Happy Halloween!!! Blessed Samhain!!! Oíche Shamhna shona daoibh!!! (Which basically means "Happy Samhain to you all") It is the evening where the veil between this world and the spirit world is the thinnest. It is the day of costumes and black cats and candy corn and trick or treating. It's a day filled with a lot of drama throughout history. In this episode , we discuss which characters would give or get a trick? Which characters would give or get a treat? And what would c...

Today's topic comes from our dear friend, costumer extraordinaire and friend of the pod, Nancy Nichols!!! Thank you, Nancy!!! Regret and remorse are BIG themes in a lot of the Shakespeare canon. In this episode we discuss who regrets the actions of their past, who doesn't regret the actions of their past, and who thinks they won't ever give a rat's ass but alas, that ain't how it's going to go. What do YOU regret?? Or not?? To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear ...

Today we welcome renowned Fight Choreographer and Gentlemen of All Things Weaponish, Dan O'Driscoll, to discuss what weapons and things people used to fight and slay and otherwise hurt each other in the Shakespeare canon. Rapiers? Halberds?? Poleaxes and pikes??? Hooray!!! Such pointy and sharp fun!!! We love this!!! To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com To support us (by giving us money - we're a 501C3 No...

We realized that we have never talked about the children and babes that appear in the Shakespeare canon. And we're shocked!! In this episode, we do just that - who are the younger generation characters? And what is their purpose and what do they add to the stories?? Get your binkies ready and jump right in to the baby pool with us!! To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com To support us (by giving us money - ...

Is there someone you would die for? Or something? A cause, perhaps? In this episode (which is, of course, inspired by the play Les Liaisons Dangereuses that we are rehearsing), we discuss the characters in the canon that die for something - a person, a cause, a King. Would you die for something?? Write and tell us!! Come see Les Liaisons Dangereuses!!! https://www.theschoolhousetheater.org/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLtyfRleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFOR2g5ZUpGNGRIMk1qaFBVAR4PACXDUlljU24chGkkYPILhFYCq2...

Soooooo.... for once, we are currently in the same city, in the same building, in the same rehearsal room every day, rehearsing an English play based on a French novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses. (See below for link for tickets!!!) And French stuff is on our minds, for sure!! Obviously, that led us to thinking about all the French stuff in the Shakespeare canon - words, characters, situations, historical events, tout ça!!! In this episode, we dive into the proverbial Seine. Viens dans l'eau, c...

There are SOOO many times that characters break bread (sometimes humans in the form of a pie, but I digress...) together in the Shakespeare canon. So we were thinking... which of these famous banquets and dinners would we want to attend? Which ones would we not touch with a ten foot halberd?? In this episode, we dive into the soup, as it were. Come on in!! To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com To su...

You know... you just can't avoid a lot of stuff that happens over social media these days, and one of those things THIS week was that hilarious outing of the CEO and his bitch at the Coldplay concert. I MEAN, HOW DUMB CAN YOU BE????? It got us thinking though... what are the instances of infidelity and adultery (real and imagined!) in the Shakespeare canon? We can't believe we haven't talked about this before, but here we go!!! To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you...

How old ARE Romeo and Juliet? And Antony and Cleopatra?? And Rosalind and Orlando??? And King Lear???? In this episode, we discuss not only how old the characters in the canon are (or in many cases, appear to be), but also, whether or not it makes a difference to the story. And on top of THAT, we also talk about how well known actors play characters VERY different from their own age when they play certain roles. Ageism, you say?? Nah. To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear f...

It's oppressively hot in the Northeast US right now... and that got us thinking about the definition of hot... hot - /hät/ adjective adjective: hot; comparative adjective: hotter; superlative adjective: hottest having a high degree of heat or a high temperature.(of food) containing or consisting of pungent spices or peppers which produce a burning sensation when tasted.passionately enthusiastic, eager, or excited.INFORMAL - involving much activity, debate, or intense feeling.INFORMAL - knowle...

