William Shakespeare/Martha Graham

Synopsis: Arts strand of the televison documentary series, THIS WEEK. An 18 minute item contains scenes from Barbara Garson’s satirical play MacBird (a skit on Lyndon B. Johnson). MacBird learns from a fruit machine that he is to be Vice President to John Kennedy, and then President in his own right. He and his wife discuss the matter, she declaring that the Vice President never gets to be President. Presenter David Robinson then talks of the difficulties he feels Shakespeare presents for modern audiences and reviews two contemporary Shakespeare film releases, Zeffirelli’s THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (1966) and Welles’s CAMPANADAS A MEDIANOCHE (1966), with extracts from the latter.
Series: This Week - The Arts
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Transmission details: 7 Apr 1967 at 22:10 (Channel: ITV)
Duration: 30 mins; 1,636 feet

Notes: There are several sequences missing from the BFI National Archive’s 35mm copy of the Shakespeare section, including a probable introduction by Bryan Magee, an explanation of the MacBird production, and an extract from the Zeffirelli film.
General: The MacBird scenes come from Joan Littlewood’s production at the Theatre Royal, Stratford. The play, originally produced in New York, was a satirical portrait of American politics, finding in Macbeth, parallels for Johnson. The second half of the programme is on choreographer Martha Graham.

British Universities Film & Video Council