Judith Buchanan presents Radio 4 'Shakespeare in Silence'

Posted on 18 April 2016

Isn't silent Shakespeare an oxymoron? All that's nuanced, beautiful, meaningful in the poetry - silenced. Judith Buchanan, director of Silents Now and Professor in the Department of English and Related Literature, celebrates the phenomenon in a programme for BBC Radio 4.

Approximately 300 Shakespeare films were made in the silent era between 1899 and 1927. In this BBC Radio 4 programme, 'An Excellent Dumb Discourse: Shakespeare in Silence', which aired at 1.30pm on Sunday 17th April 2016, Judith Buchanan explored the eccentricity, verve and variety of these curious films, and asked how traditions of wordless Shakespeare performance are still affecting contemporary creative practice.

As part of the programme, Judith interviewed actor Samuel West - along with Flora Spencer-Longhurst (actress, on her silenced Lavinia in the Globe's latest Titus Andronicus), Christopher Wheeldon (Choreographer, associate of the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden) and Paata Tsikurishvili (Director of Synetic Theatre in America).

The programme is now available on iplayer.