Episodes

In the third part of this series of guest episodes before we get back to continuing the journey through the Shakespeare and Jonson cannon, we are going deep into the world of the renaissance period boy actors, or perhaps, as they should more properly be called, apprentice players. The habit of the period of young actors playing female roles is well known, but when I had the chance to talk to Roberta Barker about her study of apprentice players it soon became very clear that there is a lot more t...

Episode 154 As you know form last week’s episode I’m running a short series of guest episodes before we get back to continuing the journey through the Shakespeare and Jonson cannon. Today’s episode is a repeat of episode 30 of the podcast, first released in late 2020. At the time I was discussing the early theatre of Rome and with the Ancient Greek theatre already under my belt I had started to reach out to academics and authors who could add depth and colour to the research that I had bee...

Episode 153 Today’s guest episode serves as a great precursor to what is to come. The discussion that you are about to hear with Charles Mosely focusses on Shakespeare as a man of the theatre and discusses how the plays were created for and affected by the Theatre, the Audience and the conventions of the time. And that brief description does not do this wide ranging and detailed discussion any sort of justice. I think all of the thoughts that Charles discusses are well worth holding I mind...

Episode 152 Following on from my thoughts on A Midsummer Night’s Dream last time I’m very pleased to welcome back Rachel Aanstad to the podcast for further thoughts on the play. You may remember from our previous conversation about Twelfth Night that Rachel has devoted a lifetime to both the study and presentation of Shakespeare plays and as with Twelfth Night she has written an Illustrated Handbook and Encyclopaedia on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. This includes a complete rendition of the...

Episode 151 Having finished with Ben Jonson’s biography we can now go back in time just a little to work through Shakespeare’s and Jonson’s plays in more detail. By the early 1590s was then the man of the theatrical moment, no longer the young upstart, but the proven playmaker and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ surely did nothing but enhance that reputation and it has been popular ever since. A brief synopsis of the play The dating of the play Suggested settings for the play as a ...

Episode 150: For this very appropriately timed guest episode, which is released on the 6th January, Rachel Aanstad kindly agreed to come on the podcast and talk about the Elizabethan twelfth night traditions and Shakespeare’s play of the same name. As you will hear our discussion became very much more wide ranging than that, as is often the way when we talk about Shakespeare. Rachel’s close study of the play came about not only because she has written on the play in her book 'A Bawdy Twelf...

Episode 149 The life story of Ben Jonson concludes with events after the publication of his first folio to his death in 1637. ‘Bartholomew Fair’, a different sort of Jonson play. The finances of the court become more problematic, and Jonson earns and spends money. The trend for ‘projectors’ and Jonson becomes involved with Sir Willian Cockayne. ‘The Devil is an Ass’ satires money making projects. Jonson is honoured by Oxford and Cambridge universities. Jonson devotes a decad...

Episode 148: The life of Ben Jonson continues after he is released from prison after the publication of 'Eastward Ho!' Jonson’s possible involvement in the gunpowder plot and it’s aftermath. Jonson writes a masque for the marriage of Frances Howard and Robert Devereaux. Jonson defends his religious position in the face of recusancy fines. ‘Volpone’ is performed at The Globe as Jonson continues to produce masques. ‘Epicene or the Silent Woman’ is performed at the Whitefria...

One of the generally accepted facts about theatre in the time of Shakespeare and Jonson is that boy actors took female roles and women were banned from appearing on the stage. This is in fact only partly true and my guest for today’s episode has made a study of how early modern actresses, from traditions on the European continent, influenced the English stage. During out conversation we covered aspects of European theatre from the early 1500’s, and Commedia Dell’arte in particular. You will find...

Episode 146: The banning of printed satire. ‘Every Man Out of His Humour’ is produced by The Lord Chamberlin’s Men. ‘Cynthia’s Revels’ is performed at court but is not well received. ‘Poetester’ is performed at the Blackfriars and sparks ‘the war of the poets’ with Dekker and Marston. ‘Sejanus: His Fall’ fails to impress. Jonson cultivates friendships with nobility close to the Stuart dynasty. The death of Elizabeth. Entertainments for the arrival of Queen Anne in Engl...

Episode 145: Continuing the story of Ben Jonson’s life from the point where just as he starts to make his mark in the theatre scene everything goes very badly wrong for him. ‘The Isle of Dogs’ at the Swan Theatre The closure of the London Theatres Jonson in prison How the London theatres reopened The Swan and Pembroke’s Men Speculation on the content of ‘The Isle of Dogs’ Jonson’s other early work for the theatre Jonson and the Lord Chamberlin’s Men Jonson’s d...

Episode 144: On several occasions through the story of the renaissance theatre I have touched on how the players made use of cue sheets rather than full scripts as they rehearsed and performed plays, so I was fascinated to see that there is a company of actors working today who produce plays by Shakespeare and other renaissance playwrights using cue sheets. Although we don’t have documentary evidence about exactly how they were used at the time and therefore how the rehearsal process worke...

