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The History Of European Theatre
Philip Rowe
233 episodes
14 hours ago
A podcast tracing the development of theatre from ancient Greece to the present day through the places and people who made theatre happen. More than just dates and lists of plays we'll learn about the social. political and historical context that fostered the creation of dramatic art.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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All content for The History Of European Theatre is the property of Philip Rowe and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
A podcast tracing the development of theatre from ancient Greece to the present day through the places and people who made theatre happen. More than just dates and lists of plays we'll learn about the social. political and historical context that fostered the creation of dramatic art.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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History
Arts,
Education,
Performing Arts
Episodes (20/233)
The History Of European Theatre
Hamlet Part 2: ‘Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark’

Episode 194: 


Last time I left things hanging for Hamlet as, having seen the ghost of his father and resolved on revenge, he had seen his planning go awry as he mistakenly killed the old councillor Polonius while he hid behind a wall hanging.  We have seen his daughter Ophelia begin her descent into madness, school friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern become embroiled in Hamlet’s feigned madness and Claudius prompted into a desire to pray, having seen the players perform a piece that replicated his actions in the matter of his brother’s murder.  


That quick summary in no way does the play any sort of justice so please do listen to the previous two episodes on ‘Hamlet’, my look at the first half of the play and my conversation with Colin David Reese about the language in the play, if you have not done so already.  I’ll be here waiting for you when you get back.


Continuing a summary of the play picking up from the murder of Polonius, with Hamlet leaving and dragging the body behind him.

The Character of Gertrude

The female characters and the players who portrayed them

The rise of boy playing troupes reflected in ‘Hamlet’

The political position of Claudius in the Danish nation

The character of Osric and his role in the play

The themes of death and decay 

The character and actions of Hamlet

Hamlet as a tragic hero

The graveyard scene

A brief overview of the performance history of the play



Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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14 hours ago
34 minutes 36 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Speaking Hamlet: A Conversation with Colin David Reese

Episode 193


For today’s guest episode it is a very welcome return to the podcast for Colin David Reese, who I last spoke to in early 2023, when we discussed his play ‘Shakespeare Unbound: A Gift to the Future’ and Shakespeare in general.  If you missed those episodes you will find them as part of season five, first released in February and April 2023.


On this occasion I asked Colin to discuss Shakespeare’s use of language, with particular reference to Hamlet, and how that language is used to create character.  Colin goes in some depth into two of Hamlet’s most famous speeches from the play, so, although it is not essential you might find it useful to have a copy of the speeches to hand to follow along.  You will need ‘To be or not to be’, from Act three scene one and ‘O what a rogue and peasant slave am I’ from act two scene two.  We also spoke about the differences between the quarto and folio versions of the play with examples of the language from them, and as this have become a long, but very richly detailed episode, I have split it into two and will share the part dealing with characterisation and particularly Polonius after my second episode discussing the play.


Colin David Reese has not only a lifetime of acting experience behind him, but a lifetime of Shakespeare study too.  That started in his family life where his actor father had a Shakespeare quote for every occasion and continued with his first professional engagement when aged twelve, he played Shakespeare’s illegitimate son.  Along with his many acting roles he has run his own acting company and undertaken in depth study of Shakespeare and the Commedia Dell’arte


Link to RSC To Be Or Not to Be sketch on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEs8rK5Cqt8


Link to Colin's website: https://shakespeareunbound.org



Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 week ago
56 minutes 41 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Hamlet Part 1: ‘That One May Smile and Smile and Be a Villain’

Episode 192:


And so, we come to perhaps the biggest challenge in all of Shakespeare's work, ‘The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark’.  Over the next two episodes and a special guest episode I hope I can get close to doing this monumental play justice.


The dating of the play and the complication of the ‘ur-Hamlet’

The early print history of the play and the three versions

The possible sources for the play

The opening of the play

The character and significance of Fortinbras

The character of Polonius

The ghost of Hamlet’s father and the responsibility of revenge

The position and character of Ophelia

Ophelia and the meaning of flowers

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern – appearances and honesty

The players and their play as an insight to acting genres and techniques of the time

The success of ‘The Murger of Gonzago’

The centrality and irony of Claudius at prayer

Hamlet, Gertrude and the ghost


Part two of this review of ‘Hamlet’ will follow as episode 194 (season 6 episode 81) 



Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


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2 weeks ago
36 minutes 45 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Staging Julius Caesar: A Conversation with Ricky Dukes

Episode 191:


For today’s guest episode it is a welcome return to Ricky Dukes, artistic director of Lazarus Theatre Company.  Following on from our conversation about ‘Henry V’ Ricky and I went on to discuss ‘Julius Caesar’.  Not surprisingly our conversation pulled out some alternative points to those I raised in my episode on the play, especially when it came to talking about aspects of staging the play and the impact of the female roles in the play, which I did not mention in any detail previously.  So, please see these two episodes as complimenting each other, but as long as you are familiar with the play you don’t need to have listened to my episode first, or, for that matter, our earlier discussion of ‘Heny V’, to enjoy this one. 



