Episodes

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 costume. Thomas Hayward’s thoughts on a player’s skills. Hayward on players as scholars. The impact of Iambic Pentameter. Hayward on Alleyn and Perkins playing Barabas in ‘The Jew of Malta’. The convention of the soliloquy. The co...

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 early career. ‘A Knack to Know a Knave’ and ‘Fools of Gotham’. Did Kempe fall out with Shakespeare? ‘Kempe’s Jig’ and last days. Edward Alleyn’s family and early life. Touring with the Earl of Worcester’s Men. Return to London and success with the Adm...

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 parts, an introduction and a bit of a mystery. Dekker's debt to the Lord Chamberlin's Men and rescue by Henslowe. How Henslowe's Diary shows Dekker's incredible work rate. The Play of Sir Thomas Moore - including a word on Shakespeare's contribution. 'The Shoemaker's Hol...

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 from and explanation of his piece on behaviour in the playhouse Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - htt...

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 1609. A large part of the diary comprises of daily records of the takings at the box office, which plays were performed, if they were new or revivals, and various other details about expenses, costumes and matters related to the running of The Rose. This episode looks ...

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 and the demise of theatre censorship in the UK through the lens of drag performances. Jacob Bloomfield is Zukunftskolleg Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Konstanz and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent. His research is situated primarily in the fields ...

Episode 105: The life of Thomas Kyd, including a word on Elizabethan schooling. Thomas Nashe on Kyd. Kyd and the London playwright set. Kyd and Lord Strange. Questions over the first performances of ‘The Spanish Tragedy’. Is ‘The Spanish Tragedy’ a sequel? Cornelia, Kyd’s other surviving play. The Ur-Hamlet and other plays and collaborations. Kyd and Marlowe. The publication of the ‘The Spanish Tragedy’ A synopsis of ‘The Spanish Tragedy’ The power of the plotting of the story. Similarities to ‘...

Episode 104: Continuing the story of the Elizabethan theatre buildings. The construction of The Globe Master carpenter Peter Street The death of The Globe The Fortune - Henslowe's replacement for The Rose The Whitefriars Theatre The Hope - Henslowe's replacement for his bear garden, almost. The second Globe Playhouse The Globe reimagined. Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services fo...

Episode 103: The story of the next phase of theatre building in Elizabethan London featuring the indoor and outdoor playhouses. The First Blackfriars Theatre The Curtain Philip Henslowe The Rose Francis Langley The Swan The Second Blackfriars Theatre Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Episode 102: The sources of information on the playing troupes. The Earl of Leicester’s Men – the earliest recorded acting troupe. How troupes operated under the patronage of their master. The royal patent and how it changed the way troupes operated. The sumptuary laws and protections that actors were given. The decline of the Earl of Leicester’s Men. Lord Strange’s Men. The merging of Lord Strange’s Men and The Admiral’s Men Lord Strange’s Men become touring players. The Earl of Sussex’s Men an...

Episode 101: How Marlowe’s other plays differ from Tamburlaine and Dr Faustus. The plot of ‘The Jew of Malta’. The depiction of Barabbas the Jew and how it might have been received by the audience. ‘Edward 2nd’ as a history play rather than a tragedy. The theme of homosexuality in Marlowe’s work. The plot of ‘Edward 2nd’. The slow burn of the play adding to it’s subdued nature. The motif of the wheel of fortune. Edward’s character and the difficulty of empathy. The problem with the language in t...

As my own small contribution to the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the printing of the first folio of Shakespeare's plays in this third and final episode of a short mini-series I look at the printing and selling of the First Folio and the afterlife of some of the copies as they travelled the globe. This includes some history on the greatest collector of First Folios and the creation of the Folger Library. Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp ...

Episode 100: Dr Faustus is one of the most influential plays of the Elizabethan period. Most commentators see this play as Marlowe’s masterpiece, and it is certainly the most performed of his plays through the centuries. The two printed version of the play and how they may have come to be updated. The Plot of ‘The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus’. The source material for the play. The effect of earning and wisdom. Comparisons with Tamburlaine The questioning of Christian doctrine. The philos...

