Videos & Podcasts
To mark the publication of 100 Shakespeare Films, Daniel Rosenthal gave an illustrated Platform lecture at the National Theatre’s Cottesloe auditorium in December 2007.
Focusing on genre adaptations – films that retain Shakespeare’s plots and characters but replace his language with contemporary dialogue – he explored a wide range of screen treatments, contrasting the BBC’s Shakespeare Retold version of Much Ado About Nothing, set in a TV newsroom, with Kenneth Branagh’s more conventional 1993 film of the play (pictured below). He also looked at Joe Macbeth, the first of many gangster versions of the Scottish play, and Forbidden Planet, the sci-fi Tempest.
Podcasts
In this item from BBC Radio Four's Front Row arts programme, broadcast in December 2008, Daniel explores films about the staging of a Shakespeare play.
Other National Theatre Platforms
Daniel Rosenthal regularly chairs Q&As with directors and playwrights for the National Theatre.
Previous Platforms have included Nicholas Hytner on Henry V in 2003, Mike Leigh on Two Thousand Years in 2006, Patrick Marber on Closer in 2007 and Jonathan Kent on Oedipus in 2008.
What Teachers Say"Daniel Rosenthal’s fascinating and wide-ranging lecture was a rich and lively talk, interspersed with clips from different versions of several plays, which gave credence to the vitality and relevance of Shakespeare in our time. His commentary on the transformation of the Shakespearean text by directors, cinematographers and actors convinced his audience of the power of the medium to communicate Shakespeare’s work to contemporary audiences. Enjoyable and thought-provoking, witty and engaging, this talk is suitable both for school and university students.”
RUTH GREENHALGH, Head of Sixthform, Sevenoaks School
“We were all absolutely delighted with your Tempest session. It was well-informed, inspiring
and thought-provoking; just the thing for just before the exam.”
JULIAN BELL, Head of English, The Godolphin and Latymer School, London.
