The Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2022 production of All’s Well That Ends Well will be broadcast on Sky Arts on Monday 3 July at 8PM.
Directed for the stage by Blanche McIntyre, this contemporary production of Shakespeare’s comedy which explored themes of “romantic fantasy, toxic masculinity and consent” ran in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford from August until October.
The cast features Rosie Sheehy as Helena, Claire Benedict as the Countess, Benjamin Westerby as Bertram, Bruce Alexander as King of France, Jamie Wilkes as Parolles and Simon Coates as Lafew.
Co-screen director John Wyver said, “with this innovative screen adaptation of All’s Well That Ends Well, the filming team set out to reimagine how stage productions can be translated to the screen.
“While remaining grounded in Blanche’s original stage production, we extended the conventional approach to screen versions by using onstage shooting during performances, mobile phone filming from the stage and the audience, employing chest-mounted lightweight cameras and, in the edit, introducing split-screen sequences and graphics. Our aim is to express the essence of the play and this contemporary production in a completely fresh way for today’s audiences.”
Phil Edgar-Jones OBE, director of Sky Arts, added, “it’s long been part of the Sky Arts DNA to broadcast innovative performances and the brilliant team who’ve created this piece have produced something really special—I’m sure Shakespeare would be bowled over.”