As my own small contribution to the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the printing of the first folio of Shakespeare's plays in this second episode of a short mini-series I look at the inspiration and motivations for the First Folio and how it was produced What prompted the creator to produce the First Folio? Ben Johnson’s First Folio John Hemenge – Actor and Administrator Henry Condell – Actor and friend of Shakespeare Richard Burbage – Just a brief sketch How the plays existed in print ...

Episode 99: Marlowe’s ‘Tamburlaine the Great’ is a play in two parts, an early example of a writer responding to popular acclaim by giving his audience more of the same, but for all of that mercenary motivation, and the fact that the first part was conceived as a stand-alone piece, they do work well as a conjoined piece. The history of the printed plays and the introduction by the printer Richard Jones. A summary of the plot of part one of the play. The relationship of the play to the historical...

As my own small contribution to the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the printing of the first folio of Shakespeare's plays in this first episode of a short mini-series I recount a recent journey to London to see copies of the first folio that are currently on display. Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Episode 98: Marlowe as a playwright at the beginning of the greatest period of Elizabethan creativity. A short recap on Marlowe’s university life. Marlowe moves to London. The anonymity and earning power of Elizabethan playwrights. ‘Dido, Queen of Carthage’. Thomas Nashe as co-author of ‘Dido, Queen of Carthage’. Marlowe’s sexual preferences. The Elizabethan attitude to sexuality. Marlowe and religion. The School of Atheism. Marlowe’s use of rhetoric. Marlowe, blank verse, and iambic pentameter....

Nick Bromley returns to discuss his book Stage Ghosts and Haunted Theatres. Stories of strange happenings in theatres abound and Nick has collected them together that takes you on a ghostly tour of London's West End and UK regional theatres. Both of Nick's books are available through his website: www.LNPbooks.co.uk Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - ...

Episode 97: Christopher Marlowe was one of the giants of Elizabethan theatre, but he died young in mysterious circumstances. In this episode I try to unpick the mystery of why he died. Was it just an argument about the cost of a meal, or the result of some far more sinister goings-on in the world of Elizabethan espionage and court rivalry? Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi.com/thoetp www.patreon.com/thoetp This podcast uses the following third-party services f...

In this special episode I discuss historic and recent audience behaviour in the Theatre and how that behaviour reflects changes in society, with some particular reference to recent events in society and at some theatrical performances. Kirsty Sedgman is a theatre academic at the University of Bristol who specialises in studying audiences. She has spent her career studying how we construct and maintain our competing value systems, working out how people can live side by side in the same world yet...

Episode 96: The life and works of Thomas Nashe Early Life Cambridge University and ‘Terminus et non Terminus’ Nash moves to London and joins the ‘University Wits’ Pamphlets and work for the Archbishop of Canterbury Nashe’s style and pseudonyms Disagreements with the Gabriel brothers Nash’s Dildo Pearse Penniless Summers Last Will and Testament, his only surviving solo-authored play The Unfortunate Traveller Christ’s Tears Over Jerusalem and Imprisonment Terrors Of the Night The Isle Of Dogs and ...

To celebrate Shakespeare's birthday a special episode with guest Colin David Reese, actor, author and performer of 'Shakespeare Unbound', a one man play about the creation of the First Folio Edition of Shakespeare's plays, which was published 400 years ago this year. David spoke to me previously (see bonus episode 'Shakespeare Unbound') about his play and the creation of the first folio and he makes a welcome return here to further discuss our continuing fascination with Shakespeare, how we view...

Episode 95: The life and plays of some of the lesser known playwrights of the Tudor period. George Gascoigne - his shady life story and his Italian translations into English prose. Robert Greene - how he carved out a professional writers life from an unpromising start, his plays, and that notorious comment about Shakespeare. Thomas Lodge - a prodigious talent who sought out an adventurous life and wrote two verse plays. Thomas Preston - A Fellow of Cambridge University who wrote plays in many di...

Nick Bromley has had a long career as a Stage Manager and Company Stage Manager and has worked on many UK tours and West End shows. He recently collated his acquired knowledge into a dictionary of theatrical terms, myths and stories called 'Theatre Lore'. He kindly agreed to come and talk to me about his life and career and his book. You can order a copy of 'Theatre Lore' direct from Nick at his website https://lnpbooks.co.uk/ Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com www.ko-fi...