Beyond Shakespeare

Another Epic Epilogue, this time a short but sweet note from The Noble Gentlemen by John Fletcher and… someone. Part of what we might call the messy Beaumont and Fletcher extended collaborative universe. Fletcher worked with a lot of people, but in this case it’s possible that he died leaving the text unfinished and someone else worked from then on. The play was printed in 1647, and probably was n...

It's our full cast audio adaptation of Occupation and Idleness by the Unknown - recorded live on YouTube, and mixed for your delectation and pleasure.  Occupation and Idleness by the Unknown Robert Crighton - Occupation Emma Kemp - Idleness Liza Graham - Doctrine . Occupation and Idleness. Technical presentation by Robert Crighton CW: Scenes of violence by figures in authority - specifically a bea...

The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus , is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. Performed by Robert Crighton Chapter Seven: How Mephostophiles came for his writing, and in what manner he appeared, and his sights he showed him: and how he caused him to keep a cop...

Another fragment is given a bit of love - this is based on a recording we made from a live stream, but given a tidy up and the usual Fragments treatment. Aegio, possibly by William Alley - c.1560 With Liza Graham as Larymos – hot to trot for predestination – and Robert Crighton as Phronimos – free will is not an illusion. Our patrons received this episode in November 2023 - approx. 7 months early...

It's the !Spoilers! episode for our full cast audio adaptation of Occupation and Idleness by the Unknown - based on the live stream session on YouTube, and mixed for your delectation and pleasure. Hosted by Robert Crighton. Occupation and Idleness by the Unknown Robert Crighton - Occupation Emma Kemp - Idleness Liza Graham - Doctrine Technical presentation by Robert Crighton CW: Scenes of violence...

A discussion with Professor Elizabeth Schafer about The Tragedy of Mariam by Elizabeth Cary, and other plays. This, as you may have noticed by now, is part of a sequence of discussions about female playwrights, and might be leading up to something special further down the line. Or not. We're working on it. The host was Robert Crighton A full cast audio adaptation of Mariam, discussions of Mariam,...

Welcome to our !Spoilers! walk through of Beware the Cat by William Baldwin. The audio recording of our live adaptation from the Revels season is available now - but it isn't on the pod for the moment. It can be listened to by signing up for free to our Patreon. Why so? In brief, I'm planning a full production of this show for next year, so I won't be releasing the audio on the podcast as per usua...

The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus , is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. Performed by Robert Crighton Chapter Six: How Doctor Faustus set his blood in a saucer on warm ashes, and writ as followeth.   Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in de...

Finale of a three part series looking at The Shrewsbury Fragments - this is fragment number three, a Pilgrims play. This clears the very earliest surviving material, clearing a path towards the late medieval plays, that survive in greater abundance. The Shrewsbury Pilgrims by the Unknown With Alex Scott-Fairley as Cleophas, Valentina Vinci as Luke’s cue in, and Robert Crighton as the cues from Jes...

Hello and welcome to this special presentation of Preist the Barber, based on a live streamed recording session from 2023. This episode also comes in two full cast audio versions – the first is a relatively straightforward audio adaptation, which has a few sound effects, and then a sillier mix of the same presented as a studio comedy from the 1970’s with canned laughter track. Because nobodies lau...

Hello! Just a quick update on some things happening in the REAL WORLD. Yes, tickets are on sale now for… our next public live show Middleton’s Endgame: A Game at Chess LIVE!, running at The White Bear in Kennington on Sunday 11th August from 1pm till the evening. Tickets are on sale here! It’s not just our live recording of A Game at Chess, it’s a whole pop up festival of Thomas Middleton, featuri...

This is a discussion with Professor Marion Wynne-Davies about the collection of plays and documents, published in 1996, Renaissance Drama by Women, which was co-edited with S.P. Cerasano. Whilst it was published a fair while ago, it was this collection that began our work on these plays, and we're probably not alone. This episode features clips from our audio adaptations of the plays in question,...

