A listening tour through 450 years of Shakespeare - on stage, in history, in our culture, and in person.
The Sonnet Sessions continue... You can reach me at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com William Shakespeare, Sonnet XVII Who will believe my verse in time to come, If it were filled with your most high deserts? Though yet heaven knows it is but as a tomb Which hides your life, and shows not half your parts. If I could write the beauty of your eyes, And in fresh numbers number all your graces, The age to come would say 'This poet lies; Such heavenly touches ne'er touched earthly faces.' So should my papers, yellowed with their age, Be scorned, like old men of less truth than tongue, And your true rights be termed a poet's rage And stretched metre of an antique song: But were some child of yours alive that time, You should live twice, in it, and in my rhyme. Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“ from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 Nino Rota, 'Love Theme' from Romeo and Juliet (1968)
The Sonnet Sessions continue... (Don't know what was going on with the audio - or my voice - this week! ) Please get in touch any time: podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. William Shakespeare, Sonnet XVI But wherefore do not you a mightier way Make war upon this bloody tyrant, Time? And fortify your self in your decay With means more blessed than my barren rhyme? Now stand you on the top of happy hours, And many maiden gardens, yet unset, With virtuous wish would bear you living flowers, Much liker than your painted counterfeit: So should the lines of life that life repair, Which this, Time's pencil, or my pupil pen, Neither in inward worth nor outward fair, Can make you live your self in eyes of men. To give away yourself, keeps yourself still, And you must live, drawn by your own sweet skill. Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“ from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 Sergei Prokofiev, "Balcony Scene" from Romeo and Juliet, op. 64, 1938
The Sonnet Sessions continue.... Please get in touch any time: podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. William Shakespeare, Sonnet XVWhen I consider every thing that grows Holds in perfection but a little moment, That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows Whereon the stars in secret influence comment; When I perceive that men as plants increase, Cheered and checked even by the self-same sky, Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease, And wear their brave state out of memory; Then the conceit of this inconstant stay Sets you most rich in youth before my sight, Where wasteful Time debateth with decay To change your day of youth to sullied night, And all in war with Time for love of you,As he takes from you, I engraft you new. Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 Hector Berlioz, La Mort d' Ophélie, Cecilia Bartoli (soprano), Myung-Whun Chung (piano)
The Sonnet Sessions continue.... Please get in touch any time: podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. William Shakespeare, Sonnet XIV Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck; And yet methinks I have Astronomy, But not to tell of good or evil luck, Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons' quality; Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell, Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind, Or say with princes if it shall go well By oft predict that I in heaven find: But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive, And, constant stars, in them I read such art As truth and beauty shall together thrive, If from thyself, to store thou wouldst convert; Or else of thee this I prognosticate: Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date. Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 Nino Rota, Nocturne from The Taming of the Shrew (1967), conducted by Carlo Savina
The Sonnet Sessions continue.... Please get in touch any time: podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. William Shakespeare, Sonnet XIII O! that you were your self; but, love, you are No longer yours, than you your self here live: Against this coming end you should prepare, And your sweet semblance to some other give: So should that beauty which you hold in lease Find no determination; then you were Yourself again, after yourself's decease, When your sweet issue your sweet form should bear. Who lets so fair a house fall to decay, Which husbandry in honour might uphold, Against the stormy gusts of winter's day And barren rage of death's eternal cold? O! none but unthrifts. Dear my love, you know, You had a father: let your son say so. Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 Opening to Act III of Sir John in Love, New Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Meredith Davies.
The Sonnet Sessions continue (with apologies for the audio issues this week!) You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet XII When I do count the clock that tells the time, And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; When I behold the violet past prime, And sable curls all silver’d o’er with white; When lofty trees I see barren of leaves Which erst from heat did canopy the herd, And summer’s green all girded up in sheaves Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, Then of thy beauty do I question make, That thou among the wastes of time must go, Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake And die as fast as they see others grow; And nothing ‘gainst Time’s scythe can make defence Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence. Music:Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928
The Sonnet Sessions continue... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet XI As fast as thou shalt wane, so fast thou grow'st In one of thine, from that which thou departest; And that fresh blood which youngly thou bestow'st, Thou mayst call thine when thou from youth convertest. Herein lives wisdom, beauty, and increase; Without this folly, age, and cold decay: If all were minded so, the times should cease And threescore year would make the world away. Let those whom nature hath not made for store, Harsh, featureless, and rude, barrenly perish: Look whom she best endowed, she gave the more; Which bounteous gift thou shouldst in bounty cherish: She carved thee for her seal, and meant thereby, Thou shouldst print more, not let that copy die. Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 Ambroise Thomas, "Entr'acte" from Hamlet, opera adapted from William Shakespeare, 1868
The Sonnet Sessions continue... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet X For shame deny that thou bear'st love to any, Who for thy self art so unprovident. Grant, if thou wilt, thou art beloved of many, But that thou none lov'st is most evident: For thou art so possessed with murderous hate, That 'gainst thy self thou stick'st not to conspire, Seeking that beauteous roof to ruinate Which to repair should be thy chief desire. O! change thy thought, that I may change my mind: Shall hate be fairer lodged than gentle love? Be, as thy presence is, gracious and kind, Or to thyself at least kind-hearted prove: Make thee another self for love of me, That beauty still may live in thine or thee. Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 Ambroise Thomas, "Entr'acte" from Hamlet, opera adapted from William Shakespeare, 1868
The Sonnet Sessions continue... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet IX Is it for fear to wet a widow's eye, That thou consum'st thy self in single life? Ah! if thou issueless shalt hap to die, The world will wail thee like a makeless wife; The world will be thy widow and still weep That thou no form of thee hast left behind, When every private widow well may keep By children's eyes, her husband's shape in mind: Look what an unthrift in the world doth spend Shifts but his place, for still the world enjoys it; But beauty's waste hath in the world an end, And kept unused the user so destroys it. No love toward others in that bosom sits That on himself such murd'rous shame commits. Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 Benjamin Britten, Corpus Christi Carol - performed by boy soprano Sebastian Carrington Thomas Tallis, Spem in Alium (1750)
