Do Shakespeare’s Tragedies Still Work?

Synopsis: A panel discussion, moderated by Bill Buford, on Shakespeare’s tragedies and their continuing relevance. Director Matthew Warchus discusses his modern-dress production of Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and actress Tina Packer talks about her involvement in ‘The Lear’ project, a cross-gender version of King Lear which casts Olympia Dukakis as Lear and Packer as the Fool. The panelists, who also include Anthony Lane and Simon Schama (writers for The New Yorker) all speak about the ‘messiness’ of the tragedies and the fine line between comedy and tragedy. They debate the issue of the over familiarity of certain texts, the comparative approaches to Shakespeare by American and British actors and the relevance of the tragedies to modern audiences. A Q&A session with the audience follows.
Series: Works & Process at the Guggenheim
Language: English
Country: United States
Medium: Video
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Recording date: 28 May 1998
Duration: 77 mins

Producer: Mary Sharp Cronson
Contributor: Anthony Lane; Bill Buford; Matthew Warchus; Simon Schama; Tina Packer

British Universities Film & Video Council