Basil Coleman (1916–2013)

I had never read this one before now. The story is fairly simple, at its heart just a story of a couple falling in love, but with that Shakespearean flair. There are a lot of the classic Shakespeare tropes that I recognize from his other works, and of course this is the origin of one of his most famous lines, "All the world's a stage..."

This particular edition is part of a series that was released to supplement BBC televised adaptations, so it includes a cast list, pictures from the show more production, and notes where the script was altered for TV (pointing out what lines were omitted and the stage direction alterations to fit with the filming locations). It's interesting to see which bits of dialogue were cut, some probably for time and others for a better narrative flow.

This one will be going to my Little Free Library, hopefully to be discovered by some burgeoning Shakespeare fan. show less

Helen Mirren as Rosalind is excellent.

The duke of Vienna leaves the city for a short while and puts Angelo in charge in his absence. Isabella, a novice nun, goes to plead with Angelo for the life of her brother, Claudio, who is accused of ‘fornication’. Angelo, taking advantage of the situation tries to blackmail Isabella into sleeping with him. But the Duke, who is observing everything in disguise, comes to the rescue. With his help the virtuous Isabella saves the life of her brother and keeps her honour intact.

Measure for show more Measure reads like a comedy but many think of it as a ‘problem’ play. I guess it may be classified as a problem play as it shows the rampant licentiousness and the appalling corruption of the rich. The central theme of ‘illicit’ sex (even though by law at least both Claudio & Juliet and Angelo & Mariana are considered to be married) was unique for me. I have read many Classic plays where only ‘villains’ engage in ‘illicit’ sex. But in Measure for Measure Claudio & Juliet are not portrayed as immoral people or as villains. In fact a lot of later productions of Measure for Measure toned down these elements by showing everyone to be either secretly married or by showing Angelo as a good person who was only testing Isabella’s virtue. This was one of my more unsettling Shakespeares. Themes of debauchery, prostitution and corruption are not really fodders for comedy. Angelo’s abuse of power and the apparent helplessness of the common people when faced with this kind of corruption rings really true even today. Overall, Measure for Measure is an OK film but I will not call it light entertainment. show less