The podcast that takes neither itself nor Shakespeare seriously. Hosted by Nora (theatre nerd/Shax expert) and James (husband/theatre skeptic). Season 2 now live, with fortnightly updates. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @NAShaxPodcast.
Hi! Did you miss us? We're back with a bang, as our friend Dr Brandi K. Adam's joins us to tackle Thomas Middleton's iconic city comedy A CHASTE MAID IN CHEAPSIDE! It's got secret marriages and escaping daughters; it's got meat babies and Puritans; it's got Timoetheus AND his tutor; it's even got all the mountains in Wales! Brandi's mastery of Latin and Nintendo baddies alike comes in very handy as we navigate this wacky romp of a play. This marks the first of two bonus episodes - aka The Middleton Mid-Season - which were chosen in an audience poll tournament. Brandi K. Adams is an assistant professor in the Department of English at Arizona State University and member of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Her interests include book history, history of reading, early modern English drama, and premodern critical race and gender studies. Having formerly served as an undergraduate program manager at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she also researches the early history of artificial intelligence, early modern automata and how studying literature can have a significant and positive impact on computing.
It's our birthday!!! Not Another Shakespeare Podcast has been podding for a whole solar orbit, so in this episode we look back on season 2, rank our favourite plays so far, and preview some exciting future developments. Shoutouts for Brad Pitt's butt in 2004, Disney princesses, sequels that are better than the original—and of course, James's favourite characters, the lion and the bear. And towards the end of the episode, have a little request for you, our beloved listeners… If you love this episode, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
We're back!! After a brief hiatus, we're returning with a bang to share our take on TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, featuring special guest Charlene V. Smith! Tune in for reminiscences about TROY (2004), bizarrely over-invested uncles, and objectively the weirdest ending in the canon. CONTENT NOTE: This play contains depictions of sexual assault and implied coercion, as well as wartime violence. Charlene V. Smith is an actor, director, and scholar, who has worked in the DC metropolitan area since 2006. She co-founded Brave Spirits Theatre in 2011 and became Artistic Director in 2014. Sadly, Brave Spirits was forced to close during the pandemic. But at that time, they were mid-way through a historic project to stage 8 of Shakespeare's history plays in rep. Shakespeare's Histories will now be released as audio recordings: https://t.co/T9BLg8YeUN Charlene completed her BA in English & Theatre at the College of William and Mary and studied at the London Dramatic Academy. She has an MLitt & an MFA in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin College (now University) in partnership w/ the American Shakespeare Center. She has written and published in a variety of venues, both academic and public-facing — you can see them all here: https://t.co/MJ7aPJljtt And, important for our purposes, she recently taught Troilus and Cressida as part of a team-taught directing class at Mary Baldwin, so she is the perfect person to discuss this wacky play with us! If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
We're back for the second part of our holiday special, returning to TWELFTH NIGHT just in time for, well, Twelfth Night! Topsy-turvy twin shenanigans continue, with guest appearances by John Donne, the Backstreet Boys, and the Hallmark Christmas cinematic universe. Literally everyone gets married at the end. What's more festive than that?? If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
In the first part of our epic Christmas special, James rejects the play title (again), we debate the merits of meat-flavoured crisps/chips, and a barrage of festive movie references are made. How many of these people will be married by the end? Let's be honest—probably all of them. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
Bohemian sea coasts, bad disguises, and offstage deaths, oh my! It's THE WINTER'S TALE! In yet another case of James feeling betrayed by a play title, The Winter's Tale is a magical story with ghosts, bears, and long-lost princesses — but it's not set in winter. Featuring Gerard Butler and 300, and precisely how many biscuits we'd serve the Queen if she came to tea. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
Step aside, Billy Shakes — it's your buddy J. Fletch's day to shine! This week we're washing out the bad taste the Taming left in our mouths with John Fletcher's semi-sequel THE WOMAN'S PRIZE aka THE TAMER TAMED. We detour to 80s British children's TV stars, Bill & Ted, and Chumbawumba. Did Fletcher really do it better? Listen to find out! Content Note: Be aware that this play (and this episode) contains discussion of rape, sexual violence, and intimate partner violence. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
On today's episode, we're drinking wine to help us get through Shakespeare's domestic violence comedy, The Taming of the Shrew! We detour to water voles and garden pests, James loses track of who's who, and we test the limits of the misogynometer. Content note: Be aware that this episode (and this play) touches on domestic / intimate partner violence, gaslighting and coercive control. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
“Let not the world witches or devils condemn / They follow us, and then we follow them.” Along with witches, devils, murders and Morris dancing, our spooky Halloween special features a list of James's favourite witches, the only Dog Nora doesn't love, a woman disguised as a boy (of course), and some casual bigamy. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
