Shakespeare Anyone?

It's time for a new play, which means a new synopsis! We are diving into Romeo and Juliet today, and we will be breaking down this play scene by scene.  Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp. Special thanks to Nat Yonce for guest-editing this episode. Episode written by Elyse Sharp and Kourtney Smith. Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander. Foll...

In today's special bonus episode, we are joined by a panel of Shakespeare social media content creators in our first-ever panel episode to discuss the intersection between Shakespeare and social media. We discuss each guests' work; the different social media platforms; how and why we create Shakespeare content; the benefits of educating through memes; and what makes Shakespeare so dang memeable! E...

As we wrap up 2023, we are taking a look back at the plays we covered this year by re-reading them and discussing how our readings of the plays has changed after doing our research for our episodes. Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp. Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander. Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit...

Each year, in recognition of the National Day of Mourning/Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, we examine how British colonialism is irrevocably intertwined with Shakespeare. This year, we are taking a look at how Shakespeare's works have been used to critique the legacy of colonialism. We will look at how adaptations of Shakespeare's work from Martinique, Barbados, Cuba, and Kenya have util...

We are finishing up our series on Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus by discussing two prominent adaptations and how they match up to what we've studied in our episodes.  First, we will take a look at Julie Taymor's 1999 epic surrealist film adaptation,  Titus , starring Antony Hopkins and Jessica Lange. Then, we compare it to the 2017 Royal Shakespeare Company production directed by Matthew Woodward....

This year, 2023, is the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway. Have you ever stopped to ask how much you actually know about Anne? In today's episode, we will travel back through time to explore how Anne has been depicted in Shakespeare biographies and works of imaginative fiction since her death. We explore how her inclusion (or exclusion) from Shakespeare's narrativ...

In today's episode we are joined by Carson Brakke to discuss how early modern concepts and anxieties about hospitality and cannibalism influenced early modern literature and drama, most explicitly in Shakespeare's  Titus Andronicus .  Carson breaks down the early modern concept of hospitality and shares the cultural debates and dilemmas that centered around it and its inherent dangers. Join us as...

Join us on a literary journey through the transformative tales of Ovid's Metamorphoses and their profound impact on the works of William Shakespeare.  Ovid's Metamorphoses , a collection of mythological stories of change and transformation, serves as a rich source of inspiration for many of Shakespeare's most iconic plays and characters. Before diving into the Shakespearean connections, Elyse and...

In today's episode, we are joined by the brilliant Dr. Mia Escott to embark on a journey through the complex intersections of race, Shakespeare, and the early modern era. Dr. Escott provides crucial context to help us understand how people of the early modern era were socially categorized based on nationality, religion, and social status. It's a crucial foundation for dissecting Shakespeare's appr...

In today's episode, we're peeling back the layers of a genre that not only fascinated audiences of the Early Modern period but also left an enduring mark on the works of the Shakespeare himself: Revenge Tragedies. Join us as we journey through time to an era of dramatic tension, dark desires, and vengeful spirits. Revenge tragedies, a genre that flourished in the late 16th and early 17th centuries...

Introducing Play On! Podcasts: Love's Labour's Lost! Play On Podcasts are epic audio adventures that reimagine Shakespeare's timeless tales, featuring original music composition and the voices of award-winning actors. Each episode explores plays from Macbeth to A Midsummer Night's Dream, in a way that you can actually understand it and created specifically for the podcast form by some of America's...

In today's episode, we will be discussing the portrayal of women in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and how it reflects the evolving concept of girlhood in Early Modern England as well as popular conceptions of one specific woman involved in early modern European politics: Catherine de Medici.  Step into the past and uncover how linguistic developments in the early modern era point to an evolving u...

In today's episode, we are joined by  New York Times  bestselling author Evelyn Skye to discuss her debut adult novel  THE HUNDRED LOVES OF JULIET and her process for adapting one of Shakespeare's most famous stories into her own. THE HUNDRED LOVES OF JULIET is available now, wherever you get your books! Join us on our Patreon later this month as we dive deeper into the book (with spoilers!) with...

