Shakespeare Marathon, part III: As You Like It

Profiting from the solitude night often affords me, I found myself watching As You Like It without interruption only hours ago. In addition to the advantage of temporary desolation, I also benefit from the fact that the BBC productions of Shakespeare (with captioning!) are available to ASU students through the on-line library catalogue.

So began my third night in the race to re-acquaint myself with the Bard. What I do so love about the BBC productions, despite the limits within which they were required to work, is that they are the most faithful adaptations of Shakespeare's works. One could say that he has read Shakespeare if he has watched a captioned version of his works from this series. No deviation from the original have I found at this time.

Last night gave me my opportunity to watch As You Like It. What made this production stand out from the others was the appearance of Dame Helen Mirren as Rosalind in the 1978 televised play. Both as ingenue and schemer, the young Mirren succeeded admirably. One regret is that neither my attention span nor my ability to stay awake afforded me the chance to see the 1936 film version starring Laurence Olivier. This film is available freely on Youtube and will be part of my collection.

So, far, three days and three Shakespearean plays. Next on the list is The Comedy of Errors.