Adaptation Timeline 1700-2005
Activity 1.2 / Shakespeare Learning Commons
www.canadianshakespeares.ca
Introduction
The Adaptation Timeline 1700-2005 has been created from the CASP Shakespeare Trivia Anthology. This timeline shows the
continually evolving trend to adapt Shakespeare’s work. The adaptations found on this timeline have all been inspired by the
Bard and his works and span across an incredibly broad spectrum of media and cultures, highlighting Shakespeare’s important
cultural capital. The majority of these adaptations are of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, indicating the prevalence and
popularity of this famous love story, especially within Canada.
Othello
Calcutta Theatre
The first recorded performance
of Shakespeare’s Othello in
Calcutta.
India
1780
Ubu Roi
Alfred Jarry
An absurdist adaptation of
Macbeth that involves a
takeover of Russia.
Fr.
Hamlet: The Drama of Revenge
Svend Gade and Heinz Schall
A gender-bending silver screen
adaptation of Hamlet.
1896
Ger.
1920
Men Are Not Gods
Walter Reisch
Adaptation of Othello set in
London’s West End theatre scene.
Eng.
1936
1700
The Forest Princess
Charlotte Barnes
Ephesiaca
An adaptationofofXenophon
The Tempest
of
Ephesus
based on Pocahontas and John
Smith.
US
1844
Romeo and Juliet,
Amlet, Oh’phelia, The
Merchant of Venice, Othello,
The Taming of the Shrew,
Anson Dyer
Cut-out animation of some of
Shakespeare’s best known plays.
Eng.
FILM
19191920
TELEVISION
Carnival
Harley Knoles
A Venetian melodrama inspired
by Shakespeare’s Othello.
Eng.
1921
The Public
Federico García Lorca
A partial adaptation of Romeo
and Juliet written by the famous
Spanish poet before his murder
during the Spanish Civil War.
Sp.
THEATRE
ANIMATION
19301936
COLLABORATION
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 1700-2005
Activity 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 Macbeth
Ken Hughes
King Lear in a modern,
British gangster setting.
1955
Eng.
The Taming of the Shrew
Franco Zeffirelli
An adaptation of the famous
lover story staring real-life
lovers Richard Burton and
Elizabeth Taylor.
It.
1966
Rodéo et Juliette
Jean Claude Germain
The famous tragic love
story set to a Country
Western theme.
1970
Hô Mão and Julieta: a multicultural Romeo and Juliet
Allen Booth & Robin White
Romeo and Juliet set in
Toronto’s diverse Kensington
Market.
1984
Dial Z for Zombies
Matt Groening
A Shakespearean parody
by television’s most
popular animated
family, The Simpsons.
1994
Can.
Can.
US
All Night Long
Basile Dearden
An adaptation of Othello
set in London’s jazz
scene.
1961
Eng.
Romeo and Juliet
Franco Zeffirelli
One of the few Romeo and
Juliet adaptation to use actors
close to the actual age of the
characters.
1968
Heil Caesar
John Bowden
An adaptation of Julius
Caesar set in a modern
dictatorship.
Eng.
1973
Romeo and Juliette
Gordon McCall & Robert Lepage
This Romeo and Juliet
adaptation featured the
Montague family as English
Canadians and the Capulets as
Franco-Canadians.
It.
Can.
1990
Richard III
Richard Loncraine
Set in 1930s London before
a fascist takeover. Starring
Ian McKellen, Robert
Downey Jr., Maggie Smith,
Jim Broadbent, and
Annette Benning.
1995
Eng.
FILM
TELEVISION
THEATRE
ANIMATION
COLLABORATION
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 1700-2005
Activity 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
Much Apu About Nothing
Matt Groening
A Simpsons spoof of Much
Ado About Nothing, set in
Apu’s Kwik-E-Mart.
1996
Sakitpitcikan
Ondinnok Theatre Company
Catherine Joncas & Yves Sioui
Durand
A First Nations adaptation of
Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare in Love
John Madden
A fictional account of how
Shakespeare came to write
his most famous love story,
US Romeo and Juliet.
Hamlet
Michael Almereyda
The Danish tragedy relocated
to modern day Manhattan.
Staring Ethan Hawke, Liev
Schreiber (Canadian), Bill
Murray, and Julia Stiles.
1996
1998
2000
Can.
US
William Shakespeare’s
Romeo + Juliet
Baz Luhrmann
Arguably the most famous film
adaptation of any of
Shakespeare’s plays, set amongst
feuding gangs in modern Los
Angeles.
Macbeth of the Estate
Penny Woolcock
The Scottish tragedy
relocated to a Birmingham
housing estate.
Rodeo and Julie-ed
Peter Skagen
Another Canadian Country
Western adaptation of
Romeo and Juliet.
1997
1999
Eng.
US
Can.
1996
FILM
US
Eng.
THEATRE
Eng.
Romeo Must Die
Andrzej Bartkowiak
Romeo and Juliet adapted
to a real estate crisis
between two families on
the Oakland-San Francisco
harbour front.
US
TELEVISION
Othello
Andrew Davies
In this adaptation of
Othello, the famous
“Moor” is the London
Metropolitan Police’s
new Chief.
2000
ANIMATION
2001
My Kingdom
Don Boyd
King Lear set in modern
Liverpool.
Eng.
2001
It.
COLLABORATION
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 1700-2005
Activity 1.2 / Shakespeare Learning Commons
www.canadianshakespeares.ca
“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,!Creeps in this petty pace from day to
day,!To the last syllable of recorded time”.”
Macbeth Act 5, scene 5, line 19
O
Tim Blake Nelson
An adaptation of Othello
set on the basketball courts
of a modern high school.
US
2001
Rosaline and Benvolio
Jerry Prager
Romeo and Juliet retold from
the refreshing perspective of
Benvolio and Rosaline.
Can.
Romeo/Juliet Remixed
Laura Mullen and Chris Tolley
Romeo and Juliet ‘remixed’ into a
dance club, filled with glow sticks
and pumping house music .
Can.
2002
2002
Eng.
Romeo and Juliet
Richard Rose
A collaborative adaptation of
Romeo and Juliet employing
elements of music, theatre, opera
and dance. Presented by Ballet
Jorgen, The Canadian Opera
Company,The Stratford Festival,
and the Toronto Symphony
Orchestra.
Can.
FILM
Twel.h Night
Tim Supple
Modern day asylum seekers
with the original
Shakespearean text.
2002
TELEVISION
Shakespeare Behind Bars
Hank Rogerson & Jilann Spitzmiller
A documentary film that follows a
theatre group in a Kentucky prison as
they stage The Tempest to reflect on
their own lives, crimes, and captivity.
2003
US
A Midsummer Night’s
Dream
Seoul Performing Arts
Company
A musical Midsummer
Night’s Dream set in a
magical Korean fairy
world.
S. Korea
THEATRE
2004
2005
Food for Thought…
William Shakespeare’s influence
continues to grow as more and more
people have access to his works. His
influence in places like Canada is
undeniable: Canada has produced over
500 adaptations of Shakespeare’s
work in only 150 years and more than
50 of those are adaptations of Romeo
and Juliet!
ANIMATION
COLLABORATION
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.