Henry Condell, was responsible for the production of Shakespeare's First Folio in 1623.
William Kempe was a comic actor in Shakespeare's acting troupe, known for his improvisational comic skills as well as his dancing and instrumental prowess. His name appears in productions of Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing, where he is believed to have played Peter and Dogberry, respectively. It is further speculated that he was also in productions of Titus Andronicus, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Love's Labor's Lost, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Henry IV, and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Citations: The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. Oxford University Press, 2003. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance. Oxford University Press, 2005.
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier was a famous actor and director. He has won numerous awards for his works, including Oscars, Golden Globes, and BAFTAs. Some of Olivier's most memorable works and performances come from Shakespeare, including King Lear, Richard III, and Hamlet, the latter of which won Olivier the award for best picture.
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh is a famous actor, notable for his work in both film and stage productions of Shakespeare. He started in the Royal Shakespeare Company and began bringing Shakespeare to the screen in 1989, with Henry V. Additional Shakespeare productions he brought to film included Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, and Love's Labour's Lost, among others.
Additional Actors and Actresses
For a more comprehensive list of contemporary actors and actresses, please see Backstage's Guide to Legendary Shakespearean Actors.
Global Shakespeares is a video and performance archive created by MIT. It provides access to recordings of Shakespeare performances from around the world. Productions can be filtered by play, language, or region. Essays, interviews, and scripts for specific productions are also available.
Drama Online provides playtexts, books, video, and audio to support literature and theatre studies. In addition, it contains character grids, part books, and word and speech graphs to allow the user to engage critically with the materials provided.
Shakespeare's Globe on Screen 1 and 2 contains 30 recorded productions spanning 2008-2018, all performed in Shakespeare's Globe.
Alexander Street Press provides access to a great variety of educational material. Stream productions of Shakespeare's plays, as well as additional educational content. ASP provides thousands of films and clips related to Shakespeare Studies.