The Shakespeare blog is for anyone who’s interested in Shakespeare, and I hope both newcomers and long-term lovers of the man and his work will enjoy it.
The Shakespeare blog contains up to date articles about Shakespeare’s works, his world, and his plays in performance. With over 250 articles on the site, there’s plenty to choose from, and in the past year it has received over 100,000 page views. You can begin browsing by choosing a category from the list on the right.
Listening to the Audience now contains links to a series of clips of audio recordings I’ve made on several productions of Hamlet as a first step in my project to gather memories of Shakespeare in performance. I’ve written a post on it for the RSC’s MyShakespeare blog. For anyone who has shown an interest so far, I’ll be in touch soon!
The Online Resources page contains information about some of my favourite Shakespeare websites, and you’ll find information about me, including my work and projects I’ve been involved in, on the About Me pages.
The site’s updated several times a week and you can ensure you always get the latest posts by subscribing. If you have any comments or suggestions I’d love to hear from you.
Just to say how much I enjoy reading your blog. I love all things to do with Shakespeare and it always gives me food for thought. Many thanks,
Jan Kellett
Thank you for your kind comment, I’m delighted you like the posts. I hope you’re enjoying the Christmas blogs!
Happy New Year, Sylvia! Your blog has been a highlight of my Shakespearean year!
I share links regularly on my Facebook page, Mrs Shakespeare.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mrs-Shakespeare/158201844194380
All the best for 2012,
Yvonne Hudson
New Place Collaborations, LLC
Pittsburgh, PA – USA
Thank you for your kind comments, and good luck with Mrs Shakespeare in 2012 Yvonne!
I’m a newcomer to this blog. What I’ve read so far, I’ve enjoyed very much. I look forward to more of the same. Cheers.
Thank you Nick! I hope you will continue to enjoy the blogs.
Would you maybe make a section for studies/conferences on Shakespeare? Some call for papers maybe?
The British Shakespeare Association is just launching a blog on the subject of Shakespeare and education, which will include the sort of thing you mention. It’s not fully functioning yet, but the address is http://www.shakespeareineducation.com
Hi All – you may be interested in a new YOUTUBE channel – ShakespearesWorld – with videos by the Director of the Shakespeare Workshop in London – Tony Butler.
http://www.youtube.com/user/ShakespearesWorld?ob=0&feature=results_main
See videos about
Politically Incorrrect Shakespeare
Shakespeare and the Audience’s Imagination
Sylvia, I just want to assure you how much I enjoy your delightful, well-written and informative Shakespeare Blog. What a way to have a happy retirement in Stratford, sharing insights and news with us. Many more, please!
I’ve just stumbled across your blog and I’m delighted. I’m going to post a link to it from my school’s own blog and direct my students your way. Many thanks.
I’m thoroughly enjoying your clever and entertaining blog. After reading today’s episode, I’m wondering if we know whether Susanna (and Shakespeare) has any living descendants.
Dear Sue,
Thanks for your comment. Susanna’s only child, Elizabeth, died in 1670. It’s sad to relate that she was Shakespeare’s last living descendant. There are though many descendants of Shakespeare’s sister Joan Hart.
nice site – well set out.
the new African Caesar is awful.
What connection does the greatest of Shakespeare’s Roman plays have with Africa?
Answer – none, except in the mind of the producer and the political agenda he wants to plug.
The RSC seem incapable of understanding European history and culture in anything other than a kind of muti purpose marxism.
So, does this latest production gives us a greater understanding of roman history, and the historical Caesar which presumably Shakespeare was interested in exploring?
Have to say this has been rather typical of the ensemble in recent years.
Thanks for this comment, but my feeling is that Shakespeare usually sets a play in a distant time/place to enable him to comment on events and politics of his own time, though the story of Julius Caesar would always be compelling. Ever since then people have adopted his work in order to forward their own political agenda, and it’s extraordinary how the same play can be used to promote multiple points of view. I’m sorry you’ve not enjoyed the latest RSC offering – better luck next time!
Sylvia – thanks for that but its really not accurate to say he uses the plays to comment on the politics of the age. Such a view was alien to the drama and is counter intuitive. There is plenty of evidence that comment (outside the religious domain) was in fact a lot freer than it is now when we are not allowed to question liberal shibboleths in the media which are now virtually government mothpieces. Shakespeare was far more engaged by the whole question of reflecting on what history and time are and what is the part played by man, particularly great figures, in shaping that history.
