I wouldn't say that changing the time and place of the plays necessarily works or necessarily doesn't. But certainly I have seen it done extremely effectively on some occasions. A year or two ago we saw an RSC production of the Merry Wives set in 1940s Britain. There were several appropriate analogies and resonances, and once engaged with the production, the juxtaposition of a 20th century setting with Elizabethan vernacular didn't matter at all.

The most effective re-setting that I've seen of anything was Jonathan Miller's setting Rigoletto in the gangster world of prohibition Chicago.

Thanks for the info about the books - I'll certainly go in search of the new one by Duffin. (Are tehre really 160 songs in Shakespeare? I'd probably have guessed 40 or 50, thinking I was aiming high.)

Capri, your posts are once again enlightening and amazingly timely. We'll be seeing Twelfth Night at Nottingham Castle on Tuesday night (20th)! I trust that this time my daughter will not encroach so much on your time with her PMs!