Ricky Dukes is an award-winning Director, Practitioner and Teacher based in the West Midlands and London.  In 2007 he founded Lazarus Theatre Company and is the company’s current Artistic Director for which he won Best Artistic Director in the 2012 Fringe Report Awards.  His work is ensemble led with actor detail at its heart creating large scale visual, visceral, and vibrant theatrical experiences. Ricky has gone on to direct over 40 productions for Lazarus Theatre Company including: The Changeling, Hamlet, Doctor Faustus, Oscar Wilde’s Salomé, Macbeth, Marlowe’s Edward II, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Tis Pity She’s A Whore, and Dido, Queen of Carthage.  Ricky also runs workshops for actors under the ‘Lazarus Gym’ banner, and I have put links in the show notes to his activities so you can follow that up further if you wish.



Check out Lazarus Theatre here: https://www.lazarustheatrecompany.co.uk


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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3 weeks ago
33 minutes 7 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Julius Caesar: ‘It is the Bright Day That Brings Forth the Adder’

Episode 190:


'Julius Caesar' has proved to be one of Shakespeare’s most malleable plays through the centuries as it’s political narrative has been applied to just about every period of history since it was first performed, either in the moment or retrospectively.  In most people’s estimation it is one of Shakespeare’s truly great plays, but that does not mean that there is always a consensus of opinion over the details of the plot or the motivations of the main characters, but by now that is pretty much what we have come to expect from Shakespeare.


The dating of the play

The early performance history of the play

The publication history of the play

The sources for the play

A brief synopsis of the play

Why did Shakespeare choose to write about Roman history?

The play as Ceasar’s tragedy

The play as the tragedy of Brutus

Anthony as the playboy and political strategist

The role of words, letters and misunderstandings in the play

The death of Cinna the poet

The later performance history of the play



Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp






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4 weeks ago
35 minutes 9 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Neighbourly Relationships in Early Modern Drama: A Conversation in Dr Iman Sheeha

Episode 189:


For today’s guest episode it is my pleasure to welcome Dr Iman Sheeha to the podcast.  Her book ‘Neighbourly Relations in early modern drama has been published recently so it was a great opportunity to talk to her about her research after she had just completed a summer tour of conferences.


Her work is a close examination of neighbourly relationships in early modern English drama, placing a select number of plays alongside other contemporary materials such as wills, pamphlets and sermons and other sources that give us a glimpse of the early modern lived life. The plays span the period between the 1550s and the 1620s, belong to different genres, were aimed at different audiences, and were written for different kinds of playhouses, which allows for conclusions to be drawn about the way genre shapes the treatment of neighbourly relationships, as well as revealing continuities and changes during the period.



Iman Sheeha is a Senior Lecturer in Shakespeare and Early Modern Literature at Brunel University of London and co-General Editor of New Mermaids Classic Plays series. She has wide-ranging interests within the fields of Shakespeare and Early Modern Literature, including gender, race, devotional literature, service, and domesticity and she works with PhD candidates working on these and related topics.


She is the author of two books: Household Servants in Early Modern Domestic Tragedy, and Neighbourly Relationships in Early Modern Drama. She has co-edited a special issue on liminal domestic spaces for Early Modern Literary Studies.  Her research has appeared or is forthcoming in Shakespeare Survey, Early Theatre, The Journal of Early Modern Cultural Studies, Early Modern Literary Studies, and American Notes and Queries and she contributed a chapter to People and Piety: Devotional Writing in Print and Manuscript in Early Modern England (MUP, 2019).’  She has written the introduction for the Oxford World’s Classics edition of ‘The Tragedy of Master Arden of Faversham’ which is due to be published by Oxford University Press in April, 2026.


