Monthly Archives: February 2012

Picturing Shakespeare: Alan O’Cain’s The Tempest

  Responses to Shakespeare’s plays come in many forms, and his influence on other art forms such as music, painting and design was explored as part of the British Shakespeare Association’s Lancaster University conference last weekend.  Picturing Shakespeare was one … Continue reading

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Ira Aldridge, Shakespearean actor and gentleman of colour

The black actor Ira Aldridge is now recognised as one of the most remarkable interpreters of Shakespeare’s leading roles. He first appeared on the London stage as Othello in 1825, and remained associated with the role for the rest of his … Continue reading

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Teaching Shakespeare: the British Shakespeare Association conference

At the end of Friday afternoon, a new publication, Teaching Shakespeare, is to be launched at the British Shakespeare Association’s conference at Lancaster University. This pilot issue is being published both on paper and online, and after the conference will … Continue reading

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Players in Stratford-upon-Avon: Robert Bearman’s latest discoveries

A few weeks ago Dr Robert Bearman wrote a piece for this blog explaining that he had rediscovered some evidence about touring companies visiting Stratford-upon-Avon in Shakespeare’s lifetime. He’s now found some more intriguing evidence relating to Stratford Corporation’s attitude to … Continue reading

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Seeing Shakespeare inside-out at the British Shakespeare Association conference

At the end of the week I’m going to the British Shakespeare Association’s Conference at Lancaster University.  The three-day conference runs from 24-26 February and is on the theme of Shakespeare Inside-Out: Depth/Surface/Meaning. A host of lectures, seminars and practical … Continue reading

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Daniel Radcliffe and the story of child actors: Young Roscius comes of age

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is making the transition to adult actor, starring in the newly-released film The Woman in Black. He seems to have survived the experience of spending his teenage years acting in this successful series of films … Continue reading

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The Phoenix and Turtle: Shakespeare’s Valentines

Today we are celebrating St Valentine’s day by giving flowers, chocolates and cards decorated with symbols of hearts and roses to those we love. Traditionally it’s the day when birds pair up for the mating season, and Chaucer, writing in … Continue reading

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Taming Petruchio

In his latest blog post, Stanley Wells has picked up on Michael Billington’s tweet about The Taming of the Shrew. Was he right, the critic asked, to suggest some thirty years ago that this play should be banned? How time … Continue reading

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Performance history and the critic: Michael Billington’s point of view

A week or so ago Michael Billington of the Guardian, the UK’s most respected theatre critic, and now on twitter @billicritic, wrote a piece about his job. He talked about the challenges of writing a piece that takes into account … Continue reading

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Charles Dickens, Shakespeare and Stratford-upon-Avon

Celebrations for the 7 February bicentenary of Charles Dickens’ birth are taking place all round the world. His exuberant language, eccentric characters, and gripping, often mysterious story lines, combined with his wacky sense of humour and desire for social justice, … Continue reading

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