From the October 2014 edition of Desktop News | The Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies in the Department of English is hosting a monthly Shakespeare film series at the Bama Theatre in downtown Tuscaloosa. The series began in September and will continue through April, each month featuring a different adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s plays.
“As a group, the films in this series present a good survey of the types of Shakespeare films out there: teen films, documentaries, musicals, sci-fi adaptations and others,” said Nicholas Helms, a doctoral student at UA.
The inspiration for the series came from the program’s interest in studying film adaptations of Shakespeare. When the program’s organizers realized they could work with the Bama Theatre, they jumped at the opportunity. The aim of the series is to expose the community to the various adaptations of Shakespeare’s work.
“Seeing Shakespeare performed is the best way to dive into his plays,” Helms said. “Seeing Shakespeare through the lens of different directors and their unique visions can be even more intriguing.”
The films, listed below, begin at 7:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public.
- Monday, Oct. 13 – “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
- Tuesday, Nov. 4 – “The Bad Sleep Well”
- Tuesday, Dec. 16 – “To Be or Not to Be”
- Monday, Jan. 19, 2015 – “West Side Story”
- Monday, Feb. 16, 2015 – “Deliver Us From Eva”
- Wednesday, March 11, 2015 – “Forbidden Planet”
- Monday, April 27, 2015 – “Love’s Labour’s Lost”
The Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies promotes the study of Renaissance literature and sponsors lectures, films and performances in Tuscaloosa that deal with authors such as Shakespeare, Milton and Chaucer. Hudson Strode Program students have won departmental and college awards for teaching, and they have won university-wide fellowships for dissertation research.