The Shakespeare Cinemacast: Coriolanus

Josie Rourke’s Donmar Warehouse production of Coriolanus (2013–14) was broadcast by National Theatre Live (NT Live) to cinematic venues all over the world. Previous considerations of Shakespearean cinemacasts have explored the similarities and differences between watching an NT Live broadcast and viewing a theatrical version of the same production. With its preference for text over image, its acceptance of theatrical conventions, and its status as a special, ephemeral happening, the cinemacast does bear a resemblance to a theatrical performance. However, based on the cinemacast’s shot selection, multicam approach, and editing process, it also resembles a televised event. Furthermore, the two-dimensional, large-screen showings in movie theaters; the cinematic camera work; and the control of the viewer’s gaze intrinsic to cinemacasts make them similar to films. Cinemacasts lack the co-presence of actors and audience inimical to theater; they cannot achieve many of the editing and camera effects of moviemaking; and NT Live productions cannot be viewed on television. Thus, cinemacasts do not fit comfortably into any single existing category of media. By focusing on Tim van Someren’s contributions as the director of the NT Live version of Rourke’s production, I hope to demonstrate that cinemacasts constitute, not an original art form, but a new postmodern pastiche of the forms in which Shakespeare has taken shape in the past, including theater, cinema, and television. As such, they deserve to be compared with each other, rather than being considered only as cut-rate replacements for a theatrical experience of the play.