| by Andee Kinzy |
UNDERSTANDING THE Much Ado About Nothing
Let’s Prepare for Much Ado. Here at ImprovEd Shakespeare, we firmly believe you should get to know the story before jumping into a Shakespeare play. Therefore, in honor of our fall production, we want to share some resources with you.
YouTube
If you like YouTube, then we have a playlist on our channel. While you are there, subscribe, and check out our original videos. In the meantime, for more information, click Studies: Much Ado About Nothing.
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Short Written Summary
- No Fear Shakespeare – Much Ado About Nothing – This website devotes itself to making the Bard of Avon less fearsome. Moreover, it has a useful modern translation alongside the original text. Although many Shakespeare academics barf at the modern paraphrasing, at the same time, however, that inflexibility makes some of us grin.
- Tales from Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing by Charles and Mary Lamb – So, this is an old as well as an old-fashioned book. In fact, the link above connects to one of those publishers who reproduced the out-of-print classics. We’re a bit annoyed because this particular publisher omits Mary Lamb’s name from the cover. To put it another way, it’s totally lame! Anyway, the book contains longer synopses of multiple plays, but with antiquated phrasing. Therefore, some Kids enjoy it, whereas others don’t. You might be able to find one of the older versions used. Or, you can read it online for free. Click on the link above to view it.
- Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing by E. Nesbit – Another old-fashioned distribution, plus the printing situation is similar to the Lamb’s book described previously. Nesbit’s version is slightly more modernized than the Lamb version. And, it’s online for free too. The link is above. Note, Also old-fashioned. By E. Nesbit of “Five Children and It” fame.
- Shakespeare Stories II by Leon Garfield, illustrated by Michael Foreman – Although out-of-print, you can, however, find a used copy on Amazon or even at your local library.
- Tales from Shakespeare by Tina Packer – Another out-of-print presswork, but you can also find a used edition on Amazon, and again, at your local library.
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Alternative Versions
- Manga Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing by Richard Appignanesi.
- Brick Shakespeare: The Comedies – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Taming of the Shrew by authors John McCann, Monica Sweeney, and Becky Thomas.
- More Tales from Shakespeare by Marcia Williams – This includes a cartoon version of several Shakespeare stories.
- Much Ado About Nothing for Kids by Lois Burdett.
Film Versions
- Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado Film (1993) – The setting for this version is the 19th century.
- Joss Whedon’s Much Ado Film (2014) – This version is a little steamier than Branagh’s, and the background is the present day.
- For Dr. Who fans, Digital Theatre makes films of British stage productions. This one stars David Tennant and Catherine Tate: Much Ado About Nothing.
Prepare for Much Ado. We hope these resources are helpful to get you started on your journey with this play!
Performance
Each fall and spring, ImprovEd Shakespeare develops a new production for live performance. In honor of the traditional Renaissance traveling troupe, during a period of a few weeks, we present Kid-friendly plays at various venues around town. Our Players, between 3rd-11th grade, gear themselves with playful, as well as engaging interpretations of works by the Bard of Avon. Suitable for all ages, each performance runs for about an hour.
Furthermore, these shows are always FREE. However, we gladly accept Donations! Additionally, visit ImprovEd Shakespeare, Shakespeare for Kids by Kids on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. And don’t forget to click on our BLOG for the stories behind these videos.
