The History of European Theatre Podcast
A chronological history of the development and practice of theatre, tracing the emergence from ancient Greece through to the present day.
The History of European Theatre looks at the places where theatre was made and the people who made it happen. More than just dates and lists of plays we’ll share the social, political and historical context that fostered the creation of dramatic art.
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If you would like to contact me you can do so via the podcast Twitter account @thoetp, or via the Facebook page or group, or by email [email protected].
Latest Episodes
22-April-2024
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 Polish Culture, University of Warsaw. [...]
15-April-2024
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, [...]
08-April-2024
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. [...]
01-April-2024
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 [...]
Full Episode Listing
09-January-2024
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 teacher of Theater History who lives [...]
02-January-2024
A short New Year message and about the timing for the start of season six of the podcast.
26-December-2023
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.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.comwww.ko-fi.com/thoetpwww.patreon.com/thoetp
11-December-2023
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 Faversham.Henry [...]
27-November-2023
Episode 111:The true story behind 'Arden of Faversham'The plot outline of the playIs the domestic tragedy really tragedy?The main themes of the playThe domestic eating of the playThe low charactersThe role of destiny in the playQuestions of authorshipOther surviving [...]
13-November-2023
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 by a more naturalistic style.Stage sets and [...]
30-October-2023
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.Will Kempe’s origins and [...]
16-October-2023
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’ - three [...]
02-October-2023
Episode 107:In the first of two episodes on Thomas Dekker I discuss his earliest life and his prose works.Dekker's early life and first forays into the playhouse.His prose work 'The Wonderful Year'The Gull's Handbook - with some extensive quotes [...]
18-September-2023
Episode 106:We have the detail about the way a London playhouse functioned thanks, in a large part, to one document. Theatre owner Philip Henslowe kept a record of many aspects of his enterprise at the Rose theatre from 1591 to [...]