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

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 over, but you know... it's been a week.

" I may be cwazy... but I'm not goin' to Alcatwaz..."     (Yeah, yeah, we know it's a Shakespeare podcast, but Bugs Bunny is as Shakespearean a character as they come!!)

Today's episode takes us deep into the loony bins of the canon. Which Shakespeare characters have gone off the deep end?  And what would their diagnosis be?  We dive into the psyche (ha!) and leap headlong into Bedlam!!

"In the summertime, when the weather is high
You can stretch right up and touch the sky
When the weather's fine
You got Shakespeare, you got Shakespeare on your mind!"

Well, we ALWAYS have Shakespeare on our minds!!

But... it's still summer... hot, sweaty, stinky, sexy summer.  What was it like for Elizabethans in the summer?  In this episode, we discuss that, as well as references ...

"Vacation, all I ever wanted.... Vacation, had to get away..."

Okay, so the Go-Gos aren't exactly Shakespearian, but it is a catchy tune!!

It's summer, it's hot, it's time for some relaxation and respite.  That being said, since neither of us can get away - too much going on!!! - www.sagaftrastrike.org!!! - in today's episode, we discuss where we would like to go on vacation... o...

So, dear listeners... several episodes ago, we dove headlong into the world of AI.

We asked CHATGPT to write sequels of three Shakespeare plays for us. (We also asked for a synopsis of the original plays).

They BLEW.

Then we found out that there was (apparently) a SMARTER version of CHAT GPT.  That, of course, you have to pay for.

We couldn't help ourselves.  Here's those three once mor...

What images do the word "knight" conjure up in your heads, dear listeners?? A devilishly handsome man on a white horse? A metal bound warrior on a valiant steed? A pub-carousing, wench-laying, pint-waving, gorbellied sot?

They ALL exist in Shakespeare's canon, way more than you might think!!

In this episode, we talk about (hopefully!) all of them!!!


To send us an email - please do, we ...

Welcome to Season 4 of The Bardcast!!!! We are incredibly grateful to ALL our listeners worldwide for getting us to this point - we love you all, you dicks and dickesses!!!!

Our season opener follows some of the stuff we've been talking about... which characters in the Shakespeare canon are just fucking idiots in one way or another?  Who is just dumb as a post genetically but also, who makes incredibly stupid decision...

Merriam Webster's definition of "woke" is as follows:

Woke (chiefly US slang) -

1a: aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice) - often used in contexts that suggest someone's expressed beliefs about such matters are not backed with genuine concern or action.

In this episode, we discuss a particular American pr...

So, dear listeners... everyone is up in arms these days about Artificial Intelligence, and all the things that it's being used for - photography, art, advertising, voiceovers, etc. - with good reason to be nervous!

So we decided we were going to ask CHATGPT to write sequels of three Shakespeare plays for us. (We also asked for a synopsis of the original plays).

Listen for yourselves, but our final takeaway is...

What makes a good leader?  What makes a bad leader?  What Shakespeare characters fall into which category?

In this episode, we take a deep dive into all those that rule... or don't!


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 501C3 Non-Profit - helllloooooo, tax deductible donatio...

“Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel”
— Polonius, Hamlet Act I Scene 3   

"We'll always be bosom buddies...." - Mame and Vera, Mame Act II

In today's episode, we discuss those platonic (mostly!) relationships in Shakespeare which feed us, touch us, annoy us, and horrify us.

Did we miss one you like?? Let us know whic...

So... what's the deal with those prologues and epilogues in Shakespeare plays?  And who is the "Chorus," exactly??

In this episode we discuss all the things that are used in the Shakespeare canon as a framing device. 

You know, two households both alike and all that...


To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com 

As if our trip to the UK wasn't incredible enough, we met this AMAZING man in Stratford Upon Avon who is a docent for The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, who oversees the Shakespeare Birthplace, Holy Trinity Church, Shakespeare's Schoolhouse, The New Place... EVERYTHING that has ANYTHING to do with Shakespeare in Stratford Upon Avon!!!!!!

Join us as we talk to this incredible fount of Shakespeare information, Tony ...

We complete our UK Shakespeare binge with The Tempest at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford Upon Avon and Othello by the sizzling Frantic Assembly at the Lyric Hammersmith back in London

What a whirlwind tour!!! 


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 starving artists, dammi...

To be or not to be..... 90 minutes?!?

What do you get when you cut all of the adults out of Hamlet??

Listen to the episode and find out as we Shakespeare our way through London!!!


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 starving artists, dammit!!) - per episode if you like! ...

Continuing on our UK quest for all things Shakespeare, we returned to the indoor theatre at The Globe for Titus Andronicus.

Now we understand why some mothers eat their young.  

Hide all your candles!!



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 starving artists, dammit!!) ...

Hello you dicks and dickesses!!!

We continue to take you with us on our journey through Merrie Olde England with our review of Henry V at the Sam Wanamaker, the indoor theatre at the Globe in London.  

We wish we were back in London (sob!), but listen with us and maybe we can all meet there in our dreams!!! Cuppa, anyone?? Or a pint?? We're so in!!!


To send us an email - please do, we truly want...

As if our UK trip wasn't AMAZING enough... in this episode not only do we review the stunning production of As You Like It that we saw at SohoPlace, but we were thrilled to be able to do an interview with TOM MISON, who played a simply outstanding Touchstone in that production!!

We bet that you know him from other things besides Shakespeare... check out his IMDB page...https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2070427/?ref_=fn_al_n...

WE ARE IN THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE!!!!

For us anyway!!! 

Did you know that Shakespeare grew up with gallons and gallons of urine and manure in his back yard??

Or that his dad ran a brisk business out of the front window while little Will was sleeping upstairs (before he went bankrupt, that is)??

Or that he and his knocked up wife had to live with his parents after they got hitched - shotgun wed...