Monthly Archives: February 2013

Richard III: the story continues

The story of the discovery of the skeleton of Richard III in Leicester is, you can tell, going to run and run. On Wednesday 27 February at 9pm the More4 TV Channel screens another documentary, Richard III: the Unseen Story. The earlier … Continue reading

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Shakespeare, Brecht and Galileo

  The RSC are currently staging Bertolt Brecht’s play A Life of Galileo in a new translation by Mark Ravenhill. To accompany this play they have put on two events about Shakespeare and Science under the title ShakesSphere. The second … Continue reading

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Shakespeare’s Coriolanus and the bawdy court of Stratford

After reading about the government of the town in Shakespeare’s day as revealed in Mulryne’s book The Guild and Guild Buildings of Shakespeare’s Stratford I decided to find out more about a related subject, the Ecclesiastical Court which was held … Continue reading

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Shakespeare’s early reputation

Shakespeare is now so universally known, his reputation so unassailable, we naturally wonder how he was received during his own lifetime. Did his contemporaries realise that he would be remembered and celebrated centuries afterwards? This was the question, subtitled “What did … Continue reading

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Shakespeare and the Russians

17 February is the anniversary of the 1598 election of Boris Godunov to be Tsar of Russia. Currently playing at Stratford’s Swan Theatre, Michael Boyd’s production of Adrian Mitchell’s version of Pushkin’s play Boris Godunov marks the end of Boyd’s … Continue reading

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Lunching with Shakespeare: Stratford’s Birthday Celebrations

It’s recently been announced that Stratford’s traditional Birthday Luncheon for 500 people will not be held this year. It’s an event that has been part of the annual festivities for as long as I can remember. In fact celebrating Shakespeare’s … Continue reading

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The Shakespeare Head Press: a link to Stratford’s past

As visitors to Stratford walk between the Shakespeare Hotel and Nash’s House, they pass a handsome building housing a second-hand bookshop. The sign hanging up outside bears a picture of Chaucer, and the shop is known as the Chaucer Head … Continue reading

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Richard III: an update on the King in the car park

Last week’s revelations about the discovery of Richard III’s skeleton in a car park in Leicester has sparked off a flurry of articles about the real and fictitious monarch. Here are links to just a few of them. First of all, … Continue reading

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Timbuktu and Shakespeare for National Libraries Day

At last a news item in which Librarians are the heroes of the day, and in the same week as National Libraries Day too! The city of Timbuktu in Mali is of significance for the whole continent of Africa. Official … Continue reading

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Acting companies and the ensemble

A couple of weeks ago Gregory Doran, the new Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, was “In conversation” with Michael Dobson, the head of the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon. The session was recorded on video and is now generously … Continue reading

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