Etere o non etere? Shakespeare e la radio italiana

Neglected now when not forgotten, the radio has been an extraordinary instrument of cultural production in Italy and abroad between the Thirties and the Sixties. Radio drama, now much less practiced than once, has provided for a long time the opportunity for families to gather around a new domestic fireside. Initially conceived as a mere reading of the dramatic text, radio drama has been capable of evolving in forms that were highly innovative and autonomous from the habitual stage theatre. This happened both legitimizing new authors and applying new techniques of representation and broadcasting to old classics – like Shakespeare. Following the Italian vicissitudes of the Bard on radio, it is possible to evaluate the increase in popularity – and then, the decrease – of the radio as a site of cultural production