Beyond Shakespeare

The Jests of George Peele - Episode 7: How George gulled a Punk, otherwise called a Croshabell Performed by Sarah Blake A full audiobook reading, performed by Sarah Blake of Sounds Curious Productions, released monthly - followed by an omnibus version. Our patrons have received early access to nearly all the episodes so far, and have exclusive  access to our exploring sessions and discussion of th...

It's time for another fragment from the pen of George Puttenham, Lusty London . This is the second of three fragments which comprise the complete dramatic works of George Puttenham, (following last months Gynaeocratica) . It was originally written somewhere between 1570 and 1588, when George included some of the text as an example in his book The Art of Poesy. With Simon Nader and Rob Myson as Ser...

We continue our series of explorations on the podcast with a deep dive into the play Arden of Faversham by the Unknown. We're still deep into the first scene of the play, but we will make it to scene two, asking the question of how to adapt the text for an audio adaptation. The host was Robert Crighton, with Eric Karoulla, Alan Scott, and Sarah Blake. There's a First Look Exploring session of the...

The Jests of George Peele - Episode 6: The Jest of George Peele at Bristow Performed by Sarah Blake A full audiobook reading, performed by Sarah Blake of Sounds Curious Productions, released monthly - followed by an omnibus version. Our patrons have received early access to nearly all the episodes so far, and have exclusive access to our exploring sessions and discussion of the text - join us on t...

Special minisode to say, voting is now open to set the agenda for the next 18 months. We have two votes in progress, a patreon vote for those who pay for everything, and a public vote - which anyone can do. So, vote now on the public vote, and if you fancy join the patreon and vote again! And vote for more things too... PUBLIC VOTE HERE! https://forms.gle/erGmjXf7a9w5yo3c7 The Beyond Shakespeare P...

Today's episode is a chat - a proper chat too - with Dr Eoin Price about Play going in Elizabethan London; how many plays might someone watch, what plays might to know about but never see, and just what you might watch on a Tuesday. A Senior Lecturer in the Department of English Literature and Creative Writing as Swansea University, specialising in the politics of playing and playgoing in sixteent...

Welcome to another fragments episode, this is the first of three fragments which comprise the complete dramatic works of George Puttenham, 29 words from his  play  Gynaeocratica - plus synopsis. It was originally written somewhere between 1570 and 1588, when George included some of the text as an example in his book The Art of Poesy. The fragment is performed by Simon Nader, your host, as ever, Ro...

We're beginning a new series of explorations on the podcast, a deep dive into the play Arden of Faversham by the Unknown. Following our prelude looking at the play's source material from Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, we dive into the first scene of the play, asking the question of how to adapt the text for an audio adaptation. There's a First Look Exploring session of th...

Welcome to another full audio production of a dialogue text - A Goodly Dialogue Between Knowledge and Simplicity , which we have previously explored on the pod. This dates from 1548ish, so following John Bon and Mast Parson, we have another evangelical work from the first years of Edward VI. With Liza Graham as Simplicity and Robert Crighton as Knowledge. This episode was recorded on location and...

The Jests of George Peele - Episode 5:  How he was Shaven Performed by Sarah Blake A full audiobook reading, performed by Sarah Blake of Sounds Curious Productions, released monthly - followed by an omnibus version. Our patrons have received early access to nearly all the episodes so far, and have exclusive access to our exploring sessions and discussion of the text - join us on the patreon to get...

A discussing episode about Early Modern Music with Tamsin Lewis of Passamezzo, who we collaborated with for the reconstruction of the 1621 Lord Mayor's Show. This chat isn't quite as well structured as it could be, as we were working towards a more specific discussion of Love's Victory by Mary Wroth; deadlines being what they are, we haven't yet completed the other interviews, so that will come an...

We're beginning a new series of explorations on the podcast, a deep dive into the play Arden of Faversham by the Unknown. This prelude to the series proper is a read through and discussion of the play's source material from Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland. You can find the source in most printed editions, and it's a fairly swift google search away (other search engines are...

More from our series of Dialogues - this is A Goodly Dialogue Between Knowledge and Simplicity , in an exploring session with Robert Crighton and Liza Graham. And Mylo. The cat. Who has much to say. This is from 1548ish, so following John Bon and Mast Parson is another evangelical work from the first years of Edward VI. A full performed recording will follow anon. More of this kind of thing, as we...