The Sonnet Sessions continue... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet VIII Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly? Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy: Why lov'st thou that which thou receiv'st not gladly, Or else receiv'st with pleasure thine annoy? If the true concord of well-tuned sounds, By unions married, do offend thine ear, They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear. Mark how one string, sweet husband to another, Strikes each in each by mutual ordering; Resembling sire and child and happy mother, Who, all in one, one pleasing note do sing: Whose speechless song being many, seeming one, Sings this to thee: 'Thou single wilt prove none.' Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 Thomas Tallis, Spem in Alium (1750)
The Sonnet Sessions continue... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet VII Lo! in the orient when the gracious light Lifts up his burning head, each under eye Doth homage to his new-appearing sight, Serving with looks his sacred majesty; And having climbed the steep-up heavenly hill, Resembling strong youth in his middle age, Yet mortal looks adore his beauty still, Attending on his golden pilgrimage: But when from highmost pitch, with weary car, Like feeble age, he reeleth from the day, The eyes, 'fore duteous, now converted are From his low tract, and look another way: So thou, thyself outgoing in thy noon Unlooked on diest unless thou get a son. Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928
The Sonnet Sessions continue... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet VI Then let not winter's ragged hand deface, In thee thy summer, ere thou be distilled: Make sweet some vial; treasure thou some place With beauty's treasure ere it be self-killed. That use is not forbidden usury, Which happies those that pay the willing loan; That's for thy self to breed another thee, Or ten times happier, be it ten for one; Ten times thy self were happier than thou art, If ten of thine ten times refigured thee: Then what could death do if thou shouldst depart, Leaving thee living in posterity? Be not self-willed, for thou art much too fair To be death's conquest and make worms thine heir. Music clips: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 Gerald Finzi, Nocturne from Love's Labour's Lost Op. 28
The Sonnet Sessions continue... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet V Those hours, that with gentle work did frame The lovely gaze where every eye doth dwell, Will play the tyrants to the very same And that unfair which fairly doth excel; For never-resting time leads summer on To hideous winter, and confounds him there; Sap checked with frost, and lusty leaves quite gone, Beauty o'er-snowed and bareness every where: Then were not summer's distillation left, A liquid prisoner pent in walls of glass, Beauty's effect with beauty were bereft, Nor it, nor no remembrance what it was: But flowers distilled, though they with winter meet, Leese but their show; their substance still lives sweet. Music clips: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 (Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy) Joseph Haydn, "She Never Told Her Love", after Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
The Sonnet Sessions continue... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet IV Unthrifty loveliness, why dost thou spend Upon thy self thy beauty's legacy? Nature's bequest gives nothing, but doth lend, And being frank she lends to those are free: Then, beauteous niggard, why dost thou abuse The bounteous largess given thee to give? Profitless usurer, why dost thou use So great a sum of sums, yet canst not live? For having traffic with thy self alone, Thou of thy self thy sweet self dost deceive: Then how when nature calls thee to be gone, What acceptable audit canst thou leave? Thy unused beauty must be tombed with thee, Which, used, lives th' executor to be. Music clips: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 (Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy) Joseph Haydn, "She Never Told Her Love", after Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
The Sonnet Sessions continue... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet III Look in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest Now is the time that face should form another; Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest, Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother. For where is she so fair whose uneared womb Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry? Or who is he so fond will be the tomb Of his self-love, to stop posterity? Thou art thy mother's glass and she in thee Calls back the lovely April of her prime; So thou through windows of thine age shalt see, Despite of wrinkles, this thy golden time. But if thou live, remembered not to be, Die single and thine image dies with thee. Music clips: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 (Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy) Nino Rota, “Sarabande” from soundtrack to Zeffirelli’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, 1967 (Columbia Pictures, US / Italy) orchestra conducted by Carlo Savina
The Sonnet Sessions continue... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet II When forty winters shall besiege thy brow, And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field, Thy youth's proud livery so gazed on now, Will be a totter'd weed of small worth held: Then being asked, where all thy beauty lies, Where all the treasure of thy lusty days; To say, within thine own deep sunken eyes, Were an all-eating shame, and thriftless praise. How much more praise deserv'd thy beauty's use, If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse,' Proving his beauty by succession thine! This were to be new made when thou art old, And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold. Music clips: Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Fantasia on Greensleeves“, from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 (Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy) Nino Rota, “Sarabande” from soundtrack to Zeffirelli’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, 1967 (Columbia Pictures, US / Italy) orchestra conducted by Carlo Savina
"From fairest creatures we desire increase...." Hello, friends! This is the first in my Sonnet Sessions. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet I FROM fairest creatures we desire increase, That, thereby, beauty's rose might never die, But as the riper should by time decease, His tender heir might bear his memory: But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes, Feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel, Making a famine where abundance lies, Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel. Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament And only herald to the gaudy spring, Within thine own bud buriest thy content And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding. Pity the world, or else this glutton be, To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee. Music clips: Sergei Prokofiev, “Montagues and Capulets”, from Romeo and Juliet (ballet), 1935 Ralph Vaughan Williams, "Fantasia on Greensleeves", from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 (Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy) Nino Rota, "Sarabande" from soundtrack to Zeffirelli’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, 1967 (Columbia Picutres, US / Italy) orchestra conducted by Carlo Savina
Hello, friends! These are strange times, and I hope you are all well. This is a brief update to promise new content (you've heard that before!) and guarantee new-ish content over the next month. You can contact me at: podcastshakespeare@gmail.com or on Facebook and Twitter. Stay safe.
