Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and Coolidge Corner Theatre Present SHAKESPEARE REIMAGINED: BRINGING HIS STORIES TO THE SCREEN

The plays of Shakespeare have been translated into more than one hundred languages, and his timeless stories have inspired great works in many art forms.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and the Coolidge Corner Theatre are teaming up to take an in-depth look at how some filmmakers have reimagined Shakespeare's work to create compelling cinema that is as relevant today as it was four hundred years ago. Each event will include a live discussion with experts on film and theater, which will take place via Zoom.

The four events in the series include the following films:

Ran is a 1985 reimagining of the story of King Lear, directed by renowned Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, in which he reimagines Shakespeare's King Lear as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan. Majestic in scope, the film is Kurosawa's late-life masterpiece, a profound examination of the folly of war and the crumbling of one family under the weight of betrayal, greed, and the insatiable thirst for power. The discussion will feature award-winning actor Will Lyman, who starred in CSC's production of King Lear in 2015, and Peter Grilli, President Emeritus of The Japan Society of Boston and a well-known specialist on Japanese history and culture. The discussion will be moderated by Wellesley Professor and Shakespeare scholar Yu Jin Ko.

Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 8:00 p.m.

Ten Things I Hate About You is a 1999 makeover of The Taming of the Shrew, a sharp-witted romantic comedy directed by Gil Junger, that launched the careers of Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles. New kid in school Cameron is smitten with the beautiful Bianca. The problem is that Bianca isn't allowed to date unless her surly older sister Kat does. Cameron's only hope is to enlist the help of Patrick, the school troublemaker with a reputation as nasty as Kat's. Will Patrick and Kat find true love, or will she find more than ten things she hates about him? The discussion will be moderated by journalist and best-selling author Anita Diamant, with additional panelists TBA.

Wednesday, February 17, 8:00 p.m.

Maqbool, a 2004 Indian crime drama directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. The Mumbai criminal underworld stands in for the rugged terrain of Scotland in this critically acclaimed adaptation of Macbeth, starring the internationally renowned actor Irrfan Khan (A Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire,The Namesake), with Pankaj Kapur, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah, and Om Puri. This classic tale of greed and ambition premiered at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. Discussion panelists TBA.

Wednesday, March 17, 8:00 p.m.

Orlando a 1992 film based on Virginia Woolf's classic Orlando: A Biography and directed by English director Sally Potter. The sumptuous fantasy stars Tilda Swinton as the eponymous seventeenth-century nobleman who, commanded by Queen Elizabeth I to never age, voyages through four hundred years of English history, first as a man, then as a woman. The film is a celebration of the Elizabethan age that explores gender issues that remain timely today. The film won multiple awards when it was released and made Tilda Swinton into an international star. Discussion panelists TBA.

Wednesday, April 14, 8:00 p.m.

Steven Maler, Founding Artistic Director of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, said: "We are thrilled to be partnering with the Coolidge Corner Theatre on this exciting project. It's fascinating to explore how these talented and imaginative film directors have been able to take Shakespeare's timeless themes and adapt them to tell fresh and engaging stories."

Admission is $10 and includes a link to the live Zoom discussion (which will run approximately 60 minutes). Speech-to-text captioning will be available. Please note: the Coolidge and CSC are not able to provide direct links to the films, but patrons can find out where to rent and/or stream them here.

Go to coolidge.org/csc to register. Patrons are urged to register a week or more in advance so they have ample time to view the film before the discussion session.

For further information, including the biographies of the panelists, visit commshakes.org/production/shakespeare-reimagined/ or coolidge.org/csc.

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