Episodes
July 15, 2024
Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers: A Conversation with Dr. Darren Freebury-Jones
Episode 126: A conversation with Dr. Darren Freebury-Jones, author of 'Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers' about the influence of early modern playwrights on Shakespeare where we talk about Marlowe, Kyd, Greene and others and th...
July 8, 2024
Henry 6th part 1: ‘My Thoughts Are Whirled Like a Potter's Wheel’
Episode 125: A detailed look at the first Shakespearean history play 'Henry 6th part 1' The problems with dating 1 Henry VI How much of the play did Shakespeare write? The relationship of the play to parts 2 and 3 The sources...
July 1, 2024
'To Gender or Not to Gender': A Conversation With Margaret Oakes
Episode 124: A conversation with Margaret Oakes about the book 'To Gender or Not to Gender: Casting and Characters for 21st Century Shakespeare’ which explores ways in which gender is being reinterpreted by British and North ...
June 24, 2024
Hunt, Grenfell and the Satyr Play
Bonus Episode 36: Sometimes things conspire against the podcaster, as has happened to me in the last couple of weeks, meaning that I have not been able to get the promised episode up to scratch in time. To make up for this a...
June 17, 2024
William of Stratford, a Coda: The History of New Place
Episode 123: The Origins of New Place The Clopton’s of Stratford-Upon-Avon The first house at New Place Hugh Clopton and his support for Stratford William Clopton William Bott and murder at New Place (maybe) William Underhill...
June 10, 2024
William of Stratford part 4: ‘With Mirth and Laughter Let Old Wrinkles Come.’
Episode 122: The fourth and final part of the biography of Shakespeare. The rise of Shakespeare as actor and playwright for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. ‘The Comedy of Errors’ performed at Grey’s Inn, ‘the night of errors.’ Th...
June 3, 2024
The Afterlife of Anne Hathaway: A Conversation with Prof Katherine Scheil
Episode 121: For this episode I’m very pleased to welcome Katherine Sheil, Professor of English at the University of Minnesota for the second part of our conversation about Anne Hathaway, based around her book ‘Imagining Shak...
May 27, 2024
William of Stratford Part 3: ‘Would I Were in an Alehouse in London’
The lost years of Shakespeare’s early life have given space for some myths and legends to grow over the centuries, before we can trace a few facts of his early life in London. The myth of Shakespeare and the Crab-tree. The my...
May 20, 2024
Imagining Shakespeare’s Wife: A Conversation with Katherine Scheil
Episode 119: For this episode I’m very pleased to welcome Katherine Sheil, Professor of English at the University of Minnesota. Katherine is Author of several books about Shakespeare, but today we particularly talk about her...
May 13, 2024
William of Stratford Part 2: 'He Wears The Rose of Youth Upon Him'
Episode 118: Shakespeare's youth, his school days, religious life and marriage. A couple of corrections to the last episode on John Shakespeare The Shakespeare family's domestic set up. Religion and the life of a child in the...
May 6, 2024
That Shakespeare Life: A Conversation with Cassidy Cash
Bonus Episode 35: A conversation with Cassidy Cash, producer and host of 'That Shakespeare Life', the podcast that interviews expert historians to explore people, events, and objects that were living or happening in Shakespea...
April 29, 2024
William of Stratford Part 1: 'To You Your Father Should Be As a God’
Episode 117: ‘To you your father should be as a God’. - A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Act 1 Scene 1 The first of a series of episodes covering the biography of William of Stratford. Richard Shakespeare – William’s ...
April 22, 2024
Polish Theatre Revisited: A Conversation with Dr Agata Luksza
Bonus Episode 34: Guest Dr Agata Luksza discusses her book 'Polish Theatre Revisited' where she examines theatre fan culture in Warsaw in the late 19th century. Dr Agata Luksza is an assistant professor at the Institute of Po...
April 15, 2024
Shakespeare In His Time
Episode 116: As an introduction to the season on Shakespeare this episode gives a timeline of events in Shakespeare's life. The focus is on the best estimates for the dates of all his plays and the reasons for those estimates...
April 8, 2024
Dionysus and Xanthias: The First Double Act
Episode 115: A dive back into Ancient Greek theatre with a look at 'The Frogs' by Aristophanes. A recap on the life and plays of Aristophanes. A summary of the plot of the play. Analysis of the main points raised by the play....
April 1, 2024
From the English Renaissance to Shakespeare and Jonson
Episode 114: As an introduction to season six of the podcast in the first part of this episode I lay out the aims for the next season and the approach I will be taking to the monoliths of early English theatre tha tare Shakes...
Jan. 9, 2024
Adventures In Theatre History Philadelphia with Peter Schmitz
A bonus episode where Peter Schmitz of the 'Adventures In Theatre History - Philadelphia' podcast takes us through an overview of the development of theatre in Philadelphia. Peter Schmitz is an actor, dialect coach, and teach...
Jan. 2, 2024
Schedule Announcement
A short New Year message and about the timing for the start of season six of the podcast. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Dec. 26, 2023
Coda: The Life of Augustine Phillips
Episode 113: As a coda to season 5 this episode is a potted history of the life of Augustine Phillips, player in the Lord Chamberlin's Men, with the details taken from documented records. Support the podcast at: www.thehistor...
Dec. 11, 2023
English Renaissance Conclusions (sort of)
Episode 112: To close season five of the podcast I pick up three items I dropped in the previous narrative and then offer some concluding thoughts: Thomas Watson – the life and works of the possible co-author of ‘Arden of Fav...
Nov. 27, 2023
Arden of Faversham and the Domestic Tragedy
Episode 111: The true story behind 'Arden of Faversham' The plot outline of the play Is the domestic tragedy really tragedy? The main themes of the play The domestic eating of the play The low characters The role of destiny i...
Nov. 13, 2023
The Play’s the Thing: Elizabethan Acting Style and Stage Conventions
Episode 110: The problems of the lack of evidence about conventions and acting style. How a player learned his craft. The rhetorical or performance style of acting. Theatre as a poetic form. The rhetorical style is overtaken ...
Oct. 30, 2023
The Star Players: Kemp. Alleyn and Burbage
Episode 109: We don't know a lot about individual players of the Elizabethan and Jacobean stage, but there are three stars of the day that we have some information about. Richard Tarlton, the Queen’s favourite comic player. W...
Oct. 16, 2023
Thomas Dekker: London's Playwright
Episode 108: The second part of the story of Thomas Dekker and his works 'Old Fortunas' - Dekker's first known play ‘The Honest Whore’, a good example of what was good and bad in Dekker’s work. ‘The Civil Wars in France’ - th...