“Are you a god? Would you create me new?” New episode! In episode #14, why won’t anyone let Antipholus in? We’re discussing Shakespeare’s lightest, tightest play: The Comedy of Errors. Wander through the town square of Ephesus at your leisure. But perhaps don't accept any gifts from strangers.... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. The Patreon campaign is up and running, with bonus Sonnet episodes! We also have a Spotify playlist, which will be updated as we work through the plays. Key links below. You can also visit the bibliography page here, which is a work in progress. Links mentioned: Plautus, Menaechmi Harold Bloom, The Invention of the Human (1998) 1988 TV network promo from Australia’s Channel Nine: “Still the One” Syphilis: the “French disease” Audio: The Comedy of Errors, produced as part of the Caedmon Shakespeare (1962), with Finlay Currie (Aegeon), Alec McCowen (Antipholus of Syracuse), John Moffatt (Antipholus of Ephesus) and Mary Miller (Luciana) The Comedy of Errors, produced as part of the Arkangel Shakespeare, with David Tennant (Antipholus of Syracuse), Jason O’Mara (Dromio of Ephesus), and Alan Cox (Dromio of Syracuse) The Comedy of Errors, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 1950, with Patricia Norman (Courtesan) and unknown actors (Antipholus of Syracuse, Dromio of Syracuse, Adriana, Luciana) The Comedy of Errors (1983), produced for the BBC by Shaun Sutton, directed by James Cellan Jones, with Michael Kitchen (Antipholus of Ephesus), Roger Daltrey (Dromio of Ephesus), Suzanne Bertish (Adriana), Joanne Pearce (Luciana), Wendy Hiller (Aemilia), David Kelly (Balthazar) Music: The Boys from Syracuse (1963 cast) with Cathryn Damon singing “Oh, Diogenes!” The Boys from Syracuse (1997 cast): “Sing for your Supper” ballet The Twins ballet “Let Antipholus In!” (finale from Act I) Stephen Storace, Gli Equivoci (The Misunderstandings), opera after Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors (1786) with libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte
“Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends.” — Alençon, Act III, scene ii In episode #13, a quick jaunt through the critical fortunes of Henry VI, Part 1, not an historically beloved play. From the “prequel” question to the plays role as a barometer of Britain’s feelings on nationalism, to just how many times a play can cut Talbot, Joan, or both! Come join me. Listen to episodes at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Castbox, or download direct from Libsyn. The Patreon campaign is up and running, with bonus Sonnet episodes! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. We also have a Spotify playlist, which will be updated as we work through the plays. Key links below. You can also visit the bibliography page here, which is a work in progress. Links mentioned: E.M.W Tillyard and the “Tudor Myth” Key source: Edward Hall, The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and Yorke (1548) Key source: Raphael Holinshed, Chronicles of England, Scotland ,and Ireland (1577) E.K. Chambers, William Shakespeare: A Study of Facts and Problems, 1930 Thomas Nashe, Defence of Plays from “Pierce Penniless” (1592) Emrys Jones, Origins of Shakespeare, 1977 Jonathan Bate, Genius of Shakespeare, 1997 Marjorie Garber, Shakespeare After All, 2004 “Shakespeare And Marlowe: Attributing Henry VI Authorship” – Folger Library Festival of Britain, 1951 Birmingham Rep Theatre: BBC An Age of Kings (1960) Royal Shakespeare Company John Barton and Peter Hall, RSC Wars of the Roses (1963): “The Inheritance” and “Margaret of Anjou” on Youtube Jane Howell, BBC The First Part of Henry the Sixt (1983) at BFI Screenonline English Shakespeare Company: Wars of the Roses (1988) d: Michael Bogdanov Jan Kott (1914-2001), Shakespeare Our Contemporary (1961) – profiled by Michael Billington in The Guardian Edward Hall, Rose Rage (2001), Propeller Theatre Company Shakespeare’s Rugby Wars: Toronto Fringe Festival Michael Boyd, This England (2001) – Royal Shakespeare Company Yushi Odashima, complete translations of Shakespeare into Japanese: at Oxford Reference Bell Shakespeare, Wars of the Roses (2005 – 2008), reviewed by Alison Croggon Benedict Andrews, Wars of the Roses (2010) for Sydney Theatre Company, reviewed by Alison Croggon Globe Theatre: Wars of the Roses Battlefield Performances, review in Telegraph Seattle Shakespeare Company, Bring Down the House (2016), review in Seattle Times Dominic Cooke, Henry VI, BBC Hollow Crown cycle (2016) Audio: Donald Sinden (Plantagenet), RSC Wars of the Roses “The Inheritance” (1965) Music: Sergei Prokofiev, “Montagues and Capulets”, from Romeo and Juliet (ballet), 1935 Armand Broshka, The Sadness of King Henry VI Tchaikovsky, The Maid of Orléans , 1881, Jeanne’s aria performed by Elena Obraztsova Ralph Vaughan Williams, Serenade to Music (1938) from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice Giuseppe Verdi, Overture from Giovanna d’Arco (Joan of Arc), 1845 Henry Ley, The Prayer of King Henry VI (c. 1940), The King’s Singers
"Awake, awake, English nobility!" In episode #12, we look at Shakespeare's early history play Henry VI, Part 1, which sets the tone for the Wars of the Roses. It's a rip-roaring, Hollywoodised tour of history. Come along to the Gates of Ruin, pick your favourite-coloured rose, and mercilessly mock the French. Why not? Everyone else here is doing it! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com.The Patreon campaign is up and running, with bonus Sonnet episodes! Links mentioned: The bloody British history that inspired Game of Thrones (iNews) Victoria (2016 TV series) E.M.W Tillyard and the "Tudor Myth" A genealogy of the English monarchs A genealogy of the French monarchs The fleur-de-lis, symbol of the French nobility Key source: Edward Hall, The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and Yorke (1548) Key source: Raphael Holinshed, Chronicles of England, Scotland ,and Ireland (1577) Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) M.M. Mahood, Playing Bit Parts in Shakespeare's Plays (1998) The Prophet Muhammad was alleged to have trained a dove - see Waleed Aly, People Like Us: How arrogance is dividing Islam and the West, 2007,p. 21 (Google Books) Sybil of Cumae The "Cardinal's Hat" (former brothel, Southwark) The Parliament of Bats (1426) John Barton and Peter Hall, The Wars of the Roses (Wikipedia) Daedalus and Icarus Michelangelo's Pietà Authorship of the play: At Wikipedia Christopher Marlowe as the new theory (Folger Shakespeare Library, 2017) Audio: Henry VI, Part 1 (LibriVox recording) with John Fricker (Sentinel) and peac (Charles the Dauphin) The First Part of Henry the Sixt (BBC TV, 1983, d: Jane Howell) with Brenda Blethyn (Joan La Pucelle), Paul Chapman (Suffolk), Julia Foster (Margaret), Alex Guard (Young John Talbot), Trevor Peacock (Lord Talbot) Henry VI, Part 1 (Arkangel Shakespeare) with Amanda Root (Joan of Arc), Trevor Martin (Edmund Mortimer), Anthony Jackson (Duke of Exeter), David Yelland (Charles, Dauphin of France), and Company Music: Sergei Prokofiev, "Montagues and Capulets", from Romeo and Juliet (ballet), 1935 Anthony Holborne, Galliard: The Tears of the Muses (c. 1600) William Byrd, The Carman's Whistle (late 16th c.) Tchaikovsky, The Maid of Orléans (excerpts), 1879 Henry Ley, A Prayer of King Henry VI (c. 1940) Patrick Doyle, original soundtrack to Kenneth Branagh's Henry V Paul Mealor, A Prayer of King Henry VI (2013) Giuseppe Verdi, Overture from Giovanna d'Arco (Joan of Arc), 1845