Episode 143: The second part of the life of Ben Jonson takes him from his birth, through his years at school and onto working as a bricklayer. He then briefly joined the army before returning to become a player, a poet and a playwright. Episode Image: William Camden Jonson’s Scottish ancestry. His father’s loss of position under queen Mary. His Stepfather Robert Brett, bricklayer. Life for the Brett/Jonson family on Christopher Lane Jonson’s education at Westminster...

Episode 142 Dr Natália Pikli discusses the changing view of the 'The Shrew' in Medieval and Early Modern European culture and how women are represented in Shakespeare's early comedies, She then goes on to outline how Shakespeare became part of national Hungarian culture and how the plays have been treated in translation. Dr Natália Pikli is Associate Professor at the Department of English Studies, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. She teaches medieval and early modern cult...

Episode 141: In this episode I set us up for a look at the life of Ben Johnson discussing some of the sources for information about his life and how far we can trust them – it’s complicated. Jonson’s 1618 visit to Scotland and why he might have undertaken the journey on foot. His conversations with Drummond of Hawthornden. Jonson’s opinions on other writers as reported by Drummond and thoughts on their validity. Descriptions of Jonson by Aubery and Dekker. The Johnson por...

In October 2023 the story of the discovery of a stage floor that dated from before the Elizabethan period in St George’s Guildhall in Kings Lynn hit the news. The attrition to the headline writers was the fact that that very stage had probably supported Shakespeare as he acted as part of a playing troupe on stage. Of course, that is a great hook for the story as the interest in Shakespeare goes well beyond those of us immersed in the history of theatre and the idea that we can still share a spac...

Episode 139: Last time ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ gave us a look at second comedy from Shakespeare’s early phase as a playwright. As you heard certain elements in the plotting of the play and execution of its denouement make it problematic, but nevertheless it showed early promise. The lyrical nature of much of the language used in that play is quite typical of the earliest comedies and it is probably not coincidental that this was around the time that Shakespeare was writing his long lyric...

Episode 138: Over the course of speaking about English Renaissance Plays and Shakespeare I have had cause to mention the play ‘A Knack to Know a Knave’ several times. Most latterly because it is thought to include references to ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ and ‘Titus Andronicus’ and prior to that, in the season on the Early Renaissance Theatre it had a mention as one of the plays performed at the Rose Playhouse as recorded in Henslowe’s Diary. Having been reminded of it while writing about th...

Episode 137: The dating of the play Printing in the First Folio The sources for the play and the nature of the text A brief synopsis of the play The major themes of the play How the status and youth of Valentine and Proteus helps to understand their actions in the play The role of Speed and how the play features the embryo of Shakespearean wordplay The role and values of Lance, and Crab the dog, as a comparison to Proteus Some well-regarded verse from the play Di...

Episode 136: Having given you my own thoughts on ‘Titus Andronicus’ last time I’m pleased to say that for this special guest episode I was able to take the discussion even further with Eleanor Conlon, a fellow podcaster and a theatre professional as you will hear Eleanor has a lot to say about the play and insights that, in some cases, go in different directions from what I was able to say about the play. Eleanor Conlon is an actor, director, and award-winning writer based in Sussex....

Episode 135: Is Shakespeare’s early tragedy more than just a gore-fest? The first performance of the play, maybe The three playing troupes involved with the play Is the play a collaboration with George Peele? The popularity of violence in plays The sources for the play A brief summary of the play The establishing of characters in the first act The justifications for Titus’ desire for revenge The role of young Lucius The flaw in Titus’ character that leads to t...

Episode 134: Author Jem Bloomfield joins us to talk about his recently published book, ‘Allusion in Detective Fiction’, which looks at how and why allusion to Shakespeare and the Bible was used by the masters, or I should say mistresses, of golden age detective fiction. This may not seem like an obvious area when considering the pervasive influence of Shakespeare, but as you will here the connections that Jem has made can tell us a lot about how knowledge and use of Shakespeare is constant...

Episode 133: The complications with dating the play and it’s relationship with a similar Elizabethan play The sources for the play A short summary of the play The Christopher Sly framing device Switching of roles in the play The disguise motif The motivations of the leading characters The implication of the falconry images in the play The Elizabethan idea of a proper wife and correct behaviour Similarities with Elizabethan ‘wife taming’ ballads The play as an ...

Episode 132 My thoughts on seeing a recent production of Richard 3rd at Shakespeare's Globe, starring Michelle Terry in the titular role. The production and the controversy that surrounded it raises questions about gender fluid casting, the nature of leadership and the casting of able bodied actors in this famous portrayal of deformity. Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.patreon.com/thoetp www.ko-fi.com/thoetp Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...