Episodes

Episode 95: The life and plays of some of the lesser known playwrights of the Tudor period. George Gascoigne - his shady life story and his Italian translations into English prose. Robert Greene - how he carved out a professional writers life from an unpromising start, his plays, and that notorious comment about Shakespeare. Thomas Lodge - a prodigious talent who sought out an adventurous life and wrote two verse plays. Thomas Preston - A Fellow of Cambridge University who wrote plays in ma...

Nick Bromley has had a long career as a Stage Manager and Company Stage Manager and has worked on many UK tours and West End shows. He recently collated his acquired knowledge into a dictionary of theatrical terms, myths and stories called 'Theatre Lore'. He kindly agreed to come and talk to me about his life and career and his book. You can order a copy of 'Theatre Lore' direct from Nick at his website https://lnpbooks.co.uk/ Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.c...

Episode 94: Gorboduc the first tragedy in blank verse The lives of the co-authors Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville The plot of the play including the description of the opening dumb show The origins of the Gorboduc story The political message of the play How the play incorporates ideas and style from Seneca, Aristotle, and the medieval traditions The use of allegorical characters The problems whit the play as good drama The play as an academic debate The second printing of the play ...

A Bonus episode featuring a sample of the content available to members subscribed to The History Of European Theatre on Patreon. To join up go to: www.patreon.com/thoetp Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Episode 93: The earliest extant plays from the Tudor period include comedies and a historical morality, which give an insight into how theatre developed. A summary of the elements that came together to make Tudor theatre a very special development. Students and Masters become playwrights looking to Seneca Nicolas Udal, schoolmaster and writer of the earliest surviving comedy A summary of Ralph Roister Doister The problem of the authorship of Gammer Gurton's Needle A summary of Gammer Gurt...

There are just a few very well-known names from the theatre of the 18th century – Sheridan, Goldsmith, Garrick and some other, less well known. One playwright you have probably never heard of is John Borgoyne – well not as a playwright anyway. In his biography of Burgoyne ‘From the Battlefield to the Stage’ Professor Norman Poser unpicks the often scarce and conflicting sources and tells the story of Burgouyne from his beginnings, through his military career and his theatrical successes. I spoke...

Episode 92: Elizabeth’s reign is seen as the golden age of theatre where many great playwrights, and one genius in particular, flourished. But did that happen because of the freedoms they were granted, or because of the constraints they worked under? The situation in theatre as Elizabeth ascended to the throne. The revision of the Act of Uniformity. The renewal of the ban on Interludes and censorship play printing. Rules introduced to combat the spread of plague. Attempts to ban plays on m...

A special episode in conversation with actor and Shakespeare expert Colin David Reese who's one man play 'Shakespeare Unbound' tells of the production of the first folio edition of Shakespeare's plays and it's creator John Heminges. You can own a copy of Shakespeare Unbound to stream, which is available at www.shakespeareunbound.com Registration for the streaming event - an extract from the play and Q & A discussion - is available at www.eventbrite.com See Colin's Bio at: www.shakespeareunb...

Episode 91: By the 1530s the State was concerned with the regulation & censorship of plays. Here are the key moments of legislation under Henry, Edward & Mary. The background of what made legislation necessary. The end of the Corpus Christi Cycle Play. The beginnings of actions against players The Act For The Advancement of True Religion Pammachius performed at Cambridge and the aftermath. Early controls in London The death of Henry 8th and changes under Edward Repeated attempts to ban t...

Episode 90: The development of the profession of acting, of ‘stage-playing’ through the Tudor period. How the professional stage player developed out of the medieval entertainer. How travelling players became household players and then settled in the London playhouses. The beginnings of an acting profession. The Earl of Leicester’s Men. The English Sumptuary laws. The boy troupes. The objections to players and playhouses. The reputation of players. Some examples of contemporary views o...

Episode 89: As England emerged from the Medieval period theatre became established in London in purpose built theatres and in buildings adapted for the purpose. In this episode we look at those earliest theatres and their builders: The Red Lion, a probably short lived theatre built by John Brayne Four Inns that operated as theatres The Bel Savage, The Bull, The Bell, and the Cross Keys The Theatre at Newington Butts The Theatre - probably the first truly purpose built theatre since Roman ti...