"Life upon the wicked stage Ain't ever what a girl supposes..." - from Show Boat New episode! In episode #11, I explore what life was like on the Elizabethan stage, from its naive origins to the messy, democratic, bawdy theatre world Shakespeare inherited. Join me as I learn about the original hellmouth, why the Puritans were so opposed to the filthy theatre, some fun things to do with a donkey, and how many days it takes to dance your way from London to Norwich... You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. The Patreon campaign is up and running, with bonus Sonnet episodes! We also have a Spotify playlist, which will be updated as we work through the plays. Key links below. You can also visit the bibliography page here, which is a work in progress. Links mentioned: Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point (2000); Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville, The Tragedy of Gorboduc (1561-62); Stephen Greenblatt, Will in the World (2004); Reverend John Northbrooke's allegations against the theatre (late 16th century); Bill Bryson, Shakespeare: The World as Stage (2007); Representation of the Globe Theatre, at the website of Saint Ignatius College, Geelong; (New) Globe Theatre, DVD online store; Slings and Arrows (2003-2006) - Season 1 trailer on Youtube; Ned Alleyn (1566 - 1626); Richard Burbage (1567 - 1619); "Exit: Burbage"; Robin Williams in Mork & Mindy (1978 - 1982); Richard Tarleton (15?? - 1588); Will Kempe (15?? - 1603); Kemp's Nine Days Wonder; Morris dancing; Robert Armin (c. 1563 - 1615); Philip Henslowe (c. 1550 - 1616); Henslowe's diary... as a blog!; Shakespeare in Love (1998, d: John Madden). Joseph Fiennes is Shakespeare, Geoffrey Rush is Philip Henslowe, Ben Affleck is Ned Alleyn, Judi Dench is Queen Elizabeth, Martin Clunes is Richard Burbage, Rupert Everett is Kit Marlowe, and Patrick Barlow plays Will Kempe.; Music: "We Open in Venice" and "Another Op'nin, Another Show" from Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate: 1999 production with Brent Barrett (Fred / Petruchio), Rachel York (Lili / Kate), Nancy Kathryn Anderson (Lois / Bianca), Michael Berresse (Bill / Lucentio), and Kaye Brown (Hattie); Music in the Time of Shakespeare – Gigue; Thomas Morley: Dances for Broken Consort; Blossom Dearie: Life Upon the Wicked Stage (from Show Boat); Judy Garland: No Business Like Show Business (from Annie Get Your Gun); Jason Alexander: Comedy Tonight (from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, excerpted in Jerome Robbins' Broadway); Original Broadway Cast: The Glamorous Life (from A Little Night Music)
"I'm a maid mad to marry And will take double-quick Any Tom, Dick or Harry, Any Tom, Harry or Dick!" - Lois Lane / Bianca, in Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate We're back with episode 10! Today I explore the critical and theatrical history of The Taming of the Shrew, from folk tales to musicals, from the Victorians to vaudeville, from an overacting Christopher Sly to Hollywood's take on the rebel. Come join me! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. The Patreon campaign is up and running, with bonus Sonnet episodes! We also have a brand spanking new Spotify playlist, which will be updated as we work through the plays. Key links below. You can also visit the bibliography page here, which is a work in progress. Links mentioned: BBC's Upstart Crow Aarne-Thompson classification system for folklore narratives. The story of "Ledasha" 1550s ballad: “A Merry Jest of a Shrewd and Curst Wife Lapped in Morel’s Skin for Her Good Behaviour” George Gascoigne, Supposes Ovid, Metamorphoses 1601 anecdote about William "the Conqueror" Shakespeare John Fletcher, The Woman's Prize, or the Tamer Tamed (1611) The Enid Blyton Society John Lacy, Sauny the Scot; or, The Taming of the Shrew: A Comedy David Garrick, Catharine and Petruchio 1976 American Conservatory Theatre production on Youtube, starring Marc Singer and Fredi Olster Kiss Me Petruchio (1978) on Youtube The Taming of the Shrew (2012), Globe Theatre production on DVD, starring Samantha Spiro (Kate) and Simon Paisley Day (Petruchio) The Taming of the Shrew (1929), d: Sam Taylor, starring Mary Pickford (Katharina) and Douglas Fairbanks (Petruchio) on Dailymotion The Taming of the Shrew (1967), d: Franco Zeffirelli, starring Elizabeth Taylor (Kate) and Richard Burton (Petruchio) The Taming of the Shrew (1980), BBC, d: Jonathan Miller, starring Sarah Badel (Kate) and John Cleese (Petruchio) Vermeer’s music lesson - copied in Miller's production Pieter Janssens Elinga - Interior with Painter, Woman Reading and Maid Sweeping [1668] The Taming of the Shrew (1994) from Shakespeare: The Animated Tales on Dailymotion 10 Things I Hate About You (1999; d: Gil Junger), starring Julia Stiles (Kat) and Heath Ledger (Patrick) Atomic Shakespeare from Moonlighting, with Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis - cropped version on Youtube ShakespeaRe-Told: The Taming of the Shrew (2005; d: David Richards) Shakespearean Whodunnits (1997): Murder Mysteries based on the Bard, including The Taming of Lord Thomas Vinegar Girl (2016) by Anne Tyler, adapted from The Taming of the Shrew as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series. Wolf-Ferrari, Sly (opera) - review of the 2002 Met Opera production starring Placido Domingo, at the New York Times Kiss Me Kate (1948) by Cole Porter - 1999 production on Youtube Art inspired by The Taming of the Shrew Music clips: Nino Rota, soundtrack to Zeffirelli's "The Taming of the Shrew", 1967 (Columbia Picutres, US / Italy) orchestra conducted by Carlo Savina -Nocturne -In the House of Petruchio Cole Porter, Kiss Me Kate, 2000 Broadway cast recording: Stanley Wayne Mathis (Paul) and company "Come, Kiss Me Kate" from Ross W. Duffin's Shakespeare's Songbook Luciano Michelini, ‘Frolic’, from Curb Your Enthusiasm, 2000 – present Hans Werner Henze, Royal Winter Music: First Sonata on Shakespearean Characters (1975-76), movement based on Richard of Gloucester Porter, Kiss Me Kate, 1999 London cast, Nancy Kathryn Anderson (Lois Lane / Bianca) and company Letters to Cleo, I Want You to Want Me, from 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Porter, Kiss Me Kate, 2014 BBC Proms, Michael Jibson & James Doherty (Gangsters) Reference: Garner, Shirley Nelson. "The Taming of the Shrew: Inside or Outside the Joke?." "Bad" Shakespeare: Revaluations of the Shakespeare Canon. Ed. Maurice Charney. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1988. p105-19.
