Monthly Archives: January 2014

W S Gilbert, Alternative Shakespeare, and charity

WS Gilbert is universally known for his partnership with Sullivan, creating the operas staged at the Savoy Theatre in London by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. G&S’s light, mostly comic operas such as The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe … Continue reading

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Shakespeare connections: Stratford-upon-Avon and Birmingham

During Shakespeare’s lifetime Birmingham was a town of a similar size to Stratford. But while Birmingham grew into a great centre of industry and innovation, Stratford remained a small country town. By 1851 nearly a quarter of a million people … Continue reading

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Thomas Cromwell from page to stage: Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies

The plays based on Hilary Mantel’s books Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies have been successful both at the box office and in the media. This period of history, Henry VIII’s courtship of Anne Boleyn, divorce from Catherine of … Continue reading

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T S Eliot and Shakespeare

  Listening to Jeremy Irons’ reading of T S Eliot’s Four Quartets on Radio 4 last weekend reminded me of the power of Eliot’s poetry. The Poetry Foundation’s website includes some information about the reading, and here is an article about Irons’ … Continue reading

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Picturing Shakespeare’s characters

My last post was about processions of people dressed as Shakespeare’s characters, especially in relation to David Garrick’s The Jubilee. It’s as if they have a life independent of the plays, so nobody would be surprised to see Falstaff, Juliet … Continue reading

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Taking to the streets with Shakespeare’s characters

Shakespeare celebrations in Stratford have taken many forms over the past two and a half centuries. I’ve written before about the history of holding feasts, an essential component of any party. But what’s also notable is the tradition of characters … Continue reading

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Erica Whyman and Buzz Goodbody: championing The Other Place

Back in July 2012 I wondered what the impact of having a young woman, Erica Whyman, as Deputy Artistic Director would be on the RSC.  Earlier this week I got the chance to find out when Erica spoke to the … Continue reading

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Shakespeare’s heroes on stage and screen

Shakespeare is never short of media attention, but just at the moment some of his heroes or at least his leading men, are much in the news. This week King Lear begins its previews at the National Theatre, featuring probably … Continue reading

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Illuminating the seasons difference

On a miserable January afternoon I spent some time looking through some of the beautiful medieval illuminated manuscripts now available online. Just before the new year I had received a tweet including this calendar, each month represented by work done … Continue reading

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Finding Shakespeare’s “lost play”, Cardenio

Palgrave Macmillan recently sent me a review copy of their new book The Creation and re-creation of Cardenio: Performing Shakespeare, Transforming Cervantes, edited by Terri Bourus and Gary Taylor. Cardenio is now universally known as “Shakespeare’s lost play” and although … Continue reading

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