Author Archives: Sylvia Morris

Christmas puddings: a taste of tradition

More than any other holiday time, Christmas has always been about food and drink. Thomas Tusser, an East Anglian farmer, wrote his verse calendar of the year Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, published in 1557 and still full of … Continue reading

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Michael Attenborough and Shakespeare

Last week Stratford’s Shakespeare Club was lucky enough to be given a look into internationally-renowned director Michael Attenborough’s views of Shakespeare. Attenborough is currently Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre in London, though he is resigning from that post after … Continue reading

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The legend of Herne’s Oak

The Merry Wives of Windsor is set in the depth of winter, the season Shakespeare associates with eating, drinking, telling stories, singing, and practical jokes. It’s also  one of the few plays for which Shakespeare invented the plot, and he … Continue reading

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E-Learning and the use of digital resources

Enabling the study of  Shakespeare, especially by making available resources to students of all kinds was the focus of my professional life as a librarian working at The Shakespeare Centre Library and Archive. But over the past year I’ve become … Continue reading

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Women in the theatre: what next after Julius Caesar?

Phyllida Lloyd’s all-female production of Julius Caesar has now opened to great reviews: here are two from the Guardian and the Observer. More information, including an image gallery, is available on the Donmar Warehouse’s website. The production has created quite … Continue reading

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Measure for Measure, Pericles and Leveson

O place and greatness … millions of false eyes Are stuck upon thee: volumes of report Run with these false and most contrarious quests Upon thy doings: thousand escapes of wit Make thee the father of their idle dream, And … Continue reading

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Adapting Shakespeare’s Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses

Until a few years ago the Henry VI plays were rarely performed, especially outside Stratford-upon-Avon, so the news that next year Shakespeare’s Globe is going to be touring the plays to venues in the UK is to be welcomed. I’ve … Continue reading

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Discussing the evidence for Shakespeare’s Theatre: Andrew Gurr, Stanley Wells and Reg Foakes

The Who Invented the “Shakespearean Theatre”? conference held recently at the University of Reading ended with a round table discussion between senior academics Andrew Gurr, Stanley Wells and Reg Foakes. Over the past fifty years these three have probably written … Continue reading

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Shakespeare among the Courtesans

Since Eric Partridge’s 1968 book Shakespeare’s Bawdy the subject of sex in Shakespeare has been commonplace. With titles including words like “desire”, “eroticism”, and “sexuality” the reader knows what to expect, but both the jacket image and the title of … Continue reading

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The Sam Wanamaker Theatre

Major congratulations are due to Shakespeare’s Globe, where the building of their new indoor theatre has just begun. It has just been announced, here and here, that the theatre will be named after the man who devoted himself to the creation … Continue reading

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