The News Today, Oh Boy

The News Today, Oh Boy

Share this post

The News Today, Oh Boy
The News Today, Oh Boy
"Help! Shakespeare Made Me A Laughing Stock": The Night John Lennon Wore A Dress And Paul McCartney Died On Stage

"Help! Shakespeare Made Me A Laughing Stock": The Night John Lennon Wore A Dress And Paul McCartney Died On Stage

How the Fab Four turned the Bard's beloved comedy into a proper carry-on, and why Macbeth might have suited them better

The News Today, Oh Boy's avatar
The News Today, Oh Boy
Dec 18, 2024
∙ Paid

Share this post

The News Today, Oh Boy
The News Today, Oh Boy
"Help! Shakespeare Made Me A Laughing Stock": The Night John Lennon Wore A Dress And Paul McCartney Died On Stage
Share
  • The Beatles performed in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream for a 1964 TV special, with John Lennon in drag as Thisbe

  • The performance was part of Brian Epstein's master plan to make the band appeal to middle-class parents

  • Their interpretation of the "play within a play" scene revealed surprising parallels between Shakespearean comedy and Merseybeat h…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The News Today, Oh Boy to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Maurice Matthews
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share