Links to books by Iman Sheeha

https://www.routledge.com/Neighbourly-Relationships-in-Early-Modern-Drama-Staged-Communities/Sheeha/p/book/9781032896670


https://www.routledge.com/Household-Servants-in-Early-Modern-Domestic-Tragedy/Sheeha/p/book/9780367503772




Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 month ago
40 minutes 9 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
As You Like It: ‘I Can Suck Melancholy Out of a Song as a Weasel Sucks Eggs’

Episode 188:


Following on from the last episode before the run of summer guest conversations we take a sharp swerve from ‘Henry V’ to ‘As You Like It’.  Although we cannot be quite sure about the chronology in which Shakespeare wrote his plays, or how much the writing of one crossed over with the writing of another, whatever the precise order it is pretty clear that Shakespeare could move freely between the History and Comedy genres and within those how he was always pushing at the edges of the forms and conventions of the theatre and playwrighting to see what could work on stage and with language.  ‘As You Like It’ is no exception to that.  


The Dating of the play

The sources for the play

The possible first performance date

A brief synopsis of the play

The use of poetry and prose in the play

The play as part of the ‘Pastoral’ genre

The location of the play and influence of the forest

The character of Jacques

The character of Rosalind

The character of Touchstone

The ending, Hyman, and the masque

A summary of the performance history of the play

The epilogue


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 month ago
36 minutes 10 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Who is King Henry?: A Conversation with Ricky Dukes

Episode 187:


This episode is both an ending and a beginning.  An ending because it is the last of the recent run of consecutive guest episodes – next time we will be returning to Shakespeare, Jonson and their plays – but it is also the first of what I hope will be a series of guest episodes attached to each of the very significant Shakespeare plays that are coming up soon. With the very well-known and arguably greatest of Shakespeare’s plays the task of providing some meaningful commentary is, I have found, very daunting, so I thought it would be a good idea to have another view on these plays to bring another perspective to them besides my own.  I am also keen for those views to be born from the practical experience of producing the plays and understanding them from an actor’s perspective and therefore as a result of close exploration of the text.  


Ricky Dukes is an award-winning Director, Practitioner and Teacher based in the West Midlands and London.  In 2007 he founded Lazarus Theatre Company and is the company’s current Artistic Director for which he won Best Artistic Director in the 2012 Fringe Report Awards.  His work is ensemble led with actor detail at its heart creating large scale visual, visceral, and vibrant theatrical experiences. Ricky has gone on to direct over 40 productions for Lazarus Theatre Company including: The Changeling, Hamlet, Doctor Faustus, Oscar Wilde’s Salomé, Macbeth, Marlowe’s Edward II, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Tis Pity She’s A Whore, and Dido, Queen of Carthage.  Ricky also runs workshops for actors under the ‘Lazarus Gym’ banner, and I have put links in the show notes to his activities so you can follow that up further if you wish.


The photos used on social media posts for this episode are from the 2015 production of 'Henry V' with Colette O'Rourke as the king at the Union Theatre. Photo credit: Adam Trigg.


Check out Lazarus Theatre here: https://www.lazarustheatrecompany.co.uk



Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 month ago
34 minutes 48 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Robert Armin – Shakespeare’s Other Clown: A Conversation with Tim Fitzhigham

Episode 186:


In this continuing series of guest episodes, it is a very welcome return to the podcast for Tim Fitzhigham.  You may remember I spoke to Tim in episode 140 about his work at the Kings Lynn Guildhall where the Elizabethan period Stage had recently been uncovered and hit the headlines in the UK as a stage that Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men had actually played on as they toured the country.  Since then the work has continued and through the summer of 2025 it has been possible for the public to view the timber floor, which was built in 1419.  If you do get to Kings Lynns and want to see what is going on at the Guildhall and the theatre do have a look at the website that I have linked to in the show notes to check on what work is currently underway and how that might affect opening times.


Tim Fitzhigham is the Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Creative Director appointed to oversee the revival of St George’s Guildhall. As well as leading this extensive project he is currently completing his PhD on Robert Armin, an actor in The King’s Men who originated many of the clown and fool roles in all but the earliest Shakespeare plays and was a well-known playwright and author in his own right.


Link to King's Lynne Guildhall website: https://stgeorgesguildhall.com/


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 month ago
27 minutes 7 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
‘The Shakespeare Ladies Club’: A Conversation with Christine and Jonathan Hainsworth

Episode 185:


For today’s guest episode it’s a warm welcome to the podcast for Christine and Jonathan Hainsworth, co-authors of the recently published book ‘The Shakespeare Ladies Club’.


