In many of my couses, including those on Shakespeare and film, we watch a lot of films together. But some assignments require you, my students, to find and watch films on your own.
Before you resort to your nearest torrent server, consider these sources to find radio plays, films, and other recorded performances of plays and poems. Listed below are multiple media sources to help you find them.
Some of these resources require your UCalgary login, because the University of Calgary pays a subscription fee for you to access them. As you’ll see, they’re worth it.
Not only are they legitimate, they often have really useful features like chapter headings and notes. You just have to navigate a few Advanced-Search pages — which is much easier than learning to torrent stuff.
Library Resources:
- Theatre in Video is an extraordinary collection of videos [requires login]
- Films on Demand is another great collection of online videos [requires login]
- Advanced Search, UofC Library Catalogue: For the best results, limit the author to “William Shakespeare” and the content type to “Video Recording.” Like this:
Podcasts:
- Shakespeare’s Restless World: British Museum Director Neil MacGregor presents a 20-part series about Shakespeare’s early modern world.
- Approaching Shakespeare: Find lectures about Shakespeare and his works from Oxford University.
- In Our Time: Search the extensive archive of this BBC Radio 4 program for accessible, smart panel discussions on Shakespeare and hundreds of other topics. Warning: highly addictive.
Online Audiobooks:
- Librivox – Search through readings from most of literature that is read by volunteers.
- Loyal Books – Find the company online or on iTunes with versions of any public domain text read aloud.
Performance Hubs:
- Global Shakespeare – Find clips in this Video & Performance Archive
- Youtube and Vimeo also have significant libraries of clips
- Netflix may also have movies or adaptations of (among other things) Shakespeare plays
Did you find a resource that’s more useful than this list? Contact me.