In today's episode, we are starting off our discussions on Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus by discussing trauma and trauma theory and how trauma and trauma theory appear throughout the play. We will discuss the cultural effect of Lavinia's trauma and the ethics involved in reproducing that trauma onstage in both Shakespeare's time and today. Finally, we'll discuss how theatremakers and educators us...

When we decided to name the episodes where we cover major themes, the main sources, and key background information for Shakespeare's plays, we definitely weren't thinking of the implications it would have for this play in particular.  But now we are here, and discussing stuff to chew on for Titus Andronicus! Content warning: Titus Andronicus contains depictions and descriptions of acts of mutilati...

It's time for a new play, which means a new synopsis! We are diving into  Titus Andronicus  today, and we will be breaking down this play scene by scene.  Content  Warning:   Titus Andronicus  contains depictions and descriptions of acts of mutilation, graphic discussions of sexual assault and rape, overt racism, non-consensual cannibalism, and torture. Please listen with care.  Shakespeare Anyone...

In today's episode, we are joined by Dr. Trevor Boffone and Dr. Danielle Rosvally to chat about Yassified Shakespeare, their recent Shakespeare Bulletin article, "'Everyone in illyria is bi you absolute cowards': Shakespeare TikTok, Twelfth Night , and the Search for a Queer Utopia," and the intersection between Shakespeare, social media, and queer youth cultural aesthetics. We also sing some show...

It's our final episode of our series on  A Midsummer Night's Dream! As always, we watch multiple productions of the play and share our thoughts.  Join us as we discuss 1999's film version directed by Michael Hoffman which features a star-studded cast and incredible scenery alongside the National Theatre's 2019 production starring Gwendoline Christie as Titania which was notable for swapping Titani...

In today's episode, we explore the fascinating history of trade and commerce in Britain, starting from prehistoric times and ending in Shakespeare's era. This episode topic was chosen by our by our Patreon patrons at the Gentry, Noble, and Royal Patron levels. Special thanks to Collective Action Comics Podcast, Claire Sharp, Elizabeth Sharman and Katie Smith! Discover how the monetization of Engla...

In today's episode, we take a closer look at how climate change affected early modern England--especially during the Little Ice Age, a period of global cooling that occurred from the 16th to the 19th century. We explore how this environmental phenomenon influenced the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, and what it can teach us about our current global climate crisis. To help us gain a de...

In today's episode, we'll be diving into the fascinating topic of changeling children in Shakespeare. Changeling children were believed to be babies that were swapped by fairies with their own offspring, leaving behind an imposter. This myth was prevalent in Shakespeare's time and appears in many of his plays.  We'll explore the historical and cultural context behind the changeling myth, including...

In this episode, we explore Shakespeare's use of political satire within the pastoral comedy genre, focusing on A Midsummer Night's Dream . The pastoral genre, which originated in ancient Greek literature, involves stories set in a rustic, rural world that idealizes the simplicity and harmony of nature. During the Renaissance through Elizabethan and Stuart England, writers continued to use the pas...

In today's episode, we are joined by award-winning poet Elizabeth Sylvia to discuss her latest collection of poetry,  None But Witches: Poems on Shakespeare's Women , the inspiration she took from Shakespeare's works, and the process behind this collection.  Elizabeth Sylvia is the winner of the 5th annual Three Mile Harbor Poetry Prize. She lives in Mattapoisett, MA and teaches high school Englis...

At the heart of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is a fantastical world of fairies, magic, and mythical creatures, and in this episode, we explore the different influences that helped to shape this world. First up, we look at the rich tradition of English fairy folklore, which was still very much a part of the popular imagination during Shakespeare's time. We take a journey back in...

In today's episode, we will be exploring how the bubonic plague impacted society and culture in early modern England. We'll discuss governmental and individual responses as well has the effect quarantines had on the early modern theatre and the development of Shakespeare's plays. And we'll learn that, when compared to the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic...well, not much has changed.  Shak...