Welcome to another spoilerific walk through of our live streamed curio of Preist the Barber. It's a genuinely odd work which needs a lot of glossing - more than I have been able to do for this release. So, this might make more sense than the final full audio release. Because there's nothing funnier than someone laboriously explaining the jokes as they go. With Liza Graham as Preist the Barber, and...

The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus , is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. Performed by Robert Crighton Chapter Five: The third parley between Doctor Faustus and Mephostophiles about a conclusion.   Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in detai...

 Second of a three part series looking at The Shrewsbury Fragments - this is fragment number two, a Marys play. This clears the very earliest surviving material, clearing a path towards the late medieval plays, that survive in greater abundance. The Shrewsbury Mary's by the Unknown Mary Three was played by Fiona Thraille, with Valentina Vinci as the cue. The host was Robert Crighton Our patrons re...

A look at the epilogue to The Fawn, or Parasitaster by John Marston, performed by Fiona Thraille.  Our First Look Exploring sessions on the complete play can be found on our Tube of You channel - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLflmEwgdfKoIaZAtWIC3NOYTXU2nd2I_a The epilogue is performed by Fiona Thraille - a British voice actor, narrator and audio producer who has worked in voiceover, podcasts,...

Welcome to this edited version of our live discussion of The Theatrical Legacy of Thomas Middleton It was an online event celebrating the publication of The Theatrical Legacy of Thomas Middleton, 1624-2024 Featuring Drs Will Green, Anna L. Hegland, Sam Jermy; with host Robert Crighton. You can purchase the book online at... https://www.routledge.com/The-Theatrical-Legacy-of-Thomas-Middleton-1624-2...

At last, it's the last of the big pre-plague audio recordings to come through the machine. It's... The World and the Child , or Mundus et Infans by the Unknown.  With Sarah Golding as The World, Robert Crighton as Infans to Age, Rob Myson as Age, Hugh Weller-Poley as Folly, and Fiona Thraille as Perseverance.  Technical presentation by Robert Crighton, with additional sfx from https://www.zapsplat...

The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus , is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. Performed by Robert Crighton Chapter Four: The second time of the Spirit appearing to Faustus in his house and their parley.   Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in de...

This is the first of a three part series looking at The Shrewsbury Fragments - this is fragment number one, a Shepherds play. This clears the very earliest surviving material, clearing a path towards the late medieval plays, that survive in greater abundance.  In The Shrewsbury Shepherds by the Unknown Third Shepherd was played by Fiona Thraille, with Simon Nader as the cue. The host was Robert Cr...

This week it's the live discussion about Richard III in literature, The Road to Bosworth Field, as recorded at the Quay Theatre at Sudbury on Thursday 20th July 2023, following our live performance of Bosworth Field by Sir John Beaumont. With host Robert Crighton were Doctor Jitka Štollová & Doctor Stephen Longstaffe, with additional readings by Sarah Golding and Karim Kronfli Our patrons rece...

And as a bit of a run up to our next live show The Fall of Richard II , we have a chat with Professor Scott C. Lucas about A Mirror for Magistrates, which he edited in a fine modern edition in 2019, published by Cambridge University Press. If you'd like to hear more about Beware the Cat, we have another episode just for you . Our patrons received this episode in February 2024 - approx. 2 months ea...

Welcome to Bosworth Field by Sir John Beaumont, recorded live at the Quay Theatre at Sudbury. The second half of the evening - The Road to Bosworth Field - will drop very soon. Bosworth Field by Sir John Beaumont was hosted by Robert Crighton, sound recorded by Jack Lawson of the Quay Theatre. Many thanks to Joe Fawcett, Sharon Buckler, and the team at the Quay for helping make this show possible....

The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus , is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. Performed by Robert Crighton Chapter Three: The conference of Doctor Faustus with his Spirit Mephostophiles the morning following at his own house.    Our patrons also get an explori...

A chat about The World and the Child or, Mundus et Infans, with Professor Greg Walker - who you will remember many a chat about John Heywood on the pod. We're turning the clock back a little bit for a play that survives in print from 1522, but precise dating of production is less clear. Spoilers on the play are already available, and the full cast audio to follow soon. This episode features clips...