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Category Archives: Plays and Poems
Seeking out Shakespeare’s villains
The series of blogs about Shakespeare’s villains posted by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust at Blogging Shakespeare and Finding Shakespeare, has raised interesting questions about what that word “villain”means. The dictionary definition is a “person guilty or capable of great wickedness, … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage
Tagged Falstaff, Globe Theatre, Henry IV, Iago, Launcelot Gobbo, Macbeth, Richard III, Roger Allam, Shakespeare, villain
6 Comments
A Midsummer Night’s Dream on stage
When diarist Samuel Pepys went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1662 he was not impressed. “I had never seen before nor shall ever again, for it is the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage
Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, India, John Caird, Nancy Meckler, Peter Brook, RSC, Samuel Pepys, Shakespeare, Tim Supple
Comments Off on A Midsummer Night’s Dream on stage
After the riots: Shakespeare’s tragic fathers and sons
Over the past few days we’ve witnessed the inspirational dignity and grace of Tariq Jahan, the father of one of the young men killed during the riots in Winson Green, Birmingham. For any of you who haven’t seen it, you’ll … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage
Tagged battle, Ben Jonson, father, Hamnet, Henry VI Part 3, riots, Shakespeare, son, Tariq Jahan, Towton
2 Comments
Asian Shakespeare brought “to the far West” in Edinburgh
It’s Festival time again in Edinburgh. The Fringe Festival is already in full swing and on 12 August the official International Festival will begin. The scale is vast: at the Fringe alone 41,689 acts are being performed. This year the … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage
Tagged Asia, China, Edinburgh Festival, Fringe, Japan, Korea, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Shakespeare
7 Comments
Riots and Shakespeare’s ragged multitude
The riots that are currently spreading through UK cities are unprecedented. Mike Butcher, interviewed this morning on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme spoke of how mobile phones have become “weaponised”, and in an interesting turn of phrase he stated “thugs … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged Blackberry, Coriolanus, Gutenberg, Henry VI Part 2, Jack Cade, Julius Caesar, mobile phone, printing, riots, Shakespeare, subversive, unrest, violence
2 Comments
I’ll write it straight: The Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts 1450-1700
This is the second post looking at the subjects raised by the 29 July conference launching the new online Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts 1450-1700. The first paper was contributed by the prolific writer and academic Germaine Greer. Ever since the publication of … Continue reading
Living monuments: Shakespeare’s epitaphs
I’d never heard of the little village of Tong and its church until recently when some visiting relatives mentioned its Shakespeare connections. So I paid a visit to this tiny village in Shropshire to find out more. The church is sometimes … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World, Sources
Tagged Earl of Derby, epitaph, grave, Lord Stange, monument, Plutarch, Richard III, Shakespeare, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Shropshire, Stanley, Tong, Vernon
8 Comments
Shakespeare writing fair: The Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts 1450-1700
Last Friday I attended a conference organised by the University of London School of Advanced Study to celebrate the imminent launch of a great new online resource, the Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts 1450-1700. This will supersede the printed Index … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged Grace Ioppolo, literary, manuscripts, Peter Beal, Shakespeare, Steven May, The Merry Wives of Windsor, writing
1 Comment
O power, what art thou in a madman’s eyes
Any other weekend, the death of singer Amy Winehouse would have been enough to brand it as her family have, “this terrible time”, but over the last few days the unfolding national tragedy in Norway has stolen the headlines, all … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged Amy Winehouse, Anders Behring Breivik, British Library, Norway, Shakespeare, Sir Thomas More
Comments Off on O power, what art thou in a madman’s eyes
Was Shakespeare a soldier?
The one-man play Being Shakespeare is just reaching the end of its run at the Trafalgar Studios. It’s a real tour de force by distinguished actor Simon Callow who switches effortlessly from narrative to speeches from Shakespeare’s plays, bringing characters … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World, Sources, Stratford-upon-Avon
Tagged As You Like it, Being Shakespeare. Simon Callow, Constable, Edgar Fripp, Henry IV, Jonathan Bate, muster rolls, Shakespeare, Shakespeare Centre Library and Archive, soldier, The Taming of the Shrew, Warwick
1 Comment