Author Archives: Sylvia Morris

Michael Rosen and Shakespeare for children

I recently spent a day at the Cambridge Shakespeare Conference, its theme Shakespeare: sources and adaptations.  It opened with a thought-provoking lecture by Michael Rosen, Children’s Laureate 2007-2009 and Shakespeare enthusiast. To an audience who needed no convincing of the … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Shakespeare’s magical island in The Tempest

Where is the unnamed isle in The Tempest? The literal-minded will say that it’s obviously in the Mediterranean, where a ship headed from Tunis to Italy might have foundered.  Those who know Shakespeare’s written sources will mention Strachey’s 1610 letter … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Simon Forman, Shakespeare and the stage

12 September 2011 is the 400th anniversary of the death of the colourful astrologer-cum-physician Simon Forman – or perhaps it was 11 September, or even 5 September, accounts vary.  Whichever is correct, Forman was a well-known, even notorious figure in Shakespeare’s … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Simon Forman, Shakespeare and the stage

Shakespeare and the Internet series

I’ve recently contributed a post to a new series of blogs published by James Harriman-Smith at Open Shakespeare, part of the Open Knowledge Foundation. The subject of the series is Shakespeare and the internet and my post, called Finding Needles … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Legacy | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Shakespeare and the Internet series

Shakespeare’s mothers and sons

  Towards the end of Shakespeare’s life, early September must have been a sad time, not just because it signalled the end of summer. Both parents died at this time of year: his father was buried on 8 September 1601, and … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World, Stratford-upon-Avon | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Nicholas Nickleby phenomenon: a Royal Shakespeare Company triumph remembered

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, one of the most successful productions in the RSC’s history, has rightly been marked with an event in the RSC’s programme celebrating 50 years of outstanding theatremaking.  The adaptation of Charles Dickens’ comic … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare on Stage | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The curse of Macbeth strikes again

Poor Jonathan Slinger, the RSC’s current Macbeth, seems to be the latest casualty of the so-called “curse of Macbeth”. He didn’t acquire his broken arm during any of his dangerous onstage moves but, rather prosaically, by being knocked off his … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

One-man shows and Shakespeare’s theatre

Last week I saw Eduardo de Filippo’s play The Syndicate, currently touring UK towns and cities. It stars two great Shakespearean actors, Ian McKellen and Michael Pennington. Watching them in this subtle play it occurred to me that the last … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage, Shakespeare's World | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Henry V, star of England

31 August is the anniversary of the death of that “star of England”, King Henry V. He died in France, where he had been on a military campaign to capture more of the country, in 1422 aged only 35.  If … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage, Sources | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Your actions are my dreams: Shakespeare and conspiracy

A week on Sunday it will be exactly ten years since the awful events of 9/11 in which thousands of people died and which sparked the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  On Monday it was revealed that a poll undertaken … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare's World | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Your actions are my dreams: Shakespeare and conspiracy