Episodes
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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’. ...
Oct. 12, 2025
Julius Caesar: ‘It is the Bright Day That Brings Forth the Adder’
Episode 190: 'Julius Caesar' has proved to be one of Shakespeare’s most malleable plays through the centuries as it’s political narrative has been applied to just about every period of history since it was first performed, ei...
Oct. 5, 2025
Neighbourly Relationships in Early Modern Drama: A Conversation in Dr Iman Sheeha
Episode 189: For today’s guest episode it is my pleasure to welcome Dr Iman Sheeha to the podcast. Her book ‘Neighbourly Relations in early modern drama has been published recently so it was a great opportunity to talk to he...
Sept. 28, 2025
As You Like It: ‘I Can Suck Melancholy Out of a Song as a Weasel Sucks Eggs’
Episode 188: Following on from the last episode before the run of summer guest conversations we take a sharp swerve from ‘Henry V’ to ‘As You Like It’. Although we cannot be quite sure about the chronology in which Shakespea...
Sept. 21, 2025
Who is King Henry?: A Conversation with Ricky Dukes
Episode 187: This episode is both an ending and a beginning. An ending because it is the last of the recent run of consecutive guest episodes – next time we will be returning to Shakespeare, Jonson and their plays – but it i...
Sept. 14, 2025
Robert Armin – Shakespeare’s Other Clown: A Conversation with Tim Fitzhigham
Episode 186: In this continuing series of guest episodes, it is a very welcome return to the podcast for Tim Fitzhigham. You may remember I spoke to Tim in episode 140 about his work at the Kings Lynn Guildhall where the Eli...
Sept. 7, 2025
‘The Shakespeare Ladies Club’: A Conversation with Christine and Jonathan Hainsworth
Episode 185: For today’s guest episode it’s a warm welcome to the podcast for Christine and Jonathan Hainsworth, co-authors of the recently published book ‘The Shakespeare Ladies Club’. Their book explores the lives of four l...
Aug. 31, 2025
‘A Trojan Woman’: A Conversation with Sara Farrington
Episode 184: Today’s episode is part of my summer run of guest episodes and feels very special as rather than talking about a long dead playwright I got to talk to a living one. Sara Farrington is a New York based playwright...
Aug. 24, 2025
The Dream Factory: A Conversation With Daniel Swift
Episode 183: Today’s episode is the first of a short run of guest episodes to see us through the end of the English summer and first up is Daniel Swift, author of ‘The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the making of...
Aug. 17, 2025
Henry V: ‘A Valiant Flea That Dare Eat His Breakfast on The Lip of a Lion’
Episode 182: Although it feels like a while since Shakespeare had produced a history play, we must remember that all the plays I have discussed so far were written and played in a very compressed timescale. If we take Henry ...
Aug. 10, 2025
Leicester's Men: A Conversation with Laurie Johnson
Episode 181: For today’s guest episode it’s a pleasure to welcome Laurie Johnson to the podcast. Laurie’s book ‘Leicester’s Men and their Plays’ is a fascination study of one of the most influential of the playing troupes of...
Aug. 3, 2025
Much Ado About Nothing: A College of Wit-Crackers Cannot Flout Me Out of My Humour
Episode 180: Much Ado About Nothing remains one of the more popular comedies where the characters of Benedick and Beatrice are usually thought of as the leading characters, but this play is much more of an ensemble piece than...
July 27, 2025
Jonson’s World View: A Conversation with Kay Daly
Episode 179: For today’s guest episode it is a welcome return for Kay Daly to the podcast. In our second conversation Kay discusses Jonson’s world view and how it differed from Shakespeare’s, which we discussed in our first ...