Welcome to The History of European Theatre Podcast Website and thanks for joining me through millennia of theatrical history.

The History Of European Theatre

A podcast tracing the development of theatre from ancient Greece to the present day through the places and people who made theatre happen. More than just dates and lists of plays we'll learn about the social. political and historical context that fostered the creation of dramatic art.This podcast u...

Recent Episodes

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Jan. 25, 2026

Why did Shakespeare write ‘Troilus and Cressida’?: A Conversation with Rachel Aanstad

Episode 202: For today’s guest episode it is a very warm welcome back to Racheal Aanstad. You will remember that Racheal and I have discussed Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the podcast and now she returns to ...

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Jan. 18, 2026

Troilus and Cressida: ‘Men prize the thing ungained more than it is’

Episode 201 ‘Troilus and Cressida’, is a challenging piece by pretty much everybody’s estimation. Although it is no surprise that Shakespeare looked to the Homeric tales for his next inspiration which part of that story he c...

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Jan. 11, 2026

Shakespeare and Brecht: A Conversation with Stephen Unwin

Episode 200 For today’s guest episode it is a welcome return to the podcast for Stephen Unwin. I spoke to Stephen earlier in this Shakespeare and Jonson season to discuss his book ‘Poor Naked Wretches’ which examines the way...

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Jan. 4, 2026

Twelfth Night: ‘Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun; it shines everywhere’

Episode 199: The line I have used for the title of today’s episode is spoken by Feste the fool, a central character in ‘Twelfth Night’. Fools have already played significant roles in Shakespeare’s previous plays and as you w...

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Dec. 21, 2025

The Poetaster: ‘Good Ignorance, I’m Glad Thou Art Gone’

Episode 198: As Ben Jonson was writing ‘The Poetaster’ in 1601 the Elizabethan age was drawing to a close. Elizabeth would live until March 1603, but by 1601 any hope of a natural heir was long past and her court and council...

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Dec. 14, 2025

Illustrated Tudors: A Conversation with Simon Sandys Winsch

Episode 197: For today’s guest episode I had the pleasure of talking to Simon Sandys Winsch, author of the Illustrated Tudor Dictionary. Given Simon’s broad knowledge of the period I took the opportunity to talk to him about...

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Dec. 7, 2025

Cynthia’s Revels: ‘O That Joy So Soon Should Waste’

Episode 196: Following on from the humours plays ‘Every Man In His Humour’ and ‘Every Man Out of His Humour’ Johnson stayed with comedy for his next offering, but rather than returning to the public stage and the adult playin...

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Nov. 16, 2025

Playing Polonius: A Conversation with Colin David Reese

Episode 195 Last time I completed my review of ‘Hamlet’, although it is probably wrong to say that one’s thoughts on Hamlet are ever complete. I am not alone in finding that every time I see the play, and it is I think, as i...

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Nov. 9, 2025

Hamlet Part 2: ‘Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark’

Episode 194: Last time I left things hanging for Hamlet as, having seen the ghost of his father and resolved on revenge, he had seen his planning go awry as he mistakenly killed the old councillor Polonius while he hid behind...

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Nov. 2, 2025

Speaking Hamlet: A Conversation with Colin David Reese

Episode 193 For today’s guest episode it is a very welcome return to the podcast for Colin David Reese, who I last spoke to in early 2023, when we discussed his play ‘Shakespeare Unbound: A Gift to the Future’ and Shakespeare...

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Oct. 26, 2025

Hamlet Part 1: ‘That One May Smile and Smile and Be a Villain’

Episode 192: And so, we come to perhaps the biggest challenge in all of Shakespeare's work, ‘The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark’. Over the next two episodes and a special guest episode I hope I can get close to doing th...

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Oct. 19, 2025

Staging Julius Caesar: A Conversation with Ricky Dukes

Episode 191: For today’s guest episode it is a welcome return to Ricky Dukes, artistic director of Lazarus Theatre Company. Following on from our conversation about ‘Henry V’ Ricky and I went on to discuss ‘Julius Caesar’. ...

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Recent Blog Posts

Sept. 16, 2024

The Peacham Drawing: Titus Andronicus

'Titus Andronicus' is notable for being the subject of the only contemporary illustration of a Shakespeare play. Known as the Peacham drawing, and currently in the Library at Longleat House in Wiltshire, the seat of the Marquis of Bath, the dr…

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July 7, 2024

New Place, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Featured in episode 123: The History of New Place Here are three images to help you visualize Shakespeare’s house in Stratford-Upon-Avon, New Place. The first is a view of the site as it stands today. The side of the house you can see i…

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July 7, 2024

Mystere des Trois Doms

Featured in episode 61: For the Money: The Medieval Commercial Theatre Ever wondered what a medieval play script looks like? This image is a page from the script for ‘Mystere des Trois Doms’. This play was produced in 1509 at Roma…

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About the Host

Philip Rowe