IDW's popular Kill Shakespeare graphic novel series will get its first authorized radio play and podcast treatment Mother's Day at New York City's Kraine Theater. We might want to rename this Mother's Day "Gertrude's Day" in honor of this live-action manifestation of the series, which wrangles Shakespearean heroes and villains including Hamlet, Othello, Juliet, Falstaff, Richard III, Lady Macbeth and Iago into dark, funny and far-fetched situations.
In this live adventure, presented by Shrunken Shakespeare Company and Pulp Variety Streamcast, the characters seek a reclusive wizard by the name of William Shakespeare who controls their destinies. It's the first authorized adaption not written by series creators Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery. Given the history of the Kill Shakespeare idea it's not a surprise that the authors gave their blessing; according to Wikipedia, Del Col and McCreery first conceived Kill Shakespeare as a video game.
It's also fitting for Shrunken Shakespeare to have taken on this challenge. The company's mission is "to take classical theatre pieces, primarily Shakespeare, and throw them in the air, scramble them up, shorten them and sometimes even devise around them." Kill Shakespeare takes more or less the same idea to an extreme. For its part, Pulp Variety Streamcast brings an appropriately irreverent attitude to the project, with past projects like "Castle Monsterstein," "DB Cooper in the 38th and 1/3rd Century" and "The New Olympians." Fans of the 12-volume Kill Shakespeare comic book series (and of the Bard himself) who can't be at the show can listen via podcast.
Forbidden Planet, Brooklyn Brewery, Midtown Comics and more will be sponsoring a raffle to win Kill Shakespeare prizes and memorabilia, and drinks will be served. The show is at 7 PM this Sunday, May 11, at The Kraine Theater. Tickets available online.
