Wole Soyinka discusses the play "Death and the King's Horseman." Includes passages from the play and Nigerian funeral music.

Studs Terkel heads to the British town of Stratford-upon-Avon (the birthplace of William Shakespeare) intending to interview Sir John Gielgud, and getting a few words before Studs realizes that Sir John is not intending to be interviewed. He speaks instead to other members of the company. Then he meets Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence in the Falcon Hotel.

Vlado Habunek, the Director of The Croatian National Theater, also a teacher at the University of Zagreb and board member for the Debrovnik Summer Festival discusses how all arts are seeking new revelations with Studs Terkel. Terkel asks Habunek to compare American Actors with Croatian actors because they are subsidized by the state. He sees Croatian actors as too secure and admires the ambition of American actors. The fact that theater reflects life and life is difficult begins a discussion on the status of theater today.

Terkel comments and presents musical performance of Shakespeare tapestry

Terkel comments and presents musical performance of Shakespeare tapestry

According to Sir Cedric Hardwicke, plays are only fashionable in New York City even though people all around the country are hungry to see a good play. In England around Christmas time, Hardwicke says children are exposed to plays at an early age, unlike here in the states, where there aren't any plays geared toward children.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Bahamian actor Sidney Poitier talks with Studs Terkel about his most recent film "The Defiant Ones" and how racial type-casting for typically white roles works in Hollywood films. Besides being an actor, he is also a film director, author, and diplomat.

Sam Wanamaker continues his discussion about the theater, with an emphasis on lights and music. With his production of "Macbeth," Wanamaker didn't want three-dimensional witches. Instead, he used lighting to convey their presence. In addition, similar to the line from Macbeth, Wanamaker was able to show the witches disappearing and melting into the air.

Sam Wanamaker talks about the curtain of a stage being a barrier between the set and the audience. Wanaker says that with theater today, there are more theaters in the round and more thrusts of ramps built into the audience, so that the audience can feel they are a part of the production of the play.

Studs Terkel interviews Tito Gobbi on his interpretation of Verdi. He also gets an interpretation of Gobbi's own music.

Peter Sellars talks about his production of "The Merchant of Venice." Peter Sellars also compares Los Angeles California to the world of "The Merchant of Venice". Sellars also discusses the history of the Jewish people, immigrants, the ghetto, and race relations.

Nikolay Akimov, Theodore Komisarjevsky and Pavel Markov discuss the Soviet theater. The ending music on this record was edited out

Content Warning: This conversation has the presence of outdated, biased, offensive language. Rather than remove this content, we present it in the context of twentieth-century social history to acknowledge and learn from its impact and to inspire awareness and discussion. Actors Morris Carnovsky, Phoebe Brand, and Randall Kim discuss their various roles in theater, Shakespeare’s plays, and their work at the American Players Theater in Chicago.

American-British actress Margaret Webster, talks about the unsophisticated audience members that go to see plays by Shakespeare. Upon seeing a play, they're afraid to go at first but once they are there, they realize how much they are truly enjoying themselves.