Author Archives: Sylvia Morris

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Shakespeare and Anonymous: authorship, truth and drama

I’m part of an online group currently running a lively discussion thread on “Was Shakespeare a fraud?”. This is based on the soon-to-be-released film Anonymous, directed by Roland Emmerlich and written by John Orloff, on the subject of the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays and … Continue reading

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Time and the gilded galleon

A visit to the British Museum is always a great reminder of the ingenuity, skill and imagination of the human race over thousands of years and in all parts of the world. In all areas of endeavour there are people … Continue reading

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