Episode five of Merced Shakespearefest's Ricardo II: A Bilingual Adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard II is titled "Hombres de Guerra / Men of War," but the standout character in this installment of the play is Queen Isabella. 

In episode 4, "Arrendador de Inglaterra / Landlord of England," the king and his entourage travel to visit John of Gaunt, who grieves his banished son from a sick bed. When the king arrives only to mock John's illness, what follows is a witty but ominous repartee.

Episode three of Ricardo II: A Bilingual Adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard II reads like a miniature study of land relations by various factions across the Merced Shakespearefest's bilingual cast. Following the failed duel between Henry Bolingbroke and Tomás Mercedes/Mowbray, this episode follows Henry, his father John of Gaunt, and king Ricardo II, as the six-year exile of Henry introduces grief and geographical distance into the relationships between these characters. 

Episode two of Merced Shakespearefest's Ricardo II: A Bilingual Adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard II features the interrupted duel between Henry Bolingbroke and Tomás Mercedes/Mowbray. As the king enters to invite the opponents in, he first officiously removes a blue cotton face mask before speaking, highlighting how this production has integrated covid-19 safety measures into the blocking and costuming of this live-filmed performance.

As theatres continue to adapt their productions to continuing global pandemic measures, theatre companies like Merced Shakespearefest are transforming some productions into film. Enter Ricardo II: A Bilingual Adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard II, a production originally intended for the stage, which has begun airing in weekly episodes on Merced Shakespearefest's Youtube channel.

A new short film adaptation of The Tempest, now available for viewing, interrogates the human and environmental damages of colonialism. A production of Montana In-Site Theatre, the Oguta Island is written and co-directed by Nnamdi Kanaga, who also stars as Onyeka, a powerfully reimagined Caliban who has the full knowledge of African history and resistance to colonialism. 

As part of the Montana Book Festival this last week, our collaborators Randall Martin and Gretchen E. Minton met online to discuss the publication of Gretchen's latest monograph, Shakespeare in Montana: Big Sky Country's Love Affair with the World's Most Famous Writer. Congratulations, Gretchen!

Shakespearean whimsy and pandemic anxieties are animated in “A Midsummer Night’s Quarantine,” a recent co-production of Lit Moon Pictures and Stanislavsky Films. The video offers a glimpse of how actors in Santa Barbara, USA, and Karaganda, Kazakhstan, are coping with social isolation in their respective spaces... and how Shakespeare’s most mischievous characters emerge from the actors’ quarantine activities (or lack thereof).

For anyone who missed the live broadcast on Earth Day, a virtual performance of our collaborator Gretchen Minton's ecodramaturgical piece Timon of Anaconda can now be viewed on Youtube. Presented by Bozeman Arts Live, this recording reunites the original cast for a socially distanced performance now available to audiences across the planet.