5/5 SHAKESPEARE FOR MODERN TIMES
  by Margaux Paschke (New York)
This set includes 4 stories by Shakespeare that have been brilliantly updated. I was amazed at the way these four stores have been modernized without losing any of their greatness. You will see:

Much Ado About Nothing: the longest and best one of the set, in my opinion. The setting is a news show and the updated characterizations are spot on.

MacBeth: it was hard to understand the dialect but still great story re-telling.

Taming of the Shrew: the shortest one and skillfully handled the touchy subject material in modern times as best it could. As a female, I was impressed with the director for having modern Kate (a politician on the way up) bow to her husband without being a simpering fool. The storyline is hilarious!

A Mid Summer's Night Dream: simply brilliant update of a difficult storyline. I thought the scene where they all ended up in same spot with little understanding of how they got there was questionable for today's audience but then it's a story of about a Fairy King and Fairy Queen so..... The updated Pan was one of my favorite characters.

All of these shows were well worth viewing. Whoever thought this one up deserves kudos. Retelling Shakespeare is a difficult task but one that was handled with amazing skill in this case. I would even recommend this to help understand the original works of Shakespeare.

5/5 5 stars for The Shrew!
  by Judith Johnson (Albany, NY)
Although I got this for Richard Armitage's all too brief performance in MacBeth, the Taming of the Shrew is worth the price of the 2-disc set. The Bard's bawdy battle between the sexes has been cleverly updated but still holds true to the original. I have always admired Shirley Henderson but I thought of Rufus Sewell mainly as a pretty face. Boy, was I wrong! His BAFTA nominated performance here is amazing. It also has a great supporting cast, nice set design and costuming (Kate's wedding dress is a wonder) and the music is fancifully scored.

The unsympathetic role of the shrewish Katherine can be difficult to pull off but the diminutive Ms. Henderson reaches out and grabs you by the throat and then tugs at your heartstrings! When Sewell's penniless but swaggering Petruchio shows up fresh from job hunting in Australia (heralded by a didgeridoo leitmotif) and determines he will marry the wealthy spinster politician, the laughs never stop. I have never seen a more hysterically funny wedding! Off on their Italian villa honeymoon, Kate is a nasty piece of work and Petruchio gives as good as he gets. Even in connubial fury, both actors still convey the desire to be loved that we all have. The black and white montage finale wraps up the whole story in a most amusing group of photos.

Briefly to sum up the remaining stories: a trendy nose-to-tail restaurant is the setting for the bloody MacBeth. It is well-cast but somehow murdering Duncan over Michelin stars diminishes the story. However, head waiter Armitage can serve me any meal he wishes, preferably breakfast in bed! A Midsummer's Night's has a distinguished cast but its humour is too medieval for me. Much Ado About Nothing is updated to a newsroom locale and some viewers may like it but I was already seduced by the shrew.

5/5 This version of Shakespeare can be endless retold!
  by 1voracious reader (Home, USA)
I haven't stopped raving about these productions since I saw them. I loved Shirley Henderson's Kate! The music was fantastic and just added to the thrill of watching the production of Taming of the Shrew. The other productions in the series were also enjoyable.

4/5 Strange adaptations of Bill's plays!
  by Darren Thornton (Watson, LA USA)
The BBC has done it again. Back in the 80s they produced adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. Those were done straight. Shakespeare Retold offers modern looks at 4 of his most beloved plays. We have three comedies and one tragedy. This is definitely a mixed bag. First up is Much Ado About Nothing. It's my favorite of his plays. Here Benedick and Beatrice are dueling news anchors. He stood her three years ago! Hero is the weather girl. Tom Jones' hit "Help Yourself" is the theme song. I still think of Diet Dr. Pepper. Maybe I'm prejudiced. But this adaptation gets my vote as the best. We have humor and a little tragedy. There's a bit involving the sonnets. Once again the bumbling security guards save the day. However, things don't turn out entirely like the original plays. But this version suffers from comparisons to more "faithful" ones. I thought that the actors slightly resembled Kenneth Braugh and Emma Thompson. Like the earlier BBC version, Benedick gets a shave. But it's still a delight to watch. The take on Macbeth is rather strange indeed. It's set in a restaurant. This field can be rather competitive. Macbeth is the head chef. But the owner Duncan gets all the credit. His son's in line to take over. But he's not ready yet. Macbeth's wife also works at the restaurant. She's fully involved in the plot to murder Duncan. This takes place off camera. The witches are three male sanitation workers. We get some scenes of a landfill. This adaptation is the bloodiest. That's just the kitchen! See Macbeth demonstrate how to divide a pig's head. We also get scenes of his wife washing her hands. She has some trouble with her lipstick too. Not surprisingly, things don't turn out well. The Taming of The Shrew is the worst of this series. Katherine is a politician in line for her party's leadership. Her younger sister is a supermodel. Since Shakespeare wrote these plays, women's roles have changed a lot. This gets reflected in these adaptations. The decision to marry is partially politicial. Besides, no one had asked Katherine before! She gets a wild ride in several areas. But does she really believe that famous speech at the end? Stay tuned. The last play is A Midsummer Night's Dream. I saw a production back in college. Here the action takes place at a holiday camp. Hermia is set for an engagement party. But she found someone else. We get fairies. Puck is a frequent presence. Bottoms gets turned into a donkey. Actually, it's mainly the ears. Cupid plays havoc. Both guys fall for Helena. This version could have been done at an American camp. The bonus features are sparse. Each play has making of interviews. But the Macbeth one primarily deals with a stage production. These versions won't replace the originals. Hopefully, they'll increase interest in them. Shakespeare often adapted his plays from other sources. So he'd probably be amused by these treatments.

5/5 The Bard Inspires Only The Best!
  by Marcella Twain (Rio Rico, AZ)
I highly recommend this collection, they were all masterfully done bringing them to how we could see and identify with Shakespeare's works today. The actors truly bring a new life into these classic character. I really find it hard to choose one that I like best. The only downfall is that only four of his plays were done ... I'd love to see more!