

It truly is the cure for boring Shakespeare, and it’s one of the best shows out there. If you’re looking for an informative, in-depth, and entertaining Shakespeare podcast, I can’t recommend Chop Bard enough.

In the end, however, there wasn’t actually any bullet to bite - the episodes were so entertaining, they practically listened to themselves!
Romeo and juliet with sidenotes series#
I personally was quite intimated by this at first, but I decided to bite the bullet and dive headfirst into the series on Hamlet. For example, there are 16 episodes that cover Romeo and Juliet, and they each range from 20 to 50 minutes long. When first getting into Chop Bard, the biggest barrier to entry might be the length. It cuts through the “pretentious highbrow perception, and elitist crap” (Ehren’s words) and reveals how the Bard's work speaks to our common experiences of love, loss, hatred, joy, envy, passion, and more.Įhren makes the characters come to life in relatable ways, and shows just how relevant Shakespeare’s work is to today’s audience. More impressive, however, is that he always does so in an informative, but never overly-academic, way.Ĭhop Bard truly shines out as one of the best Shakespeare podcasts. In my personal opinion, this is the most well-rounded Shakespeare podcast out there.Įxperienced actor and former student of the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York, host Ehren Ziegler takes listeners on a journey as he dissects each play nearly line-by-line. Despite this, the back catalog of episodes is still worth diving into.ĭan and Kevin might no longer be on the air, but they’re forever in our hearts.Ĭhop Bard labels itself “the cure for boring Shakespeare.” Honestly, nothing could be more accurate!

The only bad thing that can be said about No Holds Bard is that the last episode released was in July of 2019. However, if you want to be entertained and learn things like which Shakespeare characters make the best hockey players, this is the podcast for you. If you’re looking for a more serious or academic Shakespeare podcast, go ahead and skip over this one. Not only do you get a great overview of the play in question, but you also have a ton of fun along the way! In these episodes, Dan and Kevin give a rapid-fire plot summary, discuss a prominent theme in the play, analyze a quote, and more. The best No Holds Bards episodes are definitely the ones in the “So You’re Going to See Shakespeare” category. At the end of each episode, Kevin and Dan select a quote from a play, read it in context, and devise clever ways you can use it in conversation. If you’re looking for fun ways to incorporate Shakespearean phrases into everyday life, you’ll love their “everyday Shakes” segment. Both Kevin and Dan have acted in and/or directed several productions of Shakespeare, so they certainly know what they’re talking about. While certainly not the most academic of the Shakespeare podcasts out there, the hosts are far from uninformed. The hosts are bold enough to claim that No Holds Bard is “the Shakespeare podcast Shakespeare would have listened to.” Honestly, I believe them!įrom answering Redditors’ Shakespeare-related homework questions to drafting Shakespeare characters into fantasy sports teams, this show has it all. Kevin Codardo and Dan Beaulieu host what is arguably the most rambunctious, fun-filled and entertaining of all the Shakespeare podcasts out there!
