Cunk does Shakespeare

April 24, 2016 • 1:00 pm

As part of the Shakespeare 400th anniversary celebration, BBC Two will release a half-hour program “Cunk on Shakespeare.” I’m not sure when it comes out, but I have high hopes for this one. As Beyond the Joke notes:

Philomena said: ‘A bit like the tooth fairy, nobody’s actually seen Shakespeare, and nobody knows if he’s real or just made up for kids. So I’ll be talking to some expert people to try and find out more about him and his films.’

With the help of an army of interviewees including academics, actors, linguists and historians, Cunk will tell the life story of Shakespeare. She’ll explore some of the works that have made him the greatest playwright the world has ever known, very much the Michael Bay of Elizabethan England.

And some pictures from the program, released in advance.

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I’m jealous that the Brits get to see this before I do—if I get to see it at all (some of her bits aren’t on the Internet)

h/t: Matthew Cobb

14 thoughts on “Cunk does Shakespeare”

  1. I’m with you, Jerry. I’d love to see this when made available. She is the master of tongue in cheek humor.

  2. The exterior publicity pix are from the reconstructed Globe on the London “South Bank.”

    the Michael Bay of Elizabethan England.

    Who that?
    From Wikipedia,

    Michael Benjamin Bay […] is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing big-budget action films […] His films, which include the science fiction disaster thriller Armageddon (1998), the epic war film Pearl Harbor (2001) and the science fiction action films in the Transformers film series (2007–present), have grossed over US$5 billion worldwide.[4]

    Well, not having seen one of those … though I’ve seen enough fragments of Armageddon to appreciate what they mean by “grossed.”
    Sorry, but were “Beyond The Joke” promoting or denigrating Cunk-Does-Bill?

      1. It must be satire. From what I’ve read of Michael Bay’s cinematographic talents, I thought PCC must be referring to some other Michael Bay.

        cr

  4. You can watch BBC programming by installing VPN software and changing your location to the UK. The amount of free bandwidth is limited but I found that once I am connected to the BBC and getting the program, I can disconnect the VPN and continue to download. I use Tunnelbear but assume others will work.
    https://www.tunnelbear.com/

    Once you have your VPN setup, go to bbc.co.uk (not bbc.com).Install the BBC Iplayer and download the program you want to watch. It is good for 30 days after the program is broadcast.

  6. some of her bits aren’t on the Internet

    Being the Internet, I’m sure the naughty bits are.

    [Cunk isn’t my taste, but Cakepear may be just the right bait for me to watch for once.]

  7. Computer illiterate though I am I will try to RT clips from London. Can’t wait for Cunk. I’m hoping her incomprehension of The Bard matches mine!

  9. I’m not going to move away from the telly for the next moth,so i don’t miss her!
    As an aside, if you think creationists are reality-averse,i’d recommend a brief investigation into the world of those who deny that William Shakespeare of Stratford was the man who wrote all the plays and sonnets; it’s a whirling maelstrom of wishful thinking,fact-denial, la-la-la-i’m-not-listening, and, like global-warming or evolution deniers, an underlying sense that we’re all dupes of some giant conspiracy,and if we’d only *belieeeve* hard enough….

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