The History Of European Theatre
A podcast tracing the development of theatre from ancient Greece to the present day through the places and people who made theatre happen. More than just dates and lists of plays we'll learn about the social. political and historical context that fostered the creation of dramatic art.This podcast u...
Recent Episodes
July 22, 2024
Henry 6th part 2: ‘The Fox Barks Not When He Would Steal the Lamb’
Episode 127: A recap of Henry VI part one and the potential involvement of Christopher Marlowe A word on methods of authorship attribution in the context of Shakespeare and Marlowe The dating and sources of the play A synops…
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 t…
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 source…
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 …
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 Underhil…
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.’ T…
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 Sha…
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 m…
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 he…
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 th…
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 Shakespe…
Recent Blog Posts
New Place, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Featured in episode 123: The History of New Place
Here are three images to help you visualize Shakespeare’s house in Stratford-Upon-Avon, New Place.
The first is a view of the site as it stands today. The side of the house you can see i…
Mystere des Trois Doms
Featured in episode 61: For the Money: The Medieval Commercial Theatre
Ever wondered what a medieval play script looks like? This image is a page from the script for ‘Mystere des Trois Doms’.
This play was produced in 1509 at Roma…
The Castle of Perseverance
Featured in episode 58: The Castle of Perseverance
The first thing to note is that this image is orientated with north towards the bottom of the page, the reverse of how the cardinal points of the compass are usually shown in Northern Hemisphere so…
