Episodes

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 my...

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 her...

Guest: Katherine Scheil

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 the...

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 Shakespea...

Guest: Cassidy Cash

April 29, 2024

William of Stratford Part 1: 'To You Your Father Should Be As a God’

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 ...

April 22, 2024

Polish Theatre Revisited: A Conversation with Dr Agata Luksza

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 Po...

Guest: Agata Luksza

April 15, 2024

Shakespeare In His Time

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...

April 8, 2024

Dionysus and Xanthias: The First Double Act

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....

April 1, 2024

From the English Renaissance to Shakespeare and Jonson

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 Shakes...

Jan. 9, 2024

Adventures In Theatre History Philadelphia with Peter Schmitz

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 teach...

Guest: Peter Schmitz

Jan. 2, 2024

Schedule Announcement

A short New Year message and about the timing for the start of season six of the podcast. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Dec. 26, 2023

Coda: The Life of Augustine Phillips

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.thehistor...

Dec. 11, 2023

English Renaissance Conclusions (sort of)

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 Fav...

Nov. 27, 2023

Arden of Faversham and the Domestic Tragedy

Episode 111: The true story behind 'Arden of Faversham' The plot outline of the play Is the domestic tragedy really tragedy? The main themes of the play The domestic eating of the play The low characters The role of destiny i...

Nov. 13, 2023

The Play’s the Thing: Elizabethan Acting Style and Stage Conventions

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 ...

Oct. 30, 2023

The Star Players: Kemp. Alleyn and Burbage

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. W...

Oct. 16, 2023

Thomas Dekker: London's Playwright

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’ - th...

Oct. 2, 2023

Thomas Dekker: Gulls, Gallants and the London Playhouse

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 - wi...

Sept. 18, 2023

Henslowe’s Diary

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 159...

Sept. 11, 2023

Drag: A British History - A Conversation with Jacob Bloomfield

Bonus Episode 31 Guest Jacob Bloomfield discusses his book 'Drag: A British History', with particular reference to Arthur Lucan (AKA Old Mother Riley), the drag review shows that came out of both WW1 and WW2 concert parties a...

Guest: Jacob Bloomfield

Sept. 4, 2023