F*ckShakespeare

Meet the Polonius Family. They live right there in the court alongside that fucked-up royal family, but they're more wholesome, down-to-earth, practical... NOT! Poor Ophelia is verbally smacked around by both her brother and her father for imagining that she could have a romantic relationship with the prince. Unfortunately, she's all too used to this familial abuse, so she agrees to try and put th...

In the second scene of the play we meet most of the main characters except for Ophelia, because, you know, women don't matter. Claudius belittles Hamlet and sets himself up for an ugly ending. Silly adulterous Dane.  We talk a bit about incest. Sorry. Kind of important to the play and equally disturbing to the Elizabethans as it is to the rest of us. And then Hamlet is off to meet a ghost! Wa...

On to the next play! Are you psyched?? We go from warm and sunny Verona to the brooding north and Elsinore. Here we kick off the first look at Hamlet - what makes him tick, why does he have mommy issues, and will he ever decide to be... or not to be... OY!  We also kick off a new addition series this week where we will showcase high school and college students who actually like Shakespeare. W...

I see dead people... It's a tragedy! What the f*ck do you want from us??  Final scene of Romeo & Juliet. Did anyone learn anything?? Probably not. Have we learned anything since then about what happens when you feud and fight amongst neighbors? No. Geez! That's the real tragedy!  Oh well... enjoy the play! Next week it's on to Elsinore and some more lighthearted fun! Want to know mor...

Not THOSE! The small parts that high school directors try and convince you are enough - that character that shows up for just one scene. Turns out that Act 5 has three of those and, trust us, they are essential! What if Balthazar didn't tell Romeo that he saw dead Juliet being buried?? What if...? What if...?  Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Follo...

Juliet is taking her 42 hour nap after choking down the friar's scary edibles, and the rest of her family come in to find her and think she's dead. Fun times! But at least the musicians get us back on track with a few saucy jokes at the end of the scene. Whew! Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshakespe...

First of all, who the fuck is Paris?? Yes, we will talk about him for a minute maybe... But the star of this episode is that sketchy friar with his magical sleeping potions. How does he KNOW it will put her to sleep for 42 hours exactly??? What, does he have a bunch of drugged out cats lying around? Some unfortunate homeless beggar who wandered in for a crust of bread? Geez! Want to know more? Con...

Lord Capulet has his big moment here, and he totally loses his shit! To be fair, he's lost a lot of shit - many babes, his nephew - so keep that in mind. Still, he calls his daughter a harlot, and abandons her in her hour of grief, while managing to terrorize all the other women in his household into silence. Such fun. Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com F...

Romeo is banish-ED and threatens to kill himself if he has to be separated from Juliet. Juliet finds out Romeo is a murderer and threatens to kill him too... but then learns a hard lesson about priorities. Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshakespeare/ Tweet at us if you must: @fckshakespod Join our Fa...

Liz is  a member of our acting company so she's cool. We promise. She's also an excellent teacher and doesn't shy away from the salty stuff. Here she talks about how to make Shakespeare fun in the classroom - what works, what doesn't. Even if you're a student, you could bring some of these ideas to your classroom. Infiltrate the boring shit with some fun ideas! We dare you. Want to know more?...

Here's where the play turns from comedy to tragedy... and it's only, what, day 2??? Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshakespeare/ Tweet at us if you must: @fckshakespod Join our Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/fshakespeare And if you are inclined to be a patron like Queen Elizabe...

The wedding-not-wedding and the scene just before it where the Nurse gripes about her aching body parts. Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshakespeare/ Tweet at us if you must: @fckshakespod Join our Facebook group:  htt...

Who the hell is Friar Lawrence and why should we care? He starts out with a long ass speech about herbs (hmmm...) and ends up verbally kicking Romeo's butt (that's fun!). But then he turns right around and enables the wedding. WTF?? Where are the grown-ups in this whole mess?? Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagra...

OK, so there's only one dick joke in this one, so if that's all you're here for then move on to the next episode. If you think you can stand some gorgeous poetry... this is the scene. Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshakespeare/ Tweet at us if you must: @fckshakespod Join our Facebook group:  ht...

Would you eat a medlar? What about a poperin pear? Mercutio seems to know a lot about ripe juicy fruit and he compares it to what Romeo is probably experiencing after the Capulet ball. If he only knew... Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshakespeare/ Tweet at us if you must: @fckshakespod Join our Face...

This is the meeting of the title characters! That scene that every other love scene tries to measure up to... OK, maybe that's just us. The Capulet ball is more than just a Homecoming Dance. The stakes are high, the wine is flowing and people are getting riled up. Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshak...

If you listened to episode 2, you met Mercutio, but here, in Act 1: Scene 4 is where the audience usually meets Mercutio. And he has a giant whopper of a speech. Oy. Who is Queen Mab and why should we care? This is always a tough one for readers, actors and directors. Hopefully we give you some ways to make it more fun. Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com...

Continuing with our exploration of Romeo & Juliet, we come to Act 1: Scene 1... yes, OK, we jumped around a bit, but don't judge. After the prologue we get a taste of what life in the streets of Verona has been like during the famous feud between the Capulets and the Montagues. It ain't good. We meet Samson and Gregory, a couple of dick-swinging bravos, who quickly cower when a pack of Montagu...

OK, so we past the prologue... (little Shakespeare pun there for y'all who dig those), so we're backing up this week to start at the beginning. Because rules are for suckers... In this episode we'll explore why the hell we might need a prologue, and why would Shakespeare want to spoil the whole story by telling all the good bits before it even starts! We'll learn a little about that monster myster...

In this episode we tackle Act 1: Scene 3 of Romeo & Juliet where we meet the main female characters. We talk about the ages of these women and how girls had babies when they were 12 in Elizabethan times. Ewww.... And did you know there was a famous earthquake in England? The Nurse will tell you all about it and more... MUCH more... So tune in for tits and earthquakes and sex advice from one of...

Not ones to obey rules and order, we jump right in to Romeo & Juliet with arguably the dirtiest scene in the play, Act 2: Scene 4. Don't worry, we'll go back and catch up on the beginning. We just thought we should start off with a bang... so to speak... hope you like the puns cuz they never stop. In this scene Mercutio and Romeo sling the insults and talk about their dicks... a lot! You know,...

(drumroll...) The first episode! The one the world has been waiting for! OK... getting carried away already. But that's what we'll be doing here and always - getting carried away, as we explore the ins and outs of Shakespeare's characters (so to speak) and hopefully inspire you to think about him and his writing differently. This first episode explores some basics about how Shakespeare planned out...

Just making sure you're in the right place. This is a teaser for more to come. This podcast will expose all the fun that you might be missing out on. So don't get FOMO! Just listen up! Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshakespeare/ Join our Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/fshakesp...