The Jests of George Peele - Episode 4:  How George helped his friend to a Supper Performed by Sarah Blake A full audiobook reading, performed by Sarah Blake of Sounds Curious Productions, released monthly - followed by an omnibus version. Our patrons have received early access to nearly all the episodes so far, and have exclusive access to our exploring sessions and discussion of the text - join u...

This is a wide ranging discussion of mostly London Playhouses with Heather Knight of the Museum of London Archaeology . Covering what we know about theatres from archaeological digs on many playhouses, but very much on how dig at the site of the Curtain was a game changer. Our patrons received this episode four months early in November 2022 . The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patr...

A minisode discussing episode this week, with a chat with Amy Jennings of the All the World's a Stage Conference 2023, looking at adaptation of Early Modern drama. Which is something we do a lot. Hence the fact that Robert Crighton, host of this noble pod, has been asked to open the conference. So, if you want to hear more words from us in a different context, then you can book for the event on Sa...

This is our full cast audio adaptation of Luke Shepherd's John Bon and Mast Parson - an evangelical dialogue to affirm the new creed against transubstantiation. As such, it is putting forward, in a satirical way, an attack on the Catholic faith and is presented here for historical purposes and not because we have an axe to grind. In John Bon and Mast Parson by Luke Shepherd, the intro/outro text w...

The Jests of George Peele - Episode 3:  How George Peele became a Physician Performed by Sarah Blake A full audiobook reading, performed by Sarah Blake of Sounds Curious Productions, released monthly - followed by an omnibus version. Our patrons have received early access to nearly all the episodes so far, and have exclusive access to our exploring sessions and discussion of the text - join us on...

It's another 'Lost' discussing episode, with this 2019 (ye gods! we're so sorry!) chat about The Life and Death of Jack Straw produced by Bad Quarto in 2016 by our guest Tony Tambasco. You can follow our guest on Twitter at - tony@badquarto.org More info about the production, including clips, can be found here.  http://badquarto.org/showPages/2016_jackStraw.php And, of course, here's our playlist...

A fragment of a history play by John Day gets the full works this week. It's a few lines from a play from the summer of 1601. For more information, listen. Hosted by Robert Crighton, with Simon Nader as the Brother. The original First Look session can be found here - https://youtu.be/jw1Vw6Y-BdY For a look at the text go to the Lost Plays Database - https://lostplays.folger.edu/History_play_includ...

Exploring: John Bon and Master Parson by Luke Shepherd (Dialogue) Welcome to the first of a semi-regular new series of works looking at Dialogues and other semi-dramatic material. We've touched on the dramatic edges of these kinds of things before, with plays that are a bit didactic, but now we're having a look at printed works never designed for performance, but which are very performable. Or hop...

The Jests of George Peele - Episode 2: The Jest of George and the Barber. Performed by Sarah Blake A full audiobook reading, performed by Sarah Blake of Sounds Curious Productions, released monthly - followed by an omnibus version. Our patrons have received early access to nearly all the episodes so far, and have exclusive access to our exploring sessions and discussion of the text - join us on th...

A Full Cast Audio Adaptation of The Tragedy of Mariam by Elizabeth Cary. See below for content warnings... MARIAM, the Queen - Gillian Horgan ALEXANDRA, Mariam’s mother - Leigh McDonald SALOME, Herod’s sister - Pamela Flanagan SILLIUS, Salome’s lover - Simon Nader CONSTABARUS, husband to Salome - Heydn McCabe PHERORAS, Herod’s Brother - Robert Crighton GRAPHINA, Pheroras’ lover - Nemonee Stone DOR...

A read through and discussion of the second of two surviving Coventry mystery plays, the text surviving from 1534. With Gregory Musson as Simeon, Jesus; Eric Karoulla as 1st Prophet, 1st Angel, Clerk, 1st Doctor; Liza Graham as Host, Joseph; Lynsey Beauchamp as 2nd Angel, Mary, Second Doctor; Lisa Hill-Corley as 2nd Prophet, Anna, Gabriel, Third Doctor The host was Robert Crighton. The video versi...

It's time for a ramble through 2022, as well as a few previews things for 2023. So much has been done, so much yet to come. Thank you for your support. With Robert Crighton. A video version of this also exists, with a look at some charts and stuff. https://youtu.be/TfFOCTtk7pQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on ne...