Author Archives: Sylvia Morris

Shakespeare’s February face

At the end of the week we can officially start looking forward to spring, with St Valentine’s Day on the 14th February. One of our regular readers at the Shakespeare Centre Library some years ago was a retired gentleman who … Continue reading

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Shakespeare’s Richard II and the Essex rebellion

On this weekend in early February 1601 Shakespeare’s play Richard II was famously performed by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men in advance of the treacherous Essex rebellion. Just a few days later Augustine Phillips, the spokesman for Shakespeare’s company the Lord … Continue reading

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Cabinets of curiosity: Shakespeare’s the Thing

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, has just opened a new exhibition to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. Called Shakespeare’s the Thing, the library is sharing “some of our favourite things” from their famous collections. Curated by … Continue reading

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John Lyly onstage with Edward’s Boys

A new production of John Lyly’s play Galatea has just been announced. Performances of his plays are now a real rarity, but at his peak, in the 1580s, Lyly was the most fashionable dramatist in England. His plays were not aimed … Continue reading

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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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