"From fairest creatures we desire increase...." Hello, friends! This is a bonus episode to give you a taste of my new Patreon campaign. Subscribers to the Patreon can contribute a few dollars to the running of the podcast in exchange for bonus content. I'll be recording Shakespeare's sonnets, with analysis and discussion, and posting them exclusively to Patreon. In the meantime, my standard episodes will always remain free via your favourite podcast app. You can visit the Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/podshakespeare. And you can listen to this bonus episode, and previous public episodes, You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. William Shakespeare, Sonnet I FROM fairest creatures we desire increase, That, thereby, beauty's rose might never die, But as the riper should by time decease, His tender heir might bear his memory: But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes, Feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel, Making a famine where abundance lies, Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel. Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament And only herald to the gaudy spring, Within thine own bud buriest thy content And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding. Pity the world, or else this glutton be, To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee. Music clips: Sergei Prokofiev, “Montagues and Capulets”, from Romeo and Juliet (ballet), 1935 Ralph Vaughan Williams, "Fantasia on Greensleeves", from Sir John in Love, opera adapted from William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1928 (Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy) Nino Rota, "Sarabande" from soundtrack to Zeffirelli’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, 1967 (Columbia Picutres, US / Italy) orchestra conducted by Carlo Savina
“He that is giddy thinks the world turns round” – The Widow We’re back with episode 8! Despite some mid-episode audio issues, we’re commencing my look at The Taming of the Shrew, circa 1592, one of the Bard’s rougher early works. Join me for a journey through the plot’s highs and lows, Shakespeare’s first googlewhack, and a heckuva lot of male privilege. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. Key links below. You can also visit the bibliography page here, which is a work in progress. Links mentioned: Patient Griselda Ovid, Heroides (Penelope to Ulysses) Dittography 10 Things I Hate About You (1999; d: Gil Junger) Deliver Us From Eva (2003; d: Gary Hardwick) ShakespeaRe-Told: The Taming of the Shrew (2005; d: David Richards) Marjorie Garber, Shakespeare After All (Penguin Random House, 2005) John Fletcher, The Woman’s Prize, or the Tamer Tamed (1611) Music clips: Nino Rota, soundtrack to Zeffirelli’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, 1967 (Columbia Picutres, US / Italy) orchestra conducted by Carlo Savina -Overture -Student’s Masquerade -Sarabande -Married on Sunday “Orchestral selections from Kiss Me, Kate” (Naxos), conducted by Richard Hayman Excerpts: “The Taming of the Shrew”, Shakespeare’s Globe (2011), d: Toby Frow; members of the company (Lord / Huntsmen), Simon Paisley Day (Petruchio), Samantha Spiro (Katharina), Pearce Quigley (Grumio) “The Taming of the Shrew”, Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1994), d: Aida Ziablikova, Malcolm Storry (Christopher Sly); John Warner (Servant), and Hilton McRae (Peter) “Kiss Me Kate” by Cole Porter, and Sam and Bella Spewack, PBS: Great Performances (2003), d: Chris Hunt; Brent Barrett (Petruchio) “The Taming of the Shrew”, BBC Television Shakespeare (1980), d: Jonathan Miller; John Cleese (Petruchio), Susan Penhaligon (Bianca), Simon Chandler (Lucentio), Jonathan Cecil (Hortensio), Harry Waters (Biondello), Anthony Pedley (Tranio), John Barron (Vincentio), Sarah Badel (Katharina) “Kiss Me, Petruchio” (BBC2, 1979), d: Christopher Dixon, from Joseph Papp’s 1978 Taming of the Shrew (Delacorte Theatre, Central Park); Meryl Streep (Kate), Raul Julia (Petruchio) “The Taming of the Shrew”, Arkangel Shakespeare (2005); Roger Allam (Petruchio), Frances Barber (Katharina), Charles Simpson (Hortensio) “The Taming of the Shrew” (Pickford Corporation, 1929), d: Sam Taylor; Mary Pickford (Katherine) Final speech (details above): Meryl Streep (1979); Mary Pickford (1929); Frances Barber (2005); Samantha Spiro (2011); Sarah Badel (1980)
"Truly, the tree yields bad fruit." Meet William McGonagall, the worst poet in the English language, and his exquisite Address to Shakespeare. You can listen to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to our Spotify playlist, which will be updated each week as we work through the plays. And if you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a review at the iTunes store; it really does help bring new listeners! The website for the podcast is https://podcastshakespeare.com/. On the website, you can find an evolving bibliography. Links mentioned: McGonagall Online: A one-stop shop for the life and poets of this second Bard" An Address to Shakespeare The Tay Bridge Disaster The real Tay Bridge Disaster chronicled on Wikipedia McGonagall on Twitter Clips: Sergei Prokofiev, "Montagues and Capulets", from Romeo and Juliet (ballet), 1935 Claude Debussy, Prélude #11 - La danse de Puck played by Daniel Barenboim
