Podcast appearances and mentions of Ben Crystal

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-190-crystal-and-silver-in-a-shakespearean-accent-with-ben-crystal  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy In today's episode we have another audiobook/interview mashup! The Paradoxes of Defence Audiobook Project involved me hiring two narrators to record George Silver's 1599 book, Paradoxes of Defence. Ben Crystal is a Shakespearean actor, specialising in original pronunciation, and Jonathan Hartman is a modern dramatic actor who narrates in modern English. Renowned historical harpist Andrew Lawrence-King provides the musical punctuation.   George Silver, an English gentleman, was appalled at the influx of Italian rapier fencing into England, and set out his arguments in favour of the traditional English weapons. He rails against the fashionable new style on the grounds that it is both dangerous to the practitioners, and of no use in warfare. Whether he was right or wrong, history was against him and the fashionable Italian rapier took over. But his work offers a vital window into the theory and practice of martial arts in England in Tudor times, and ironically provides much of what we know about several Italian rapier masters: Rocco Bonetti, Vincentio Saviolo, and Jeronimo Saviolo. This podcast episode contains a couple of sample chapters of the audiobook read in original pronunciation by Ben Crystal, which is then followed by my interview with Ben, from episode 58. Here's a bit more information about the interview: Ben Crystal is an actor, author, producer, and explorer of original practices in Shakespeare rehearsal and production. In this episode we talk about Ben's work in exploring how actors would have rehearsed, staged, and performed Shakespeare's plays in the 16th century, and how the original rhymes and pronunciation would have sounded. It makes for a completely different experience to what we think of as “Shakespearean” in modern times. Even if you aren't into Shakespeare this is a fascinating conversation about theatre, memory, language, and of course, swords. Which leads us on to George Silver. Find out what Ben thinks of Silver and whether he would have wanted to go to the pub with him. For those of you unaware of our project, in 1599 George Silver published his Paradoxes of Defence, offering a window into the Tudor and medieval martial arts as practiced in England. You can find the audiobook at guywindsor.net/silver

For this first podcast of 2024, father and son authors David Crystal and Ben Crystal share their (many!) favorite quotations they've collected in their handy and handsome book, Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life. The two Crystals reveal they combined their perspectives as practitioner and linguist, and share how they've explored the corners of the canon and found gold; the satisfaction of breakfast-time rituals; how words and their meanings – and their pronunciations! – have changed over the centuries; and the wonder of discovering the diversity of Shakespeare's voices and characters. (Length 20:05)

Shakespeare has the perfect lines for riding into battle or stumbling around a stormy heath. But does he have the right stuff to take us on a daily commute or a trip to the grocery store? On this episode, David and Ben Crystal join us to talk about their new book, "Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life," which offers daily Shakespeare quotes you can apply to everyday life. The Crystals—David is a linguist, Ben is an actor—are the father-son duo behind the "Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare Dictionary"; "Shakespeare´s Words: A Glossary and Language Companion"; and "The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation." We talk to them about which quotations they included, why they chose to skip the typical contextual notes, and how you can improve your memory for Shakespeare's words. "Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life" is available now from Chambers Books. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series. Published January 2, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. We had technical help from Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Ben Crystal and David Crystal – authors of multiple works, including Shakespeare's Words and The Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare Dictionary – discuss their new book Everyday Shakespeare: Lines For Life, a collection of overlooked gems plucked from the canon, organized by monthly themes, and suitable for many situations and every reader. The Crystals share how they selected each quote (and how they wanted to avoid the famous ones); how when you pan for Shakespeare gold you find more than you expect; how their unique approaches to Shakespeare reflect their approaches to life; the variety of places they plant their geek flags; the wonderful realization that the more you dig into the words, the more the author recedes; and the surprising beauty of getting hit in the heart rather than the head. (Length 26:41)

In this episode, we turn our attention to the wordcraft of William Shakespeare. Today, many people have mixed opinions about his plays and poems. They know that he is widely regarded as the greatest English writer of all time, but … Continue reading →

If you've ever said “it's Greek to me” or “the world is my oyster", met “star-crossed lovers” or been dragged into a “wild goose chase”, if you've ever waited with “bated breath” or wanted to “melt into thin air”, then you were living in the words of Shakespeare.In many ways, we all live in the world that he created. Today's guests are a father and son duo who have collectively authored dozens of books on Shakespeare. Their new book Everyday Shakespeare:Lines For Life is a daily selection of Shakespearean phrases from different plays. David Crystal is a writer and linguist. He has written or edited over 100 books, currently serves as Honorary Professor of Linguistics at Bangor University, and is an expert in the original pronunciation of Shakespeare's writings. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1995 by the late Queen Elizabeth II.His son Ben Crystal is an author, actor, and producer, best known for performing, of course, the works of Shakespeare.Click  here to buy the book Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life by Ben and David Crystal.

