“There’s been a lot of interest within the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies in studying film adaptations of Shakespeare,” said Nicholas Helms, a doctoral candidate in the Strode Program. “When we realized we could work with the Bama Theatre to create a series of these films, we jumped at the opportunity.”
The Strode Program is a privately endowed program that funds lectures and residencies to promote the study of English literature among graduate students. Natalie Loper, an instructor in the English department and graduate of the Strode Program, said the film series was a collaboration between the department of English and the department of theatre and dance.
For Helms, the easiest way to dive into Shakespeare is to see the plays performed. He said the series offers a way for students to do this with a survey of Shakespeare films, including teen films, documentaries, musicals and sci-fi adaptations.
“Seeing Shakespeare through the lens of different directors and their unique visions of the plays can be even more intriguing,” he said.
The series includes “West Side Story,” a musical adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” set in the Upper West Side of New York in the 1950s; “The Bad Sleep Well,” Akira Kurosawa’s “Hamlet” adaptation set in postwar Japan; and “Forbidden Planet,” a science-fiction twist on “The Tempest.”