Soooo... After we're dead, if any of our dear friends want to listen to one episode of our podcast because they knew us well and miss us terribly this is the one. If they do listen, they'll go - yeah. That's them. We're talking about hoes and whores in the canon. Draw your own conclusions. Happy National Fuck You Hoes Day!!! To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com To support us (by giving us money - we...

Welcome to Season 6!!!! We know, right??? We can't believe it ourselves!!!! That being said, we decided to get a little selfish and okay, self-serving, so in this episode, we talk about the characters in the canon that we - personally, for whatever reason!! - find annoying. It's our pod, after all!!! To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com To support us (by giving us money - we're a 501C3 Non-Profit - hellll...

As we head into our sixth season of The Bardcast, we firstly want to say - thank you, thank you, thank you to all our incredible listeners!!!! We are SO grateful for your love and your listening and your patronage, especially in this current climate. Which leads us to today's topic - The State of the Art in the United States right now. To be succinct - IT FUCKING SUCKS. Arts organizations are losing what was previously promised grant money by the tens of millions of dollars. In He...

We are SO EXCITED, listeners!!!!!!!! Today's guest is Timothy Scott Bogart, writer/director of the gorgeous new movie musical Juliet and Romeo, dropping Friday May 9 at a theatre near you!!! Incredible cast - Derek Jacobi (drool!!), Jason Isaacs (double drool!!), Rebel Wilson, Rupert Everett... and a whole new bunch of faces that are going to EXPLODE when this baby opens!!!!! We discuss the adaptation, the concept, the fantastic pop music written by Tim's brother Evan Bogart (who has wr...

SURPRISE!!!!! Everyone needs a good surprise now and again, right??? Well, today's episode is about lots of things in the Shakespeare canon - as well as the man and his life!!! - that are unexpected and surprising!!!! Even things one of US didn't realize or know!!! Can you believe it??? We can't!!! To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com To support us (by giving us money - we're a 501C3 Non-Profit - he...

Deluded - /dəˈlo͞odəd/ adjective: deluded believing something that is not real or true.Wow. Topical, huh??? In this episode, we discuss the MANY and varied characters in the canon that are, in one way or another, deluded. Who can you think of that fits this particular bill? Email and tell us!!! To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com To support us (by giving us money - we're a 501C3 Non-Profit - helllloooooo, tax ...

Hello, dear listeners!! We've recently been abroad!! And one of the things we learned is that the world is sad for us in the US. Sigh. So we decided to look at the brighter side of life!! In this episode, we talk about our travels, but we also look at those moments or characters or relationships in the Shakespeare canon that give us hope!! And that springs eternal, right??? Right!! To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudi...

Soooo... we were having a discussion about nobility. And not just the class rank kind, but what exactly is it that makes a person noble? And for that matter, what exactly delineates the difference between royalty and nobility? In this episode, we discuss the characters in the canon - which characters are noble? Which are ignoble? Which characters are so complicated that it simply isn't a black and white answer?? Join us and find out what we think. And tell us what YOU think!! To send us an ...

LA knows how fussy Owen gets when she gives him an online Shakespeare quiz that is TERRIBLE. And it kind of absolutely delights her. Because it pokes the bear (Owen). In this episode, LA gives Owen a 44 question Shakespeare quiz from the website Quizlet. And it is FUCKING HORRIBLE. Not only are the so-called "answers" to some of the questions completely ridiculous and WRONG, but things are misspelled. Like normal things. Like, words that should never be misspelled on a TEACHING WEBSITE. Sigh....

Living in the United States currently means that as much as we might try to not get obsessed over the shit show that is our country right now, it seeps in like a noxious gas. So we figured - might as well make use of it!! In this episode, we discuss how all the characters in the canon might have voted in this last round of US elections. Some are harder to figure out than you might think!! ALSO!!!! We were chosen as Number 2 of the 20 Best Shakespeare Podcasts Worth Listening...