Play On Podcasts

Autolycus, now in Florizel’s garb, masquerades as a courtier and convinces the Old Shepherd and his son to pay him to be their advocate at Court. Meanwhile, in Sicilia, Cleomenes and another Lord urge Leontes to cease mourning for Hermione, but Paulina insists that he continue to live a life of piety and repentance for his past actions until the prophecy “that which is lost be found” is fulfilled....

As Florizel proclaims his love for Perdita to all the guests at the Sheep Shearing festival (including his father and Camillo who are still in disguise), the Old Shepherd calls for their wedding to take place during the celebration. The unknown guest tries to persuade the young man to hold off until he’s told his father, or at least discussed it with him, but Florizel refuses, saying his father mu...

As Perdita prepares for the sheep shearing feast, Florizel flirts with her and vows he’ll stay with her no matter what. Perdita is less carefree, fearing the repercussions that will come if the king discovers his son has been cavorting with someone beneath his station. Perdita’s father, the Old Shepherd, arrives and tells his daughter to greet their guests, including two strangers (Polixenes and C...

CREDITS The Play On Podcast series, “THE WINTER’S TALE”, was translated into modern English verse and directed by TRACY YOUNG.  The Cast is as follows: ELIJAH ALEXANDER as LEONTES KAYLA CARTER as PERDITA and EMILIA GINA DANIELS as HERMIONE, MOPSA, SHEPERD’S SERVANT and PAULINA’S STEWARD RODNEY GARDINER as POLIXENES ELIJAH GOODFRIEND as MAMILLIUS IAN GOULD as CLOWN, LORD and GENTLEMAN CRISTOFER JEA...

After presenting him with his newborn daughter, Leontes throws Paulina out of his chambers and commands Antigonus to kill the child. His Lords beg him to relent and he appeases them by commanding Antigonus to abandon the baby in the wilderness instead. Cleomenes and Dion, meanwhile, return from the Oracle of Delphi full of optimism. The trial comes to order. Hermione testifies in her own defense a...

Camillo assures Leontes he’ll carry out his orders but secretly informs Polixenes of the plot against his life. Together, they flee to Polixenes’ kingdom of Bohemia. An enraged Leontes claims their flight is proof of their guilt in conspiring against his life and his crown. He orders his son, Mamillius, to be taken from Hermione’s chambers and has her imprisoned on charges of adultery and conspira...

King Polixenes of Bohemia bids adieu to his childhood friend, King Leontes of Sicilia, after a visit of nine months. Leontes implores him not to leave and prevails on his pregnant wife, Hermione, to persuade him to stay. When Polixenes gives in to Hermione, Leontes goes mad with jealousy and paranoia, convinced that his wife is carrying his best friend’s child, not his own. He orders his top advis...

Mariana confronts Angelo as the Duke calls for Friar Lodowick. In a scuffle with Lucio, the Friar is unmasked and revealed as the Duke. He calls for the women to be released and forces Angelo to marry Mariana before condemning him to death. Mariana begs for mercy on behalf of Angelo. Barnardine arrives and is pardoned by the Duke. The Provost confesses that she’s kept Claudio alive, and reunites h...

In Part Two of his interview, Nat Cassidy explains why the “rape room” got cut, why horror exists, why writing a script is forty-seven thousand times easier than writing a novel, why actors should celebrate the audition even if they don’t get the job, why Open Source Shakespeare is the adapters’ best friend, and why the elitism and classism of rehearsal rooms drove him from pursuing a career as a...

Friar Lodowick (Duke Vincenzo) informs Isabella that Claudio has been put to death on Angelo’s orders. He persuades her to confront Angelo and ask for justice at the city gates, where Angelo and Escalus are to meet the Duke and surrender power back to him. At the Capitol, Escalus and Angelo try to make sense of the Duke’s imminent return and his strange request that they invite the people of the c...

We’re changing things up a bit today and bringing you a preview of a new podcast we’re enjoying and think you will, too. Where There’s a Will: Finding Shakespeare searches for the surprising places Shakespeare shows up outside the theater. Host Barry Edelstein, artistic director at one of the country’s leading Shakespeare theaters, and co-host writer and director Em Weinstein, ask what is it about...

“She dared me to read Macbeth”: How the lonely son of a single mom in Arizona was inspired by a teacher who despised him to embrace his demons and become a celebrated scribe of horror. Author, Actor and POP “Measure for Measure” script adaptor Nat Cassidy talks about the spellbinding image of Sissy Spacek covered in blood, the fulfillment of writing for audio, the short distance between Shakespear...

