The History Of European Theatre

Episode 126: A conversation with Dr. Darren Freebury-Jones, author of 'Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers' about the influence of early modern playwrights on Shakespeare where we talk about Marlowe, Kyd, Greene and others and the role of data analytics in modern author attribution studies. Dr Darren Freebury-Jones  is author of several works on early modern theatre including:  Reading Rober...

Episode 125: A detailed look at the first Shakespearean history play 'Henry 6th part 1' The problems with dating 1 Henry VI How much of the play did Shakespeare write? The relationship of the play to parts 2 and 3 The sources of the play A brief summary of the play The play in relation to other history plays of the time Criticism of the battle scenes The theme of the loss of the English Empire and...

Episode 124: A conversation with Margaret Oakes about the book ' To Gender or Not to Gender: Casting and Characters for 21st Century Shakespeare’ which explores ways in which gender is being reinterpreted by British and North American productions since the turn of the millennium. After an initial chapter outlining recent gender theory, which is very useful to a newcomer to this as an academic...

Bonus Episode 36: Sometimes things conspire against the podcaster, as has happened to me in the last couple of weeks, meaning that I have not been able to get the promised episode up to scratch in time.  To make up for this and fill the gap I have created an episode that goes back to Greek theatre.  It looks at that most mysterious of the ancient Greek forms, the satyr play and...

Episode 123:  The Origins of New Place The Clopton’s of Stratford-Upon-Avon The first house at New Place Hugh Clopton and his support for Stratford William Clopton William Bott and murder at New Place (maybe) William Underhill sells New Place to Shakespeare William Underhill and his son Faulk (another murder) The New Place of Shakespeare’s time The question of how much time Shakespeare spent...

Episode 122: The fourth and final part of the biography of Shakespeare. The rise of Shakespeare as actor and playwright for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. ‘The Comedy of Errors’ performed at Grey’s Inn, ‘the night of errors.’ The influence of the inns of court. Plays for special occasions. Francis Meres’ comments on Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s involvement in a legal summons. The move from The Theatre...

Episode 121: For this episode I’m very pleased to welcome Katherine Sheil, Professor of English at the University of Minnesota for the second part of our conversation about Anne Hathaway, based around her book ‘Imagining Shakespeare’s Wife: The Afterlife of Anne Hathaway’. In this part we went on to talk about the different views of Anne in fiction and non-fiction through the centuries. &nbsp...

Episode 120: The lost years of Shakespeare’s early life have given space for some myths and legends to grow over the centuries, before we can trace a few facts of his early life in London. The myth of Shakespeare and the Crab-tree. The myth of Shakespeare the deer slayer. Nicholas Rowe – the first editor of Shakespeare. The Queen’s men in Stratford. The myth of Shakespeare’s early days in London....

Episode 119: For this episode I’m very pleased to welcome Katherine Sheil, Professor of English at the University of Minnesota.  Katherine is Author of several books about Shakespeare, but today we particularly talk about her book about Shakespeare’s wife called ‘Imagining Shakespeare’s Wife: The Afterlife of Anne Hathaway’.  It is a fascinating examination of the known facts o...

Episode 118: Shakespeare's youth, his school days, religious life and marriage. A couple of corrections to the last episode on John Shakespeare The Shakespeare family's domestic set up. Religion and the life of a child in the late 1500's Examples of how William's education in Stratford may have looked. Anne Hathaway and her family history. William and Anne's marriage and the many speculations abou...

Bonus Episode 35: A conversation with Cassidy Cash, producer and host of 'That Shakespeare Life', the podcast that interviews expert historians to explore people, events, and objects that were living or happening in Shakespeare’s lifetime. Cassidy Cash is a Shakespeare historian, historical map illustrator, and host of That Shakespeare Life, That Shakespeare Life is currently ranked the #2 Shakesp...

Episode 117: ‘To you your father should be as a God’. -              A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Act 1 Scene 1 The first of a series of episodes covering the biography of William of Stratford. Richard Shakespeare – William’s grandfather Richard Shakespeare – William’s uncle John Shakespeare – William’s father    &...

Bonus Episode 34: Guest Dr Agata Luksza discusses her book 'Polish Theatre Revisited' where she examines theatre fan culture in Warsaw in the late 19th century. Dr Agata Luksza is an assistant professor at the  Institute of Polish Culture , University of Warsaw. She graduated with honors from the University of Warsaw in cultural studies and journalism and holds a PhD from the same university...

Episode 116: As an introduction to the season on Shakespeare this episode gives a timeline of events in Shakespeare's life. The focus is on the best estimates for the dates of all his plays and the reasons for those estimates, but also includes the milestones of his life and other significant events of the time that occurred in England. Support to podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com ww...

Episode 115: A dive back into Ancient Greek theatre with a look at 'The Frogs' by Aristophanes. A recap on the life and plays of Aristophanes. A summary of the plot of the play. Analysis of the main points raised by the play. A short word on a recent production of the play by 'Spymonkey' played at the Kiln Theatre, London in February and March 2024. Support the podcast at: www.thehistoryofeuropean...

Episode 114: As an introduction to season six of the podcast in the first part of this episode I lay out the aims for the next season and the approach I will be taking to the monoliths of early English theatre tha tare Shakespeare and Jonson. In the second part of the Episode I give a quick recap of Season Five to get you and I back in the zone for all the detail that will follow on Shakespeare an...

A bonus episode where Peter Schmitz of the 'Adventures In Theatre History - Philadelphia' podcast takes us through an overview of the development of theatre in Philadelphia.  Peter Schmitz is an actor, dialect coach, and teacher of Theater History who lives in the Philadelphia area. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, he got his BA in History from Yale University, and his MFA in Acting from...

A short New Year message and about the timing for the start of season six of the podcast. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 113: As a coda to season 5 this episode is a potted history of the life of Augustine Phillips, player in the Lord Chamberlin's Men, with the details taken from documented records. 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 112: To close season five of the podcast I pick up three items I dropped in the previous narrative and then offer some concluding thoughts: Thomas Watson – the life and works of the possible co-author of ‘Arden of Faversham. Henry Chettle – the life and works of the prolific collaborator. Thomas Heywood – the life and works of a playwright now better remembered for his commentary on others...

Episode 111: The true story behind 'Arden of Faversham' The plot outline of the play Is the domestic tragedy really tragedy? The main themes of the play The domestic eating of the play The low characters The role of destiny in the play Questions of authorship Other surviving domestic tragedies - 'A Warning for Faire Women' 'Two Tragedies' 'A Yorkshire Tragedy' Support the podcast at: www.thehistor...

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...

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...

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....

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.p...