Richard II is often quoted in this connection and the depostion scene which is said to mirror the Essex revolt. But there is no verifiable evidence from first hand sources that Elizabeth did in fact say ” know you not that I am Richard II” and the so called evidence that the play was restaged at the time of the revolt is dubious to say the least. The government lawyer, Bacon, was in fact ordered to prepare a (false ) statement that Essex had arranged for a performance of RII to.. ” encourage the people to revolt.” It was known as spicing up the charges against a man who had just been executed for in effect a, containable, public disturbance.
Its far more accurate to say that the authorites used Shakespeare – clear not only in the RII episode but also in the propaganda reference to Essex in Ireland in the prologue to Act V of Henry V.
But then Essex was the favourite and not the villain.
Nothing worse than out of date propaganda.
I don’t agree that the media are government mouthpieces or that comment was free; comment could get you sent to the Tower. Wasn’t one of Shakespeare’s cousins executed?
Just discovered your blog today via Twitter. There seems to be an explosion of interest in Shakespeare just now and for me it’s a great antidote to the sporting side of the Olympics. I don’t find arguments about Shakespeare’s possible intentions, political of otherwise, to be particularly thrilling. I’m interested in the fact that his work can be recreated, live, and also on film and radio, to inspire new generations and audiences. First and foremost they are play texts, with the emphasis on play.
Hi. I’ve been browsing around your blog and must say “Well done!”. I also wanted to let you and your readership know about some Shakespearean work that’s being done on the canvas to some acclaim. Here is the link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1013766443/all-the-worlds-a-canvas?ref=home_location
Lovely piece on the Benson windows, Sylvia.
You will be aware that the magnificent processional cross at Holy Trinity was given by the Bensonians in memory of their colleague Frank Rodney.
Also one of the side chapels contains Rudyard Kipling’s tribute to the actors who had fallen in the Great War. Last time I went to have a look at it, it was covered over by restoration works though.
Best regards
Nick
I’ll be writing a post on the processional cross and the stories surrounding it in a few weeks so keep watching! It’s a very interesting object as you already know. I don’t know the Kipling tribute though – thanks for the information.
Oh Sylvia, now you have done it. I’ve just been exploring The Space, courtesy of your blog. So many distractions. How will I ever complete my research with so many surely productions to look at?
I’m putting myself on a strict ration from now.
Thank you for your post about C Walter Hodges, he was a delightful artist, in both senses, and a great inspiration
I recall seeing the RSC videos at the BFI somes years ago, and they are still very impressive. However, this series sat between two other major productions.
The BBC’s AGE OF KINGS, which gave me my first taste of the Henries, with a terrific cast including Paul Daneman as Gloucester/Richard III.
And later, there was the magnificent English Shakespeare Company Henries and Wars of the Roses to complete the cycle. This was also recorded and I was delighted to present the series for the Friends of Shakspeare’s Globe, ending with a Q&A with Michael Bogdanov.
Thanks Alan,
Apparently An Age of Kings is available on DVD in the USA (and I imagine on Amazon) now. Presumably they were filmed in the studio, and I wonder if this experience led the director of the filmed Wars of the Roses to insist these should be filmed on stage? I agree it’s great that the ESC cycle was also filmed and is I imagine still available.
Hi Sylvia, This is a fantastic and informative blog with a diverse range of articles – many thanks for running it! I have been doing everything I can recently to make Shakespeare more accessible for young people, partly by performing rap versions of the stories to give them a contemporary slant.. I currently have a pitch on kickstarter to fund a music video of my rap retelling of Othello, which I hope you won’t mind if I link here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/249197860/othello-the-music-video
Any support from anyone would of course be greatly appreciated as I hope this project will revolutionise the way in which young people engage with Shakespeare!
As a Shakespeare scholar who writes fiction secondarily, I loved finding a blog devoted to Shakespeare that got its facts right, and joined immediately. Hope you don’t mind some blog-poaching: I mined this blog this morning for the right dates concerning Shakespeare’s application for a coat of arms to post on my own blog which focuses on Shakespeare in popular culture and contemporary theater at http://www.shakespearefiction.blogspot.com I will post a link to THIS blog on mine! Thanks, Grace Tiffany
Much Ado About Shakespeare is this week’s topic at booktaste.com.
Thanks for your excellent ongoing blog. Regards, Cathy.