Episodes

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 book about Shakespeare’s wife called ‘Imagining Shakespeare’s Wife: The Afterlife of Anne Hathaway’. It is a fascinating examination of the known facts of Anne’s life and of how her persona has been used and abused through the centuries, as a means of examining and justif...

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 late 1500's Examples of how William's education in Stratford may have looked. Anne Hathaway and her family history. William and Anne's marriage and the many speculations about anomalies in the records. Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeu...

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 grandfather Richard Shakespeare – William’s uncle John Shakespeare – William’s father His move to Stratford Upon Avon His trade as a glover The question of the midden heap Marriage to Mary Arden The elder children of John and Mary Shakespeare The qu...

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, but also includes the milestones of his life and other significant events of the time that occurred in England. Support to podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.patreon.com/thoetp www.ko-fi.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following thir...

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. A short word on a recent production of the play by 'Spymonkey' played at the Kiln Theatre, London in February and March 2024. Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This po...

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 Shakespeare and Jonson. In the second part of the Episode I give a quick recap of Season Five to get you and I back in the zone for all the detail that will follow on Shakespeare and Jonson. Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/t...