Their book explores the lives of four ladies who were crucial in ensuring the original work of Shakespeare was not forgotten in the 18th Century and beyond. In 1736, these three ladies of quality, two from the aristocracy and one a writer who ran a stationery shop, formed the ‘Shakespeare Ladies Club’.  All three were so enraptured by the plays of William Shakespeare that they met to read and discuss his them and his genius. Not content with this, they used their power and influence to campaign for a statue of their literary idol to be placed in Westminster Abbey.  They were successful in that endeavour, but their role in these achievements has never been properly recognised.  Along with other scholars Christine and Johnathn’s book is part of the process of putting that right.  It is a very entertaining and informative read that I thoroughly enjoyed as I hope you will our conversation with just a taster of some of the details Christine and Jonathan have revealed.



Christine and Jonathan Hainsworth live in Adelaide, South Australia and have a passion for historical investigation and challenging the 'conventional wisdom' regarding famous historical subjects.


Christine spent several decades working for the Australian government in social services. Her work on a program to re-connect lone parents with training, education and employment opportunities gave her a unique insight into family and societal challenges.


Jonathan was educated in Britain and Australia and has over thirty years of experience as a high school teacher of Modern and Ancient History, and English Literature.  He is a graduate of The University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.


Link to Christine and Jonathan's website: https://hainsworthwardagius.com

Link to The Shakespeare Ladies Club on Amberley Publishing: https://www.amberley-books.com

Link to The Shakespeare Ladies Club on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shakespeare-Ladies-Club-Forgotten-Rescued/dp/1398127442/ref=sr_1_1?



Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2 months ago
46 minutes 37 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
‘A Trojan Woman’: A Conversation with Sara Farrington

Episode 184:


Today’s episode is part of my summer run of guest episodes and feels very special as rather than talking about a long dead playwright I got to talk to a living one.  Sara Farrington is a New York based playwright who has written an adaptation of ‘The Trojan Women’ by Euripides, called ‘A Trojan Woman’, which has had several productions in Europe and Nort America and Sara kindly agreed to come onto the podcast to discuss her interpretation of Euripides.


Sara Farrington is a New York based Playwright and co-founder of Foxy Films Theatre.  Her plays include: ‘Mickey & Sage’, ‘Leisure, Labor, Lust’, ‘A Trojan Woman’,  ‘CasablancaBox’, which was nominated for two Drama Desk Awards and ‘The Rise & Fall of Miles & Milo’, which won the award for outstanding playwriting @ FringeNYC.  She also works as a script supervisor and costume designer.


Link to ‘A Trojan Woman’ published Edition: https://www.broadwayplaypublishing.com/the-plays/a-trojan-woman

Link to Sara’s Substack ‘Theatre Is Hard’: https://substack.com/@theaterishard

Sara on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladyfarrington/

Link to Sara’s website: https://www.ladyfarrington.com


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2 months ago
32 minutes 50 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
The Dream Factory: A Conversation With Daniel Swift

Episode 183:


Today’s episode is the first of a short run of guest episodes to see us through the end of the English summer and first up is Daniel Swift, author of ‘The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the making of William Shakespeare’.  Given that title I don’t think Daniel’s book needs any further introduction other than to say that I found it a fascinating read and I hope this episode gives. You a taster of Daniel’s work and the research he has undertaken.


Daniel Swift is associate professor of English at Northeastern University, London, and has written books on Shakespeare, Ezra Pound, and the poetry of the Second World War and articles for The New York Times, The New Statesman and The Spectator.


Links to'The Dream Factory':


Yale University Press London: https://yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300263541/the-dream-factory/


Macmillan New York https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374601270/thedreamfactory/


Amazon UK:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dream-Factory-Londons-Playhouse-Shakespeare/dp/0300263546/ref=sr_1_1?


Amazon USA: https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Factory-Londons-Playhouse-Shakespeare/dp/0374601275/ref=sr_1_1?


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2 months ago
39 minutes

The History Of European Theatre
Henry V: ‘A Valiant Flea That Dare Eat His Breakfast on The Lip of a Lion’

Episode 182:


Although it feels like a while since Shakespeare had produced a history play, we must remember that all the plays I have discussed so far were written and played in a very compressed timescale.  If we take Henry 6th part 1 as being from 1591 then eight years and eighteen plays later, we get to Henry 5th.