This week on Speak The Speech, we are joined by actor, author and creative producer, Ben Crystal. Ben performs a speech from The Winter's Tale and shares his knowledge of received and original pronunciation in Shakespeare's works. He also talks about Shakespearean rehearsal and production practices, examines the evolution of Shakespeare's verse over his career, and discusses the process of creating his acclaimed co-authorship of Shakespeare's Words.   Ben Crystal is an actor, author and creative producer, and explorer of original practices in Shakespeare rehearsal and production. He is the co-author of Shakespeare's Words, The Shakespeare Miscellany and An Illustrated Dictionary of Shakespeare. He also wrote the Springboard Shakespeare series for Arden, and his first solo book, Shakespeare on Toast was shortlisted for the Educational Writer of the Year Award. From 2014 to 2016 he was invited with his father, David Crystal, to explore original pronunciation (OP) in the newly finished Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe.   He is a special advisor to the Shakespeare North Playhouse, a patron of Shakespeare Week and the founder of the international Shakespeare Ensemble, which makes full-scale productions in 5 days or less. He's travelled the world teaching and performing Shakespeare, and has delivered speeches for the British Council, TEDx, and universities worldwide. 

Please consider supporting Human Voices Wake us by clicking here: https://anchor.fm/humanvoiceswakeus/support Tonight I go over Shakespeare's “To be or not to be” soliloquy from Act 3 scene 1 of Hamlet. Throughout the episode I include the performance of this speech from modern actors: the first is by Paapa Essiedu, and the second by Andrew Scott. The very last, to give a sense of what the original pronunciation of the speech would have sounded like, is performed by Ben Crystal. A larger compilation of nine different versions can be found here, and a YouTube search provides even more. The books read from in this episode are Ben and David Crystal's Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion, Marjorie Garber's Shakespeare After All, and Peter Ackroyd's Shakespeare: The Biography. Any comments, or suggestions for readings I should make in later episodes, can be emailed to humanvoiceswakeus1@gmail.com. I assume that the small amount of work presented in each episode constitutes fair use. Publishers, authors, or other copyright holders who would prefer to not have their work presented here can also email me at humanvoiceswakeus1@gmail.com, and I will remove the episode immediately. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/humanvoiceswakeus/support

Sylvie is a Chinese - Canadian voice coach based in London, UK. She shares her story of how she got into voice coaching via drama and acting and what she learned about her own voice along the way. Growing up in a multicultural household, Sylive didn't think about her own race until the penny dropped that she was considered a Person of Colour (POC) when attending a voice training conference in 2016. She discusses how her voice has changed over time and how culture affects voice.The book Sylvie mentioned during our conversation was You Say Potato: A Book About Accents by Ben Crystal, David CrystalThe LinkedIn articles Sylvie mentions are:Our voices in an emotionally turbulent time https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/our-voices-emotionally-turbulent-time-sylvie-lui/ How I Found My Voice https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-i-found-my-voice-sylvie-lui/ To get in touch with Sylvie:Facebook - @slvcvoicecoachInstagram - @slvcvoicecoachLinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/sylvie-luiTwitter - @slvcvoicecoach Clubhouse - @slvcvoicecoachFB Group for people to learn more about voice, accent, communications training + leadership, confidence, interviews, career coaching, introverted communication, etc. here: www.facebook.com/groups/slvconlineacademy Get in touch with us at theculturallyspeaking@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram @culturallyspeakingpodcast!

OK, so we past the prologue... (little Shakespeare pun there for y'all who dig those), so we're backing up this week to start at the beginning. Because rules are for suckers... In this episode we'll explore why the hell we might need a prologue, and why would Shakespeare want to spoil the whole story by telling all the good bits before it even starts! We'll learn a little about that monster mystery (drumroll) IAMBIC PENTAMETER, or as our mentor, Ben Crystal, likes to call it, the 'Banana Contaminator.' It's not such a big roadblock. It's just a little beat you can dance to. Enjoy. Want to know more? Connect with us on our website: https://fckshakespeare.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshakespeare/ Tweet at us if you must: @fckshakespod Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fshakespeare And if you are inclined to be a patron like Queen Elizabeth, you can support this podcast for as little as 99¢/month. Click the link below! Think of it like throwing money in the virtual hat while we crazy players do our little song and dance here. We thank you! (imagine us bowing now) After Romeo & Juliet we will tackle Hamlet! Have a particular question?? DM us or email us: fckshakespeare69@gmail.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fckshakespeare/support

