Adaptation Timeline 1700-2005Activity 1.2 / Shakespeare Learning Commons
www.canadianshakespeares.ca
Ephesiaca of Xenophonof Ephesus
OthelloCalcutta Theatre
The Forest PrincessCharlotte Barnes
1844
1780
Ubu RoiAlfred Jarry
1896
The first recorded performanceof Shakespeare’s Othello in
Calcutta.
An adaptation of The Tempestbased on Pocahontas and John
Smith.Cut-out animation of some of
Shakespeare’s best known plays.
1700
Romeo and Juliet,Amlet, Oh’phelia, The
Merchant of Venice, Othello,The Taming of the Shrew,
Anson Dyer
1919-1920
An absurdist adaptation ofMacbeth that involves a
takeover of Russia.
Hamlet: The Drama of RevengeSvend Gade and Heinz Schall
A gender-bending silver screenadaptation of Hamlet.
1920
CarnivalHarley Knoles
A Venetian melodrama inspiredby Shakespeare’s Othello.
1921
Men Are Not GodsWalter Reisch
The PublicFederico García Lorca
Adaptation of Othello set inLondon’s West End theatre scene.
A partial adaptation of Romeoand Juliet written by the famousSpanish poet before his murder
during the Spanish Civil War.
1930-1936
1936
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IntroductionThe Adaptation Timeline 1700-2005 has been created from the CASP Shakespeare Trivia Anthology. This timeline shows thecontinually evolving trend to adapt Shakespeare’s work. The adaptations found on this timeline have all been inspired by theBard and his works and span across an incredibly broad spectrum of media and cultures, highlighting Shakespeare’s importantcultural capital. The majority of these adaptations are of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, indicating the prevalence andpopularity of this famous love story, especially within Canada.
Material intended for academic non-profit use. Reproductions for classroom use permitted. Copyright © 2007 Daniel Fischlin. Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project.www.canadianshakespeares.ca. University of Guelph. All Rights Reserved.
Adaptation Timeline 1700-2005Activity 1.2 / Shakespeare Learning Commons
www.canadianshakespeares.ca
“Better three hours too soon than a minute too late”Merry Wives of Windsor Act 2, scene 2, lines 273-274
Joe MacbethKen Hughes
1955
King Lear in a modern,British gangster setting.
The Taming of the ShrewFranco Zeffirelli
1966
An adaptation of the famouslover story staring real-lifelovers Richard Burton and
Elizabeth Taylor.
Rodéo et JulietteJean Claude Germain
1970
The famous tragic lovestory set to a Country
Western theme.
Hô Mão and Julieta: a multi-cultural Romeo and Juliet
Allen Booth & Robin White
1984
Romeo and Juliet set inToronto’s diverse Kensington
Market.
All Night LongBasile Dearden
1961
An adaptation of Othelloset in London’s jazz
scene.
Romeo and JulietFranco Zeffirelli
1968
One of the few Romeo andJuliet adaptation to use actorsclose to the actual age of the
characters.
Heil CaesarJohn Bowden
1973
An adaptation of JuliusCaesar set in a modern
dictatorship.
1990 1995
Set in 1930s London beforea fascist takeover. Starring
Ian McKellen, RobertDowney Jr., Maggie Smith,
Jim Broadbent, andAnnette Benning.
This Romeo and Julietadaptation featured the
Montague family as EnglishCanadians and the Capulets as
Franco-Canadians.
Romeo and JulietteGordon McCall & Robert Lepage
Dial Z for ZombiesMatt Groening
A Shakespearean parodyby television’s mostpopular animated
family, The Simpsons.
1994
Richard IIIRichard Loncraine
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Material intended for academic non-profit use. Reproductions for classroom use permitted. Copyright © 2007 Daniel Fischlin. Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project.www.canadianshakespeares.ca. University of Guelph. All Rights Reserved.
Adaptation Timeline 1700-2005Activity 1.2 / Shakespeare Learning Commons
www.canadianshakespeares.ca
"Do thy worst old Time; despite thy wrong, my love shall in my verse ever live young." !Sonnet 19
SakitpitcikanOndinnok Theatre Company
Catherine Joncas & Yves SiouiDurand
1996A First Nations adaptation of
Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare in LoveJohn Madden
1998
A fictional account of howShakespeare came to writehis most famous love story,
Romeo and Juliet.
HamletMichael Almereyda
2000
The Danish tragedy relocatedto modern day Manhattan.Staring Ethan Hawke, LievSchreiber (Canadian), BillMurray, and Julia Stiles.
William Shakespeare’sRomeo + JulietBaz Luhrmann
1996
Arguably the most famous filmadaptation of any of
Shakespeare’s plays, set amongstfeuding gangs in modern Los
Angeles.
Macbeth of the EstatePenny Woolcock
1997
The Scottish tragedyrelocated to a Birmingham
housing estate.
Rodeo and Julie-edPeter Skagen
1999
Another Canadian CountryWestern adaptation of
Romeo and Juliet.
2000
Romeo and Juliet adaptedto a real estate crisis
between two families onthe Oakland-San Francisco
harbour front.
Romeo Must DieAndrzej Bartkowiak
OthelloAndrew Davies
In this adaptation ofOthello, the famous“Moor” is the LondonMetropolitan Police’s
new Chief.
20011996
A Simpsons spoof of MuchAdo About Nothing, set in
Apu’s Kwik-E-Mart.
Much Apu About NothingMatt Groening
2001
My KingdomDon Boyd
King Lear set in modernLiverpool.
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Material intended for academic non-profit use. Reproductions for classroom use permitted. Copyright © 2007 Daniel Fischlin. Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project.www.canadianshakespeares.ca. University of Guelph. All Rights Reserved.
Adaptation Timeline 1700-2005Activity 1.2 / Shakespeare Learning Commons
www.canadianshakespeares.ca
“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,!Creeps in this petty pace from day today, !To the last syllable of recorded time”.”
Macbeth Act 5, scene 5, line 19
Rosaline and BenvolioJerry Prager
2002
Romeo and Juliet retold fromthe refreshing perspective of
Benvolio and Rosaline.
Twel.h NightTim Supple
2003
Modern day asylum seekerswith the original
Shakespearean text.
Shakespeare Behind BarsHank Rogerson & Jilann Spitzmiller
2005
A documentary film that follows atheatre group in a Kentucky prison asthey stage The Tempest to reflect ontheir own lives, crimes, and captivity.
Romeo/Juliet RemixedLaura Mullen and Chris Tolley
2002
Romeo and Juliet ‘remixed’ into adance club, filled with glow sticks
and pumping house music .
Romeo and JulietRichard Rose
2002
A collaborative adaptation ofRomeo and Juliet employing
elements of music, theatre, operaand dance. Presented by Ballet
Jorgen, The Canadian OperaCompany,The Stratford Festival,
and the Toronto SymphonyOrchestra.
A Midsummer Night’sDream
Seoul Performing ArtsCompany
2004
A musical MidsummerNight’s Dream set in amagical Korean fairy
world.
2001
An adaptation of Othelloset on the basketball courts
of a modern high school.
OTim Blake Nelson
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Food for Thought…
William Shakespeare’s influencecontinues to grow as more and morepeople have access to his works. Hisinfluence in places like Canada isundeniable: Canada has produced over500 adaptations of Shakespeare’swork in only 150 years and more than50 of those are adaptations of Romeoand Juliet!
Material intended for academic non-profit use. Reproductions for classroom use permitted. Copyright © 2007 Daniel Fischlin. Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project.www.canadianshakespeares.ca. University of Guelph. All Rights Reserved.