The Bardcast: "It's Shakespeare, You Dick!"

Sent us a text, you dicks!! In the last couple of months, we've delved into some of the most well-known Shakespearean actors.  All of them male. It's time to shift the focus!!!!! In this episode, we rush headlong into the female side of this category - and who better to start with than herself, Dame Judi Dench???  (Sounds of Owen and Lisa Ann bowing and scraping.) Literally (like the tit...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Owen went to England!!!  WITHOUT LA!!!!  (Fuss, fuss, fuss. Ah well.) In this episode, we discuss all the cool and not so cool things that Owen saw in the UK this time around (including several Shakespeares of differing appeal, to be sure).   And also... we drop some excellent pod news!!!! To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at:...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Okay, so.... third time's a charm!! Isn't that what they say?? And for our third act, we have chosen none other than a podcast (Owen) favorite... Derek Jacobi!!! (LA loves him too, just not quite as much as Owen.) To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com  To support us (by giving us money -...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! We had so much fun discussing Sir Kenneth Branagh last time that we thought we'd dig into even more ridiculously talented Shakespearean actors!!  So this time... we're going with Sir Ian McKellen!  (Another knight... are you sensing a theme here?? We certainly are!!) To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcasty...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Now, you knew we'd get into this sooner or later. There are those actors who are known for their work with The Bard. Kenneth is one of those. In this episode, we discuss all the work he has done in the canon - SO FAR. We've got YEARS (hopefully!!) of more work coming from this incredible artist!!! To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Can you believe it???  We can't. The beginning of our fifth season!! And what better way to celebrate than to talk about Henry V??? Many thanks to you, our loyal listeners, for keeping us on the airwaves AND on the straight and narrow.  Kind of, anyway  ;) To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! You know, dear listeners... we are such dear, dear friends (and have been for so many years!) that we truly feel as close to siblings as two people can get - who aren't actually biologically related. (Is blood actually thicker than water?) Plus, National Siblings Day was just a few weeks ago! It started us thinking... (always a scary prospect!)... how many pairs an...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! April 23 is Shakespeare's Birthday!!! (And also his Death Day, but that's not important right now.) To honor the natal day of the Bard, in this episode we discuss all things birthday!! Where birthdays are mentioned in the canon, cakes, presents, traditions and history - and other celebratory topics! Grab some cake and a party hat and have a listen!!! To send u...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! You know, dear listeners - we have a lot to say. Certainly about Shakespeare!! And we are going to continue to say it!! In this episode we dive to the very Bottom (Ha! get it??) of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Lovers, Fairies, Mechanicals - what else could a person want??? Give us your hands, if we be friends... To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! We had so much fun delving deeply into Julius Caesar last episode that we decided to tackle one of the comedies!!   Twelfth Night is quite special to us, because we played Viola and Malvolio together a bunch of years back at Tulsa Shakespeare in the Park. That being said, we have A LOT to say about the play, that production, the characters, other productions we've...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Beware the Ides of March!!! So, last week we were just shooting the proverbial shite, and it was - of course - March 15, the Ides of March. Which led us to a conversation about Julius Caesar. Which led us to a conversation about the state of politics in the good ol' US of A. Ugh. So we thought... let's talk some more about this!!! To send us an email - please...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Listeners!!! We are bound and determined to get through all of Shakespeare's sonnets!!! In this episode we are joined by two dear friends and amazing actors, Amy Landis and Mark Edward Lang.  What a joy to hear them do beautiful justice to the Bard's words and then discuss so fully that it satisfies our little nerdy hearts ❤️ So, here we go with Sonnet 116 and...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! One of our lovely listeners, Susan, asked us "Which characters would you most enjoy (or not) to have a meal with?" When we read it, we thought: What a fantastic idea for a podcast episode!!! So this is it!!! We discuss who in the canon we'd love - or not love!! - to break bread with. Thanks, Susan!!  We love you!!  Enjoy!! To send us an email - please do,...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! We warned you!! We did!! We said there are 154 sonnets and we are bound and determined to get to ALL of them!! In this episode, the lovely and supremely talent Bruce Cromer joins us to discuss Sonnet 126 - the WEIRD sonnet.  The sonnet that marches to its own drum.  The sonnet that is not like any others. What, you say?? Truth!! Have a listen!! To send us an email - ple...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Oh listeners... a year ago the podcast was in the heart center, Stratford Upon Avon.  We were reminiscing about our lovely adventures there and thought... What about the swans? Luckily for us, LA's partner Don is an animal guy.  So we asked him to do some research on swans, those Stratford ones in particular. Did you know swans are monogamous and mate for life? And...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Happy New Year!!! 2024 is going to be A LOT here is the US of A, so we thought we'd make ourselves happy right out of the gate by discussing those characters in the canon that we are drawn to (for various and assorted  reasons) Who are yours??? To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com  To support...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Friend, Romans, Dicks and Dickesses, lend us your ears!!! 'Tis the season for merry making, and in this episode we do just that!!! We have invited back to the pod our dear friends Patrick Lawlor and Harper York for some holiday amusements - namely, imbibing and taking online Shakespeare quizzes!! You'd be amazed at how many there are, albeit some better/harder...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Remember when you were a little kid, and your mom and dad made you go to church/synagogue/mosque even though you would rather have stayed home and watched cartoons? Yeah, us too.  But that has very little to do with this episode, except that we discuss the religious characters in the Shakespeare canon. Some are genuinely pious, most are manipulative, and some are drunk....

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Yeah, yeah, we know... talk about lawyers in Shakespeare and everyone quotes the famous line to kill them all.  But do they actually need to all be killed? And what about the doctors in the canon? Are they as shitty as the lawyers? In this episode, we ponder those very questions, and discuss the characters that fall in those categories. To send us an email - please do,...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Okay... we know that we have a penchant for discussing the shittiest of characters in the canon. It's fun, we can't help it. Don't judge!!! However.... In this episode, we talk about those characters that are genuinely good, honest, loving, compassionate people.  Mostly. To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: the...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Think about it... how many characters are mothers in the canon?  Now think about THIS... how many characters in Shakespeare don't seem to HAVE mothers?? Weird, right??? This one's for you, Joanelle.   To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com  To support us (by giving us money - we're a...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Okay. We all know that the Shakespeare canon is simply rife with all kinds of bad doings - but which ones are the most heinous?? In this episode we talk about those characters who exhibit just downright criminal behavior. Oh Officer Krupke................ To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com  To s...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! "Workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin'...." To be fair, servants in Shakespeare's day worked a LOT longer than 9 to 5, but the "what a way to make a living'" part is still very applicable.   Who are the servants in the Shakespeare canon? What are the different levels of servitude?  And what purpose do they serve??  In this e...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! FRIENDS OF THE POD!!!!  Remember two episodes ago when the topic was Mentally Ill Shakespeare?? We always invite our listeners to converse with us about our episodes and this time, our Canadian listener Randy J. Paterson PhD, did!!!  He is an actual psychologist and he wrote us a wonderful email all about the amateur diagnoses that we came up with, and he was SO smart a...

Sent us a text, you dicks!! Today's episode is a mewmorial - yes, shut the fuck up, mewmorial - for Lisa Ann's beloved feral to lapcat tortoiseshell Lady Plymdale, aka Momma.  May she be resting in purrs  over the rainbow bridge with Paquette, Genny-Mo, Sherilyn, Sahara, Thurl, Steve Wonder, and Eliot. In today's episode, we talk about (mostly) cats and dogs in Shakespeare. We spill...