“The fraud of men was ever so / Since summer first was leafy” — Balthasar’s song, Much Ado About Nothing In episode six, we look at that vexing question of whether or not Will Shakespeare was a complete and utter conman. We’ll follow those who dug up rivers, cracked codes, turned to grave-robbing, or occasionally just wrote really, really long books to find the answer. We’ll hear from Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, William Wordsworth, and learn some surprising theories as to why Queen Elizabeth I was the Virgin Queen (or was she…?). It’s a journey from the 1560s to our era and back again, and somehow I manage to bring up Golden Girls, England’s greatest treasure hunt, George W. Bush and Dame Agatha Christie! Confused? You still will be after listening, but I hope you’ll enjoy this incredibly long investigation of the madness that is the authorship question. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can listen to the podcast at iTunes or download direct from Libsyn. We also have a Spotify playlist, which will be updated each week as we work through the plays. The website for the podcast is https://podcastshakespeare.com/. On the website, you will find an evolving bibliography. Contents 00:00 - Introduction / searching for Shakespeare 09:33 - Delia Bacon / candidate Sir Francis Bacon 24:50 - Mark Twain / Ignatius Donnelly, codebreaker 35:05 - Dr. Owen's machine / Mrs. Gallup and Mr. Arensberg 41:45 - J. Thomas Looney / candidate Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford 1:04:40 - Other candidates / Christopher Marlowe 1:09:35 - Oxford gets another chance / "Anonymous" 1:13:41 - The "Masquerade" connection 1:18:49 - William Shakespeare 1:37:38 - The enduring appeal of theories / My theories 1:47:15 - The "Declaration of Reasonable Doubt" / hail and farewell Links mentioned: Due to the nature of the episode, I have done a separate permanent Authorship page at https://podcastshakespeare.com/further-reading/the-authorship-question/. Some links below. SIR FRANCIS BACON (1561 – 1626) on Wikipedia John Aubrey’s biography and details of his death in Brief Lives (1693) The Francis Bacon Society (“Baconiana”) Supporters of Bacon Delia Salter Bacon (1811 – 1859): at Wikipedia “William Shakespeare and His Plays: An Enquiry Concerning Them” in Putnam’s Monthly Magazine of American literature, science and art, Issue 37, January 1856 The Philosophy of the Plays of Shakespeare Unfolded, 1857 Nina Baym, “Delia Bacon: Hawthorne’s Last Heroine“ Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Recollections of a Gifted Woman” in The Atlantic Monthly, January 1863 Ralph Waldo Emerson, unpublished letter to George P. Putnam regarding Delia Bacon, published by Vivian C. Hopkins in the New England Quarterly, vol 33 no 4, Dec 1960 (JSTOR access required) Catherine E. Beecher, Truth Stranger than Fiction (1850) comments on the Bacon/MacWhorter affair without using names Walt Whitman,“Shakespeare Bacon’s Cipher” Ignatius Donnelly, The Great Cryptogram (1888) Elizabeth Ward Gallup: The Bi-Lateral Cypher (1910) The Tragedy of Anne Boleyn, being a discovery of the ciphered play of Sir Francis Bacon inside the Shakespeare First Folio (1911) [see also, this article on the play at Anne Boleyn Novels] Dr. Orville Ward Owen, Sir Francis Bacon’s Cipher Story (1893-95) Mark Twain, Is Shakespeare Dead? (1909) Henry W. Fisher, Abroad with Mark Twain and Eugene Field, Tales they told to a fellow correspondent, (1922) – see page 49 for Twain and Fisher’s anecdote Queen Elizabeth being a man. Walter Conrad Arensberg: The Cryptography of Shakespeare -(1922) see also The Cryptography of Dante – (1921) EDWARD DE VERE, 17TH EARL OF OXFORD (1550 – 1604) at Wikipedia Poems at Wikisource Family tree and the famous fart anecdote of James Aubrey “Renunciation” poem from Palgrave’s Golden Treasury, ed. Francis T. Palgrave, 1875 Supporters of Oxford John Thomas Looney (1870 – 1944) at Wikipedia The Church of Humanity Shakespeare Identified in Edward De Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (1920) The De Vere Society of Great Britain The Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship Why I Became an Oxfordian at the “Shakespeare Authorship Sourcebook” Charlton Ogburn: The Mysterious William Shakespeare: The Myth and the Reality (1984) “The Man Who Shakespeare Was Not (and who he was)“, Harvard Magazine, November 1974 Michael Brame and Galina Propova, Shakespeare’s Fingerprints (2002), discussed in Washington University News, January 23, 2003 Percy Allen, Life Story of Edward De Vere (1932) Trailer for Anonymous, directed by Roland Emmerich (2011) GENERAL DOUBT The Declaration of Reasonable Doubt Hester Dowden, the medium who apparently confirmed both Bacon and Oxford had written the plays, at different times – at Wikipedia. