Interpreters of All's Well That End Well often play it as a romantic comedy, but this is an impossible task. The main character blackmails a man into marrying her, pursues him across Europe, commits sexual assault on him, fakes her death, humiliates him, and then blackmails him again into accepting her. In Episode 27, Joel looks at this complicated and often charmless play. 

In this episode you'll hear excerpts and clips from:

• Arkangel Recordings. All's Well That Ends Well. 2014.

• Shakespeare, William. All's Well That Ends Well. The Riverside Shakespeare, Houghton and Mifflin, 1974.

Films discussed:

• Moshinsky, Elijah. All's Well That Ends Well. BBC, 1981.

• Dove, John. All's Well That Ends Well. Globe Theatre, 2012.

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