Episode 88: An introduction to season 5 of the podcast. The theatrical links between England and Continental Europe in the 16th Century. Some differences and similarities. Why English theatre stands apart from that of continental Europe. Sir Philip Sidney’s ‘Defence of Poetry’, his dislike of the stage and ideas on the power of poetic language. The development of English as a language to be used poetically. The slow rise of England out of the Medieval period. Theatre and king Henry 8th. ...

The second part of my seasonal chat with guest Aaron Odom director Trident Theatre Company and Euripides Eumenides Podcast. We pick up the story of the history of the British Christmas Pantomime, going further back to the influence of Comedies Dell'arte and the bringing the story forward to it's zenith in the later Victorian period up to some of today's challenges for the modern Panto. For more details about Aaron and his work: https://tridenttheatre.com/about/ The Euripides Eumenides Podcast...

A seasonal episode with guest Aaron Odom director Trident Theatre Company and Euripides Eumenides Podcast where the main subject of the day is the phenomenon of the British Christmas Pantomime, but in a wide-ranging chat about theatre in general we also covered Aaron’s background and some of his current projects with Trident Theatre Company. Part two of our conversation is following soon. For more details about Aaron and his work: https://tridenttheatre.com/about/ The Euripides Eumenides P...

A bonus episode on the origins, development and recent history of The Oberammergau Passion Play. Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

A conversation with author Yvonne Korshak about her novel 'Pericles and Aspasia' The novel unfolds against the background of the arts and history of the Golden Age seen through the eyes of two individuals who lent their luster to make it “golden,” Pericles, the great orator and visionary of democracy and its most influential woman, Aspasia. Their story takes them from the Agora—Athens’ marketplace—to the Acropolis, from the mercantile, raunchy Athenian Port Piraeus across the Aegean Sea to Ea...

Thoughts on a recent trip to the Greek capital, Athens a city resonating with ancient history Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

A bonus episodes as a coda to the European Renaissance Theatre season following the story of what happened to the remains of Calderon de la Bacca after his death. Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Episode 87: A fictionalised account of a day in the life of one of Madrid's Renaissance period theatres, the Corral Del Principe, using some of the facts and assumptions discussed in the season about the European Renaissance Theatre. Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Episode 86: A summary to conclude the season on European Renaissance Theatre focussing on four aspects of the theatre that I have covered in the last twenty-two episodes: The Italian Rebirth The Parisian Theatre Theatre in Spain The Commedia Dell'arte Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Episode 85: We return to Italy, to the birthplace of the Renaissance, for one last visit in this theatrical age. The Bernini family and their history as sculptors and architects. The early life and career of the second-generation Bernini, Gian Lorenzo, and his place as a major sculptor and architect in Rome. His work as a scenic designer in the theatre and the impact of his special effects. Bernini as an all-round theatre practitioner and some examples of his work. Bernini as a playwright a...

Episode 84: Given the destruction of the thirty years war moving backwards and forwards across the Germanic and Flemish states of Europe between 1618 and 1648 it is a wonder that any art could flourish at all but in the Netherlands, there was something of an opposite effect. A word on the lack of examples from the Netherlands in this period and a reminder of the lasting influence of ‘Everyman’. The political and religious landscape that enables the Dutch Golden Age, a period of trade and expa...

Episode 83: The Commedia Dell’arte tropes that operated in Italy and France were like many actors before them - travelling players operating if not exactly outside of society, then in their own niche within it. The framework that Commedia Dell’arte troupes operated in and how little had changed for the travelling player since Roman and Medieval times. The origins of the Gelosi Troupe via their first leader, Zan Ganassa and their second, long term director and main actor Flamminio Scala. The ...

Episode 82: The characters of Commedia Dell’arte may have been used in every play over and over again until they became completely familiar, but the plays themselves were more varied that you might imagine. The first preserved Commedia Dell’arte scenario from 1568. How the play was created and the characters and players. A first-hand account of the play. A brief analysis of this history of the play The play ‘Madness’ presented for a Medici wedding, performed by Isabella Andreinoi, of the G...