The sources for the play

The dating of the play

The printing history of the play

The early performance history of the play

A brief synopsis of the play

A play that works on several levels

The central role of the Chorus

The multiple linguistic registers in the play

The conclusion of Henry’s character arc

The different aspects to Henry’s character

Henry’s meditations on the responsibilities of kingship

The supporting characters – the soldiers

Princess Katerine and her English lesson

The demise of Pistol

The later performance history of the play


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


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2 months ago
36 minutes 50 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Leicester's Men: A Conversation with Laurie Johnson

6.68

Leicester’s Men: A Conversation with Laurie Johnson


Episode 181:


For today’s guest episode it’s a pleasure to welcome Laurie Johnson to the podcast.  Laurie’s book ‘Leicester’s Men and their Plays’ is a fascination study of one of the most influential of the playing troupes of the Elizabethan period and the story of how they lived and functioned under one of the most influential nobles in the land.  As you will hear Laurie’s research to try to draw an ever-better picture of the players and playing in the period is ongoing and leading to some interesting postulations.


Laurie Johnson is Professor of English and Cultural Studies at University of Southern Queensland and a Fellow of both the Society of Antiquaries of London and the Royal Historical Society. His current roles include President of the Marlowe Society of America, Research Dramaturg for the Oxford Marlowe Project, Academic Adviser to the Museum of Shakespeare, Shoreditch, and Project Researcher for the Weather Extremes in England’s Little Ice Age,1500-1700 database.  His publications include The Earl of Leicester’s Men and their Plays and Shakespeare’s Lost Playhouse: Eleven Days in Newington Butts.


UK Link to 'Leicester's Men': https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leicesters-Men-their-Plays-Elizabethan/dp/1009366491/ref=sr_1_1?


US Link to 'Leicester's Men': https://www.amazon.com/Leicesters-Men-their-Plays-Elizabethan-ebook/dp/B0CG28GHN9/ref=sr_1_1?


Link to the Oxford Marlowe Project: https://research.kent.ac.uk/marlowe-works/


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


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3 months ago
41 minutes 2 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Much Ado About Nothing: 'A College of Wit-Crackers Cannot Flout Me Out of My Humour'

Episode 180:

Much Ado About Nothing remains one of the more popular comedies where the characters of Benedick and Beatrice are usually thought of as the leading characters, but this play is much more of an ensemble piece than might be usually remembered.


The dating of the play

The print history of the play

Early performances of the play

The sources for the play

The significance of the title

A Synopsis of the play

The views of the male character, all soldiers, in the play

The pairings of Hero and Claudio and Beatrice and Benedick

Margaret and her views on marriage

Communication and miscommunication

The changes Shakespeare made to his sources

Public honour and public shaming

Pride and pridefulness

Dogberry and the watch

Why didn’t Shakespeare dramatize the fooling of Claudio?

Reality and imagination in the play

‘Much Ado About Nothing’s relationship with ‘The Taming of the Shrew’

The performance history of the play


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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3 months ago
36 minutes 24 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Jonson’s World View: A Conversation with Kay Daly

Episode 179:


For today’s guest episode it is a welcome return for Kay Daly to the podcast.  In our second conversation Kay discusses Jonson’s world view and how it differed from Shakespeare’s, which we discussed in our first conversation plays.  If you have not already done so, listening to that conversation, which is episode 177, and my recent episodes on Jonson’s early plays ‘The Case Is Altered’, ‘Every Man Out of his Humour’ and ‘Every Man In His Humour’ would be a good idea before listening to this conversation.


Kay Daly is a writer, novelist, book and theatre reviewer, teacher, and public humanities advocate.  Since earning her Ph.D. in English Literature from Northwestern University, she has written for a variety of publications and organizations including The Chicago Review of Books, TimeOut Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, WNET New York Public Media, The Library of Virginia’s blog UnCommonwealth, Dramatics Magazine, and Centerstage Chicago. She also teaches adult enrichment courses focusing on arts and humanities at the Newberry Library in Chicago.  Her debut novel ‘Wilton House’, based on the life of 17th-century writer Lady Mary Wroth, will be published by Regal House Publishing in 2027


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


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3 months ago
28 minutes 33 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Every Man Out of his Humour: ‘Art Hath an Enemy Called Ignorance’

Episode 178:


Ben Jonson's humours play 'Every Man in His Humour' was a big success and Jonson chose to name his next comedy in a very similar way, just substituting ‘in’ for ‘out’, no doubt to capitalise on the success of the earlier play by letting the public know that this was going to be a play in a very similar vein, and although there are no points where the plots or characters cross over during the plays the humour and satire are similar.  However, there are also some significant differences between the two plays with the latter offering being more complex structurally and even less reliant on a plot that it’s predecessor.



