Guest post written by author Brittany N. Williams
Brittany N. Williams is a classically-trained actress who studied Musical Theatre at Howard University and Shakespearean performance at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in London. Previously she’s been a principal vocalist at Hong Kong Disneyland, a theatre professor at Coppin State University, and made appearances in Queen Sugar and Leverage: Redemption. Her short stories have been published in The Gambit Weekly, Fireside Magazine, and the Star Wars anthology From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back. Brittany’s debut novel That Self-Same Metal, which follows a Black girl (and sword expert) fighting a Fae uprising in Shakespearean London, releases on April 25th.
Let it be known, that I am a Shakespeare fanatic—if it was ever a secret with the Shakespeare-inspired That Self-Same Metal as my debut novel. I’ve loved watching the plays since I was a kid and have wanted to perform them for nearly as long. My passion for the Bard of Avon runs deep but I not a purist with my fandom. My love encompasses everything from the faithful adaptations to the ones that are more like wafting the scent of orange juice across a glass of champagne and calling it a mimosa. And let’s be honest, like a surprise glass of champagne, those less faithful riffs can be equally delightful.
The Ones That Follow the Script
Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1992-1994)
This is my OG Shakespeare love. This television series produced by the BBC featured 24-minute cuts of the plays done in different animation styles. When I tell you I watched this faithfully I mean that for as long as it ran on HBO, no other Saturday morning cartoons got any airtime from 7-7:30AM. Sorry, y’all, but this was my JAM. I particularly loved their versions of As You Like It and The Winter’s Tale, both of which were done with marionettes. The DVDs are hard to come by these days but, if you can find them, 10/10 would recommend.
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Baz Luhrmann’s iconic film is probably the Shakespeare film that most Millennials think of his plays. And how could it not? It has everything! A banging soundtrack, a stellar cast including the Gold Standard of Mercutios (all hail Harold Perrineau), a visual language that recontextualizes the 400-year-old text for contemporary audiences, and a drag performance. Outstanding film, really. Is it perfect? No, but it still has my heart.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999)
Okay, picture this: Stanley Tucci as Puck with horns and goat legs. Do I have your attention? This one’s another film that gives a stellar cast run of the original text. If that’s not enough to sell you, you can also have Michelle Pfiffer as Titania, Rupert Everett as Oberon, Kevin Kline as Bottom, plus Christian Bale and Dominic West. That’s gold right there on top of the magic and mayhem inherent to the play in any era. I’m directing a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream right now in New Orleans and this version lives in my head rent-free as I’m working with my actors.
The Ones That Riff on the Bard
The Hollow Crown (2012 & 2016)
This is the most ambitious and far-reaching adaptation on my list. This series covers the eight plays of the Henriad: Richard II; Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2; Henry V; Henry VI, Part 1; Henry VI, Part 2; Henry VI, Part 3, and Richard III. It’s a long haul of a watch but you’ll be rewarded with stunning performances from Ben Whitshaw, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Judi Dench, and Sophie Okonedo. Just grab some popcorn and settle courtroom intrigue, wars, murder, and one of the wildest seduction scenes in the history of dramatic entertainment. Shakespeare’s Richard III was a wild boi, I swear.
She’s the Man (2006)
If Gen X had Molly Ringwald, Millennials had Amanda Bynes and our teen screen queen delivers in this modernization of Twelfth Night. This much slept-on masterpiece captures the absurd hilarity of the original in a completely fresh way and somehow makes the wild premise work in a contemporary world. Now, it could use a bit more with the queer text and subtext of the play, but this was 2006 and a much more goofy time when it comes to these conversations.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
If Romeo + Juliet is at the top of the list for using the original text then this movie is at the top of the modern adaptations list and I feel like y’all would fight me if I didn’t mention it. 10 Things takes The Taming of the Shrew—one of Shakespeare’s plays that aged like a banana on the counter—and makes it into something women can watch without a full-body cringe. Something about starving your wife into submission just doesn’t hit the way it used to, I guess. But you know what does? Heath Ledger’s high school badboy singing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” in a school stadium backed by a marching band. That we can all get behind.
The Ones on the Top of My TBR
These last four I’ll hit rapid-fire because they’re all still on my towering To Be Read pile—and hopefully, soon to be off it.
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
A fictional look at Shakespeare’s real family and the death of his only son, Hamnet.
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
A Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai. Epic.
By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter
It follows an apprentice in Shakespeare’s acting company as he tries to solve the murder of playwright and spy Christopher Marlowe—he was stabbed in the face in a bar IRL.
Learwife by J. R. Thorp
Set post King Lear as the banished queen comes home in the wake of the death of her husband and daughters.
I could honestly wax poetic about this for another thousand words—I didn’t even touch on my favorite live performances—but I’ll leave you with these. To return to our mimosa metaphor, when it comes to my debut YA novel, That Self-Same Metal, I’d rate it 3 parts champagne to 1 part orange juice, faithful to the Poet but not beholden to our expectations and 100% fun. That’s the sort of pattern that runs through this list of my ten favorite adaptations. They all approach the material with a love for the source and an healthy bit of irreverance. Even the ones that are beholden to Shakespeare’s original scripts take pleasure in deviation. And honestly, I think Will would’ve loved that.