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564 – 1616) The First Folio at the Bodleian online Shakespeare suing for minor debts – at ShakespeareDocumented.org The Shakespeare Authorship Page – a vital resource David Kathman: “Why I Am Not An Oxfordian“, originally published in The Elizabethan Review, at the Shakespeare Authorship Page “Shakespeare’s Eulogies“ at the Shakespeare Authorship Page “Dating the Tempest“ “How We Know That Shakespeare Wrote Shakespeare: The Historical Facts“ with Tom Reedy James Shapiro, Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? (2010) Irvin Leigh Matus, “The Case for Shakespeare“, The Atlantic, October 1991 Samuel Schoenbaum, Shakespeare’s Lives, 1970 William F. Friedman & Elizebeth Smith Friedman: Wikipedia: He | She The Shakespeare Ciphers Examined, Cambridge, 1957 Ralph Waldo Emerson, Representative Men – chapter 6 “Shakespeare or the Poet” (1850) Terry Ross, “The Code that Failed: Testing a Bacon-Shakespeare Cipher“ at The Shakespeare Authorship Page Don Foster: Elegy for WS, reviewed in The Observer, June 2002 The moot trials of Shakespeare: 1987 trial – at PBS 1987 trial – the New York Times A 1993 trial at the Boston American Bar Association – at PBS Giles Dawson and Laetitia Kennedy-Skipton, The Survival of Manuscripts, from Elizabethan Handwriting, 1500-1650: A Manual, W.W. Norton & Co, 1966 at The Shakespeare Authorship Site Muriel St Clare Byrne, “The Social Background“, in A Companion to Shakespeare Studies, page 190, edited by Harley Granville Barker and G.B Harrison (1934) William Wordsworth, Scorn not the Sonnet (c. 1807) Robert Browning, House (1876) Robert Bell Wheler: Historical Account of the Birth Place of Shakespeare (1806) CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE (1564 – 1593) Marlovian theory of authorship MISCELLANEOUS CANDIDATES Wikipedia’s list of 87 (at July 2018) Robert Frazer, Silent Shakespeare (1915) PDF Gilbert Slater, The Seven Shakespeares (1913) Michaelangelo Florio, aka Crollalanza Roger Manners, Earl of Rutland, in Claud Walter Skyes’ Alias William Shakespeare, Aldor, 1947 Henry Neville, a very peculiar theory – with Tom Veal’s response OTHER LINKS QUOTED Catullus, Poem 5 Kit Williams’ Masquerade John Keats’ Lamia Aeschylus’ Eumenides Clips: Sergei Prokofiev, “Montagues and Capulets”, from Romeo and Juliet (ballet), 1935 Franz Schubert, Im Fruhling, D.882 performed by Barbara Hendricks Gerald Finzi, Love’s Labour’s Lost, op. 28: Dance, Aurora Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Collon Gaetano Donizetti, Overture to Roberto Devereux (feat. God Save the Queen), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras John Dowland, Galliard for the Queen and Robert Dudley Hakan Parkman, “Take, O Take These Lips Away” (Madrigal) from 3 Shakespeare Songs, sung by Singer Pur choir “Bonny Peggy Ramsey” (traditional) performed by Tom Kines on Songs from Shakespeare’s Plays and Popular Songs of Shakespeare’s Time Ambroise Thomas, Hamlet (1868), 1994 recording, London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Antonio de Almeida: Thomas Hampson (Hamlet) – singing part of his “Doubt not that I love” letter June Anderson (Ophélie) – Ophélie’s mad scene and death, Act IV
"Thou hadst small Latin and lesse Greek..." In episode five, we explore William Shakespeare's family background, his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon, and follow him from school to wedlock to the open road. Along the way, we learn what to do in Stratford in the 1500s, how many Annes there were, and why you should never burn historical books just to boil your kettle. Links mentioned: Giles Fletcher, Licia, Poem 28 The Sweating Sickness Bill Bryson, "Shakespeare: The World as Stage" Anthony Burgess, "Shakespeare" Peter Levi, "The Life and Times of William Shakespeare" Shakespeare’s birthplace Lady Jane Grey Peter Ackroyd, "Shakespeare " George Peele, "His Golden Locks Time hath to Silver Turn'd" from Polyhymnia Shakespeare's baptism recorded at Stratford Gregorian Calendar The Queen and "Palamon and Arcite" Greer, "Shakespeare's Wife" Stanley Wells on Twitter re: our connection to older eras The school at Stratford Shakespeare's "small Latin and lesse Greek" Stephen Greenblatt, "Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare" Erasmus: 150 ways to say "Thankyou for your letter" in Latin Edmund Spenser, Sonnet 54 Kenilworth Castle, site of Queen Elizabeth's progress Samuel Butler, Erewhon Chidiock Tichborne, Elegy Shakespeare's marriage license Anne Whateley at Wikipedia Anthony Burgess, "Nothing Like the Sun" Robert Nye, "Mrs. Shakespeare: The Complete Works" Commonplace book Don Paterson, "Reading Shakespeare's Sonnets" Sonnet 145 Queen Elizabeth's speech to the troops at Tillsbury William Beeston, son of Christopher Alexander Houghton's will Duff Cooper, "Sergeant Shakespeare" Shakespeare poaching deer Samuel Schoenbaum, "Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life" The 2017 "Will" series The death of William Knell Katherine Duncan-Jones, "Ungentle Shakespeare" The first flush toilet in England Clips: Sergei Prokofiev, "Montagues and Capulets", from Romeo and Juliet (ballet), 1935 John Dowland, Galliard for the Queen and Robert Dudley The Baltimore Consort performing Greensleeves (trad.) Music in the Time of Shakespeare - Teares of the Muses - The Earl of Essex Galliard The King's Singers performing Greensleeves William Byrd's The Carman's Whistle The Early Music Consort of London performing: - John Dowland, Flow My Tears (Lachrimae) - Dowland, Michill's Galliard - The Jew's Dance The Choir of New College Oxford performing Thomas Tallis' Spem in alium You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. We also have a brand spanking new Spotify playlist, which will be updated each week as we work through the plays. The website for the podcast is https://podcastshakespeare.com/. On the website, you can find an evolving bibliography.
