Shakespeare Re-Told is a 2005 British mini-series produced by The BBC.
It consists of four adaptations of William Shakespeare plays. They are updated to the modern day, with modern sensibilities.
open/close all folders
Much Ado About Nothing
A retelling of Much Ado About Nothing adapted by David Nicholls and directed by Brian Percival. It stars Sarah Parish, Damian Lewis, Billie Piper, Martin Jarvis, Tom Ellis and Derek Riddell.
- The Alcoholic: Don
- Bad "Bad Acting": Claude is very flat while the crew is trying to pretend that Beatrice loves Benedick
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: As usual.
- Brainless Beauty: Hero starts out this way.
- Celebrity Paradox: Shakespeare exists in universe, but it is never stated as to whether the play the story is based on was written.
- Daddy's Girl: Hero
- Deadpan Snarker: Beatrice
- Easily Forgiven: A major departure from the original. Rather than welcoming Claudio back when she finds out he was tricked, Hero is irate that he believed so easily she could be unfaithful. While he does beg her forgiveness, this adaptation has Hero telling him she may forgive him but it will take time and even if they get back together, it won't be like before.
- Fiery Redhead: Benedick. Beatrice also has a reddish tint to her hair, and attends the costume party as Elizabeth I, another well-known Fiery Redhead.
- Human-Interest Story: Beatrice wants to cover one about the closure of a nursing home.
- Monster Clown: Invoked by Don's creepy party costume.
- Nice Guy: Peter the director.
- Those Two Guys: The security guards.
- The Voiceless: Vincent, the younger security guard
- Wham Line: "Wrong side."
- Wham Shot: After the above line, Claudio and Benedick swap places with the latter taking the position of the groom, followed by a shot of Beatrice being the bride.
Macbeth
A retelling of Macbeth adapted by Peter Moffat and directed by Mark Brozel. It stars Vincent Regan, James McAvoy, Keeley Hawes, Joseph Millson, Toby Kebbell and Richard Armitage.
- Asshole Victim: Duncan
- Barefoot Loon: Lady Macbeth, after her Villainous Breakdown, as is often the case.
- Cue the Flying Pigs: Used as an update of the Prophecy Twist: instead of "until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane", the prophecy is "when pigs fly". Cue a SWAT team in a helicopter coming to get Macbeth in the final act. “Pigs” is a slur for police officers in England, generally used by criminals, similar to “the Filth.”
- Evil Chef: Joe Macbeth racks up a high body count.
- A Father to His Men: Initially Macbeth, as in the original play, but rather than lead them into battle against the Thane of Cawdor like in the original, here he shows his staff how to bloodlessly dissect a pig’s head, a task that one would expect to be gruesome but which can be done cleanly.
- Knowledge Broker: They're binmen, they know everything.
- Rule of Symbolism: Macduff stabs Macbeth with a carving knife and then swings him onto a kitchen worktop before stabbing him again, gutting him like one of his pigs, but with less respect.
- Sanity Slippage: Both of the Macbeths, and as in the original Lady Macbeth gets hit with it the hardest.
- Shirtless Scene: Macbeth is a walking one of these.
- Shout-Out: The various shots of flies over garbage and references to pigs, combined with the story’s original themes of fighting for power can be seen as references to Lord of the Flies.
- Villainous Breakdown: Both Macbeth and his wife, as is tradition are hit hard with this as a result of going increasingly mad with guilt. Lady Macbeth starts prattling about her dead baby to everyone who’ll listen, loses the ability to put on her makeup and ultimately jumps to her death in a skip. Macbeth by the time he has a knife fight with Macduff is yelling “PIGS ARE LANDING ON MY HEAD!” and screaming at Macduff to stab him in the throat.
The Taming of the Shrew
A retelling of The Taming of the Shrew adapted by Sally Wainwright and directed by David Richards. It stars Shirley Henderson, Rufus Sewell, Jaime Murray, Stephen Tompkinson, Twiggy and David Mitchell.
- Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: Petruchio throws Kate onto a bed, she's furious and threatens to scream. Just as Petruchio is about to do the deed, he then says he can't. Kate is disappointed and audibly whimpers, "Can't you?"
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: And how.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Tim. And Harry to extent.
- Boisterous Bruiser: The first thing Petruchio does is to break open a door to see his only friend, Harry.
- Crossdresser: Petruchio gets these urges sometimes, usually at the most inappropriate moments.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Harry does this after Bianca dumps him.
- Gender Flip: Baptista Minola is now a woman, who becomes a Composite Character with Hortensio's bride.
- Gold Digger: Petruchio wants to get to married to pay off his debts.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Kate seems permanently furious. She's like a female Don from Sexy Beast.
- Hot-Blooded: Petruchio gets over hangovers by fighting them.
- Impoverished Patrician: Petruchio has a title and an estate but no liquid assets.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: According to Harry, underneath all the bluster Petruchio is just a big kid who wants someone to think the world of him.
- Jerkass: Kate at first, but she mellows. Bianca seems to be something of a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.
- Love at First Sight: Petruchio to Kate (surprisingly).
- Missing Mom: Petruchio's mother left when he was six.
- The Napoleon: Kate gets this treatment especially coupled with her political aspirations.
- No Name Given: Petruchio is never named as such in the entirety of the film.
- Prenup Blowup: Bianca, a supermodel in this version of the story, asks her gorgeous-but-penniless fiance to sign one. He is insulted, and refuses. Katherine, Bianca's older sister, tells her that if she doesn't trust him enough to marry him without the prenup then she shouldn't be marrying him at all.
- Romancing the Widow: Harry
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Kate and Bianca respectively.
- Workaholic: Kate's diary has a full work day but in the evening she's emptying the bin.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream adapted by Peter Bowker and directed by Ed Fraiman. It stars Bill Paterson, Imelda Staunton, Zoe Tapper, William Ash, Rupert Evans, Sharon Small, Lennie James and Dean Lennox Kelly.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Puck does this constantly.
- Composite Character: Egeus (Hermia's father) and Theseus (the Duke of Athens) are combined into a single character named Theo.
- Theseus's fiancée Hippolyta becomes Polly, Theo's wife of many years and mother of Hermia, so this may also count. (Hermia's mother never appears in the original play, but it's a fair bet that she existed at some point.)
- Interspecies Romance: Titania and Oberon.