What do Mean Girls, James Bond, and baguettes all have to do with Richard II? Join James, Nora, and special guest Dr Ambereen Dadabhoy to find out! We've got scheming uncles, familiar castles, and improbable timelines galore in our first foray into Shakespeare's history plays. Ambereen is an Associate Professor of Literature at Harvey Mudd College. Her research focuses on racial and religious "otherness," in early modern English drama, particularly on plays set in the Mediterranean. She's currently working on a book on Shakespeare and Islamicate cultures, which dovetails with her interest in early modern forms of the "War on Terror." Ambereen's favourite Shakespeare play is Richard II. Check out Ambereen's most recent publication in the excellent Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Race, edited by Ayanna Thompson. Her chapter is on ‘Barbarian Moors: Documenting Racial Formation in Early Modern England' https://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/literature/renaissance-and-early-modern-literature/cambridge-companion-shakespeare-and-race?format=PB If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
We're back for Measure for Measure, Part 2!! Join us for the epic conclusion to this deeply messed up play as we call Shakespeare out for his blatant pirate erasure, speculate on whether for fornication can occur in a garden, and invent a new superhero Content note: Be aware that this episode (and this play) deals with sexual violence and wrongful imprisonment. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
We're back! Season 2 kicks off with a two-part Measure for Measure episode. We'll explore the play that Nora's been researching for years, with a detour to the Mr Men (again), and a pitch to get Fiat to sponsor us. Is Angelo's dick actually made of ice? Will we finally crank the misogynometer up to 11? Tune in to find out! Content note: Be aware that this episode (and this play) deals with sexual violence and wrongful imprisonment. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
In our last Summer Bonus Episode, we answer the important lingering questions from Season 1 and discuss alternate endings for the plays we've covered so far. Special guests include Mr Bump and Jigglypuff. We always earn our “E” tag, but this one's explicit even for us. Don't say we didn't warn you! If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
Join James, Nora, and special guest Kristen Zaza on a journey to answer life's most essential question: what if the Muppets did Shakespeare? That's right! We're playing the timeless game of casting a classic work of literature with Muppets and one human actor. Daniel Day Lewis bonds with Beaker, Ernie and Bert find true love, and Sam the Eagle steps into the role he was born to play. Kristen Zaza is a writer, composer, performer and podcaster based in Toronto, Canada. Her award-winning solo audiodrama podcast, On a Dark, Cold Night, is currently in its second season, which Kristen writes, performs, produces, and composes music for on a weekly basis. You can listen to On a Dark, Cold Night at kristenzaza.com/podcast, or your favourite podcast app. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
In the first of our three summer Bonus Episodes, Nora assigns James the same Shakespeare quiz she gives her students. We cover King Charles II's feminist credentials (questionable) and Shakespeare's lifelong quest to achieve ad sponsorship from Italy. Special appearances from Boyz II Men, Will.i.am, and Celine Dion. Will we have a feminine ending? You'll have to listen to find out... If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
In the second half of our two-part season finale, we speculate on the Freudian possibilities of Banquo's ghost, Flandolph makes a triumphant return, and Lady Macbeth gets the lion treatment. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
In the first instalment of our epic, two-part season one finale, we learn that murder can sour a marriage, the witches give a two-for-one prophecy discount, Macbeth talks to his psychic penis, and James makes a surprising Tolkien connection. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
Nora's favourite and arguably Shakespeare's weirdest play takes us to Roman Britain, where we meet a crusty jumper, Jupiter calls an Uber, and for some reason all roads lead to Milford Haven. What's a love token? You'll wish you'd never asked… Content Note: Be aware that this play (and this episode) contains depiction and discussions of sexual assault, suicide and self harm, and spousal abuse. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
We pivot away from Shakespeare this week to explore a Jacobean tragedy by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley. What does Diet Fanta have to do with a bed trick? WTF even is a bed trick?? How many boo ghosts will there be??? Listen to find out! Content Note: Be aware that this play (and this episode) contains depiction and discussions of sexual harassment and assault and harmful stereotypes of mental illness and intellectual disability. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
We're back in the Forest of Arden for Part 2 of our As You Like It double episode extravaganza. Join Nora & James to meet the second son of Sir Rowland, a random lion, the god Hymen (yes, really), and a very persuasive hermit. How many weddings will there be? Listen to find out! If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
In the first part of our As You Like It double episode, James learns about the Shakespeare cinematic universe (SCU), we talk alien inspiration and Expendables spin-offs, and everyone licks some trees in the Forest of Arden. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes!
A weird place to start your Shakespeare podcast? Maybe! But this is the play that sparked the whole idea, so we had to give it pride of place. Follow along as James expresses astonishment at the ratio of wives to dudes in Shakespeare's Windsor, the Muppets, Bill Shatner, and Friends make surprise appearances, and we launch our signature Shakespeare rating system. If you love this episode, follow us on social media @NAShaxPodcast and subscribe to get notified about new episodes at http://nashakespearepodcast.com.
Introducing the podcast that takes neither itself nor Shakespeare very seriously, with your hosts James (husband and theatre skeptic) and Nora (university lecturer and early modern drama expert).
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