"Love me / Not your idea of me! / Release me / From your fantasy." - Silvia in the 1971 rock musical 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' We explore the critical and popular history of 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona' from the Elizabethan age to the 1970s counter-culture, by way of light opera, Machiavelli, and the British Invasion! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. We also have a brand spanking new Spotify playlist, which will be updated each week as we work through the plays. The website for the podcast is https://podcastshakespeare.com/. On the website, you can find an evolving bibliography, Contents: 00:00 The play in Shakespeare's time 18:40 A critical history 40:05 Some literary moments 44:03 A stage history 1:07:23 Staging the final scene 1:13:48 Two Gentlemen: The Musical 1:22:36 A screen history 1:28:04 Music and art Links mentioned: Diana, pastoral romance by Jorge de Montemayor Ovid, Metamorphoses David Bergeron, "Wherefore Verona in ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’?", Comparative Drama vol. 41 (JSTOR access required) Two Gentlemen in the film Shakespeare in Love Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the Nurse (Imelda Staunton) discussing the play in Shakespeare in Love Elizabeth Rivlin, "Mimetic Service in The Two Gentlemen of Verona", ELH vol. 72 (Project Muse access required) W.E. Stephenson, "The Adolescent Dream-World of the Two Gentlemen of Verona", Shakespeare Quarterly vol. 17 (JSTOR access required) Joan Crawford and Ann Blyth in Mildred Pierce, 1945 Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood in Mildred Pierce, 2011 Charles and Mary Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare, 1807 Machiavelli on wolves and lions Henry Rowley Bishop's gorgeous music for Frederick Reynolds’ 1821 operatic version Stanley Wells’ 'Shakespeare For All Time', since I’m going to quote this super legend so often Peter Hall's 1960 RSC production Robin Phillips' 1970 RSC production David Thacker's 1991 RSC production Joe Dowling's 2009 Guthrie Theatre production Simon Godwin's 2014 RSC production on DVD A fantastic website on the 1971 rock musical China's A Spray of Plum Blossoms, 1931 The BBC production at the fantastic BBC Shakespeare blog Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? Barbra Streisand - An Silvia A history of Sir Eglamour William Holman Hunt's Valentine Rescuing Silvia Miscellaneous artworks at Wikimedia Clips: The Honeycombs, Who is Sylvia, 1966 Fionnuala Ward, Who is Sylvia (from 5 Shakespeare Songs), Les Sirènes Female Chamber Choir Mark Stone / Stephen Barlowe, performing Roger Quilter's Who is Silvia Nino Rota's "Love theme from Romeo and Juliet" C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective performing Jaakko Mäntyjärvi's Who is Sylvia from More Shakespeare Songs (1997) Elisabeth Schwarzkopf performing Schubert’s An Silvia The 1971 rock musical with Raúl Julia (Proteus), Jonelle Allen (Sylvia), Clifton Davis (Valentine), Diana Davila (Julia), Sheila Gibbs, Signa Joy, Kenneth Lowry, Sakinah Mahammud (Quartet)
"He after honour hunts, I after love" - Proteus We begin our three-episode investigation of 'The Two Gentlemen of Verona', arguably the Bard's first play, circa 1589. Join me for a journey through the highs and lows of the plot, by way of Greek mythology, why the Ancients liked green honey, and our first casual bigotry alerts! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, or download direct from Libsyn. We also have a brand spanking new Spotify playlist, which will be updated each week as we work through the plays. The website for the podcast is https://podcastshakespeare.com/. On the website, you can find an evolving bibliography. Links mentioned: The Grand Tour of Europe Don Quixote The Hellespont Hero and Leander (excerpts) by Christopher Marlowe Isaac Asimov, Guide to Shakespeare Harold Bloom, The Invention of the Human Mythological Proteus Stephen Greenblatt, Shakespeare's Cure for Xenophobia, The New Yorker, June 2017 The senex iratus Unseen characters on television Medieval and Renaissance manuals on chivalry Saint Sebastian Derek Jarman's 'Sebastiane' 'Who is Silvia?' text Dame Janet Baker singing 'Who is Silvia?' by Franz Schubert, with Murray Perahia on piano And also Barbra Streisand for some reason...? Thou, thee, and so on Augustus Leopold Egg, 'Launce's Substitute for Proteus' Dog', oil on canvas, 1849 Ancient Greek colour vision Harold Goddard's The Meaning of Shakespeare Clips: Opening and closing: Henry Rowley Bishop, "Who is Sylvia?", for the Frederic Reynolds production, Covent Garden, 1821 - Philip Pickett, Susan Gritton et al Arkangel Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona, 2006, d: Clive Brill with Damian Lewis (Valentine), Michael Maloney (Proteus), Saskia Wickham (Silvia) Royal Shakespeare Company, Two Gentlemen of Verona, 2014, d: Simon Godwin with Mark Arends (Proteus), Michael Marcus (Valentine), Martin Bassindale (Speed) Marlowe Society, Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1959, d: George Rylands with Olive Gregg (Julia) Oregon Shakespeare Company, Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1957, d: James Sandoe with William Oyler (Valentine), Doris Viola (Julia), Nagle Jackson (Speed), Marcia Thayer (Lucetta), Jim Sheldon (Thurio) BBC Complete Works, Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1983, d: Don Taylor, p: Shaun Sutton with Tony Haygarth (Launce), Tyler Butterworth (Proteus), Paul Daneman (Duke of Milan), Andrew Burt (Third Outlaw) Gerald Finzi, "Who is Sylvia?" from 'Let Us Garlands Bring' (1942) with Martin Vögerl - singer, Mira Teofilova - piano
"She sat like Patience on a monument, smiling at grief." -- Viola, 'Twelfth Night' Before we kick off the festivities, a quick trip through the backstory of Western theatre, and a look at some of the early playwrights of the Elizabethan era, including Kit Marlowe. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. The website for the podcast is https://podcastshakespeare.com/. On the website, you can find an evolving bibliography. Links mentioned: Aristotle, Poetics Kevin Costner, The Postman The playwright Hrosvitha Shakespeare's Way - signposted walk from Stratford-upon-Avon to London Stephen Greenblatt on the "controversial" 2017 Julius Caesar at New York's Public Theatre (The Guardian) Clips: Sergei Prokofiev, "Montagues and Capulets", from Romeo and Juliet (ballet), 1935 Leonard Bernstein, Intro from West Side Story, 1957 Luciano Michelini, 'Frolic', from Curb Your Enthusiasm, 2000 - present Niamh Cusack as Viola, Twelfth Night Act II scene iv William Walton, Hamlet: A Shakespeare Scenario, 1947 Thomas Adès, The Tempest (after William Shakespeare), Act II scene iv, 2004 Henry Purcell, "Ritornelle" from Dido and Aeneas, Act II, 1689 Giuseppe Verdi, Act I finale from Otello, 1887
"In states unborn and accents yet unknown." - Cassius, Julius Caesar A brief overview of what's to come on Podcast Shakespeare, and some recommendations for enjoyable listening. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or by email at podcastshakespeare@gmail.com. The website for the podcast is https://podcastshakespeare.wordpress.com/. Links mentioned: Kenneth Branagh as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing Jane Austen's letter (LV) regarding King John The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare Clips: Sergei Prokofiev, "Montagues and Capulets", from Romeo and Juliet (ballet), 1935 Henry Purcell / John Weldon, Introduction to The Tempest, or the Enchanted Island, 1667 Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) meets Shakespeare in Blackadder Back & Forth, 1999 Kym Mazelle, "Young Hearts Run Free", from Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, 1996
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