The early performance history of the play and it’s reception

The dating of the play

The early print history of the play

The amendments in the first folio version

A Synopsis of the plot

The framing device

Macalente the malcontent

Carlo Buffone and the drinking game

Sogliardo the stooge

Delerio and Falace

Fastidious Brisk, his wardrobe and Fungoso

The strange inclusion of Sordidio, the miserly farmer

Puntovolo, his wife, his dog and his cat

The fate of Puntovolo’s dog

The language style of the play

The Italian setting of the play

The war of the theatres

Why was the play less successful than it’s predecessor?


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp



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3 months ago
36 minutes 8 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Shakespeare’s World View: A Conversation with Kay Daly

Episode 177:


For today’s guest episode it is a warm welcome for Kay Daly to the podcast.  In our conversation Kay took the opportunity to give an overview of Shakespeare’s world view as seen through his earlier plays and particularly the comedies.  As you will hear we strayed a little into some later plays, but Kay’s thoughts seemed particularly useful at this point as we are about to move away from the earliest plays and move onto new and very different experiments in comedy.  I hope you enjoy the conversation and find useful as a kind of summary of what I have covered so far on the podcast in respect to Shakespeare.


Kay Daly is a writer, novelist, book and theatre reviewer, teacher, and public humanities advocate.  Since earning her Ph.D. in English Literature from Northwestern University, she has written for a variety of publications and organizations including The Chicago Review of Books, TimeOut Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, WNET New York Public Media, The Library of Virginia’s blog UnCommonwealth, Dramatics Magazine, and Centerstage Chicago. She also teaches adult enrichment courses focusing on arts and humanities at the Newberry Library in Chicago.  Her debut novel ‘Wilton House’, based on the life of 17th-century writer Lady Mary Wroth, will be published by Regal House Publishing in 2027.


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


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3 months ago
33 minutes 19 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Every Man in his Humour: ‘Learn to be Wise and Practice How to Thrive’

Episode 176:


In ‘Every Man In His Humour’ Jonson pays a debt to Roman comedy, but also shows us, in an almost fully formed way, his very own style.  This is not the biting satire of many of his plays, but something a little gentler in that he is not taking aim at specific people and certainly not at the court, as he was to do later.  ‘Every Man in His Humour’ is a city comedy with it’s large cast of London characters and it is they, as a group, who are Jonson’s target on this occasion. 


The early performance history of the play

The printing history of the play

The differences between the quarto and folio versions of the play

The London setting of and as a character in the play

A synopsis of the play

The complexity of the plot structure

The effect of ‘humours’ on character

The comedic characters based on Roman comic characters

An analysis of the prologue

Brainworm the instigator of deception

Edward Knowell the portrait of a London Student

Old Knowell as a sympathetic father

Mathew the poet and butt of the joke

Bobadil the braggart soldier

Kitely the jealous husband

The later performance history of the play

The use of prose in the play 


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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4 months ago
36 minutes 30 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
Shakespeare on the Radio: A Conversation with Andrea Smith

Episode 175:


On today’s guest episode we welcome Andrea Smith to the podcast.  Andrea’s book ‘Shakespeare on the Radio’ has just been published and she kindly agreed to come on and give us some highlights from her very detailed review of Shakespeare on BBC radio in the last one hundred years.


Andrea Smith is a lecturer at the University of Suffolk, specialising in Shakespeare and audio drama.  Her research looks at how stage plays can be turned into something purely aural through voice, music, sound effects and other non-verbal noises.


Link to amazon UK site: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shakespeare-Radio-Century-BBC-Plays/dp/1399547283/ref=sr_1_1?


Link to Edinburgh University Press site:

 https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-shakespeare-on-the-radio.html


Link to BBC Sounds Drama on 3 page:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006tnwj


Link to Box of Broadcasts landing page:

https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/bob/


Link to the online appendix listing all BBC Shakespeare productions up to 2024, which is listed in the ‘resources’ tab towards the bottom of the page:

https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-shakespeare-on-the-radio.html


Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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4 months ago
51 minutes 30 seconds

The History Of European Theatre
A podcast tracing the development of theatre from ancient Greece to the present day through the places and people who made theatre happen. More than just dates and lists of plays we'll learn about the social. political and historical context that fostered the creation of dramatic art.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.