A Shakespearean Baseball Game

A Shakespearean Baseball Game
A Comedy of Errors, Hits and Runs
Written by
Characters
  • Team manager
  • Yogi/Rocky (catcher)
  • Sam (1st base)
  • Bill (2nd base)
  • Richard (3rd base)
  • Rusty (shortstop)
  • Sandy (relief pitcher)
  • Two umpires
  • Macduff
  • Harry, Joe and Pete (outfielders)[1]
Date premieredMay 22, 1958 (1958-05-22)
Place premieredToronto, Ontario (CBC Television)
SubjectBaseball
GenreSketch comedy
SettingBosworth Field (a baseball stadium near Stratford)

"A Shakespearean Baseball Game", subtitled "A Comedy of Errors, Hits and Runs", is a sketch by the Canadian comedy duo Wayne and Shuster. First performed on television in 1958 and slightly revised in 1971 and 1977, the sketch depicts a fictional baseball game with the manager, players, and umpires all speaking in Shakespearean verse. The dialogue parodies lines from the plays Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Richard III while referencing modern baseball culture. It became Wayne and Shuster's signature sketch, and both its television and radio recordings have been preserved as significant works.

  1. ^ Wayne, Johnny; Shuster, Frank. "The Shakespearean Baseball Game [partial transcript]" (PDF). CanadianShakespeares.ca. Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project, University of Guelph. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2019.