Isabella, Mariana and the Duke (disguised as Friar Lodowick) finalize their plans to trick Angelo. But even after the bed trick, Angelo persists in his plans to execute Claudio. Meanwhile, the Provost (Jailer) and Abhorson prepare to execute Claudio’s cellmate, the drunkard Barnardine, pressing Pompey into service as the executioner. Friar Lodowick (the Duke) convinces the Provost to send Barnardi...

“We got rid of the table.” Fiasco Theater co-founders Jessie Austrian and Noah Brody describe how they up-ended traditional norms of theatrical hierarchy to create one of the most acclaimed ensembles in the country, and why they love “the gloriously free playground” of podcasts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duke Vincenzo, disguised as Friar Lodowick, visits Claudio in jail and inspires him to perceive his fate in a new light. Isabella arrives to tell her brother that Lord Angelo has demanded her body in return for Claudio’s life. Claudio tries to persuade his sister to agree to the bargain. Isabella leaves in disgust and despair. The Duke, having overheard their conversation, stops Isabella and tells...

Isabella goes to the Duke’s office to plead for her brother’s life, and in doing so ignites Lord Angelo’s passions. He invites her to return to his office and becomes obsessed with her. When she returns to see him and begs once more for her brother’s pardon, he is unable to hold back his true feelings. Meanwhile, Duke Vincenzio, disguised as Friar Lodowick, visits Claudio’s fiancé, Juliet, in pris...

“Slimey isn’t funny”: Aditi Brennan Kapil geeks out about the places in our brain where we can’t poke around, where language lives, what’s in a word, how to translate for the experience of the audience, the joy of staring at a single sentence by Nabokov, and how to get a laugh without pointing at your penis.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Isabella’s induction into the convent is interrupted by the arrival of Lucio, who informs her that her brother Claudio has been imprisoned and may soon be executed for getting his fiancèe pregnant. Isabella agrees to petition Lord Angelo for his life. Meanwhile, Escalus tries to persuade the immovable Angelo to be merciful to Claudio but he refuses. They are interrupted by the arrival of a police...

Duke Vincentio of Vienna, overwhelmed by the affairs of State, hands over control of the city to Lord Angelo, leaving Escalus as Second in Command. A man of strict morals, Angelo immediately enforces long kept but seldom used laws governing sexual activity, leading to the arrest of a young man named Claudio for engaging in pre-marital sex with his fiance, Julieta. Claudio’s friend, Lucio, learns o...

Next Chapter Podcasts presents “HENRY V” - Full Play The Play On Podcast series, “HENRY V”, was translated into modern English verse by LLOYD SUH, and directed by KRISTA WILLIAMS.  The Cast is as follows: STEVEN BOYER as PISTOL ANDY LUCIEN as BARDOLPH (and others) COLLEEN WERTHMAN as EXETER (and others) JEFF BIEHL as CONSTABLE BRITTANY KATHRYN ALLEN as GOWER (and others) SOCORRO SANTIAGO as HOSTES...

Twelfth Night Director Christopher Liam Moore, and Actress Amy Brenneman talk about meeting at Harvard, and the different times they've been able to work together throughout their multi-decade friendship. Amy Brenneman stars in Christopher Liam Moore’s sublime production of TWELFTH NIGHT, set in a Hamptons-esque Ilyria during the Golden Age of Radio. With original music composition by David Reiffe...

"Un-clench the sphincter!" Writer / Actor / Comedienne Colleen Werthmann (Exeter and Orleáns in "HENRY V") describes how the White House Correspondents Dinner and The Academy Awards relate to Shakespeare’s plays, and why it’s so important not to take yourself too seriously (Will Smith, take note!). The Play On Podcast series, “HENRY V”, was translated into modern English verse by LLOYD SUH, and di...

Henry must conquer Katharine’s heart before he can finally conquer France, and Pistol must eat his words (with a side of leeks) before he can finally show his face to Fluellen.  The Play On Podcast series, “HENRY V”, was translated into modern English verse by LLOYD SUH, and directed by KRISTA WILLIAMS.  The Cast is as follows: STEVEN BOYER as PISTOL ANDY LUCIEN as BARDOLPH (and others) COLLEEN WE...

Actor Bobby Moreno connects the dots between betting on horses in kindergarten, drunken rampages in the streets of New York, licking chocolate off Steven Boyer’s nipples in front of an audience at brunch, rapping under a pseudonym and playing Henry the Fifth in a new play by William Shakespeare (among other things). The Play On Podcast series, “HENRY V”, was translated into modern English verse by...

Chaos reigns on the battlefield of Agincourt, where Pistol encounters a French soldier and spares his life in exchange for his money, thanks to the assistance of the bilingual Boy who has trailed him from England. Fortune eventually turns against France, and Dauphin, Orleans, Bourbon and Constable mourn their fate. Henry learns of the death of the Duke of York, who led the vanguard against the Fre...