Episode 49 - Shakespeare's Lesser Known Plays

In 1996 Joni Mitchell released two compilation albums - Hits and the appropriately contrapuntal Misses - to show how even the most well-regarded of artists occasionally creates something that never really finds the audiences they might deserve. When it comes to Shakespeare, the Bard had a number of stinkers in his repertoire, including ones we've already covered like Henry VI (parts 1 & 3 especially), but also a number of later works that have never captured audiences the way Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet or Midsummer Night's Dream have.

This episode we're taking a look at some of those lesser known plays and asking the simple question: why? What sets these plays apart from the canonical "great works" and what lessons can we as more modern audiences take from their successes, failures, and experiments? So join us for a talk about Shakespeare's swings that didn't quite land with a resounding thud.

Ancient Bickerings:

This episode we discussed the question: which of the lesser known plays do you think is primed for a comeback in popularity?

Notes:

• The Smithsonian Magazine article Lindsay mentioned has a great dive into the shifting understanding of King Lear.
• There was no The Winter's Tale film adaptation, Lindsay was probably thinking of the Much Ado About Nothing version done by Joss Whedon in 2012.
• Our list of lesser known plays, pulled purely from the ether without hard data or really anything to back them up:
  • Merry Wives of Windsor
  • As You Like It
  • All's Well That Ends Well
  • Winter's Tale
  • Pericles
  • Two Noble Kinsmen
  • King John
  • Henry VI
  • Henry VIII
  • Edward III
  • Troilus and Cressida
  • Coriolanus
  • Timon of Athens
  • Cymbeline