[Click 'More' below to see SEGMENTS] Thomas Dabbs speaks with Shakespearean actor Ben Crystal. Ben is also a writer, a producer, and curator of the Shakespeare Ensemble. Ben speaks about Shakespearean acting, on stage and online, and also about salmon and many other topics. Ben is an expert in OP, or the Original Pronunciation of words in Shakespeare's works, and he also has worked to stage plays using original production techniques.SEGMENTS:0:00:00 - Intro0:01:40 - The Welsh rain, salmon, Snowdonia, and Wales again0:04:10 - Tokyo during the pandemic (Oct. 2020)0:06:15 - The Zoom learning curve for actors, teachers, and learners0:10:40 - YouTube work, To Be or Not to Be et al., as work dries up for actors.0:12:55 - Timon of Athens and online Shakespeare0:13:51 - The Show Must Go Online, More on Timon and Titus0:16:45 - Ways to feature online Ben while waiting for his return to Japan?0:20:20 - How to adjust to lack of audience response online, learning curve again0:22:30 - Original Shakespearean rehearsal practices and the value0:34:50 - Ben's pre-pandemic tour of Japan (2019) / Japan experience0:37:36 - Love of linguistics and the Welsh language, 0:40:33 - Cultural kinship with Japan / culture features of Japan0:43:14 - Shakespeare in Japan / Ninagawa0:46:18 - Pandemic performance / advantages of distancing, and disadvantages0:54:05 - Theatre and challenges of pandemic mindset / living too much in the head0:57:44 - Shakespeare during the plague in his time0:59:28 - Ben during the plague of his time / and more plague1:01:45 - Shakespeare after the plague / revival energy1:02:16 - 'Midsummer' / features of Shakespearean comedy1:06:40 - Ben's recreation of a John Donne sermon1:09:40 - Ben and The Shakespeare Ensemble1:12:00 - Ben's coming day and closing remarksLINKS: Ben Crystal: http://www.bencrystal.com/aboutThe Show Must Go Online: https://www.youtube.com/c/RobMyles/videosThe Shakespeare Ensemble: https://www.theshakespeareensemble.com

Ben Crystal speaks at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo about maintaining the performing arts and Shakespearean performance during a pandemic. This talk was hosted by Thomas Dabbs and sponsored by the AGU English Literary Society.

S3E50 What did actors in Shakespeare's day sound like? To answer that question, Ash is once again joined by Ben Crystal, author of Shakespeare on Toast and expert in the field of original pronunciation.  Check out Ben's work here:  http://www.bencrystal.com/   And find him on Twitter @bencrystal And check out our Patreon page here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis  

S3E49 We have finally arrived at the end of Shakespeare's History plays, with the riotous Richard III. Joining Ash to discuss the play is Ben Crystal, author of Shakespeare on Toast and specialist in the field of original pronunciation, which we'll be discussing more on tomorrow's extended interview.  Check out Ben's work here:  http://www.bencrystal.com/ And check out our Patreon page here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis  

The Sword Guy Podcast episode 55 Ben Crystal is an actor, author, producer, and explorer of original practices in Shakespeare rehearsal and production. In this episode we talk about Ben's work in exploring how actors would have rehearsed, staged, and performed Shakespeare's plays in the 16th century, and how the original rhymes and pronunciation would have sounded. It makes for a completely different experience to what we think of as “Shakespearean” in modern times. Even if you aren't into Shakespeare this is a fascinating conversation about theatre, memory, language, and of course, swords. Which leads us on to George Silver. Find out what Ben thinks of Silver and whether he would have wanted to go to the pub with him. For those of you unaware of our project, in 1599 George Silver published his Paradoxes of Defence, offering a window into the Tudor and medieval martial arts as practiced in England. I am bringing that book to life in glorious audio, both in modern pronunciation (narrated by Jonathan Hartman), and Original Pronunciation (narrated by Ben Crystal).  Renowned historical harpist Andrew Lawrence-King is providing the musical punctuation. You can support the project here: www.guywindsor.net/silver and listen to a sample of Ben's original pronunciation towards the end of the episode here: https://guywindsor.net/2021/05/paradoxes-of-defence-in-audio/. Visit Ben Crystal's website at www.bencrystal.com and find him on Twitter @bencrystal. For more information about the host Guy Windsor and his work, as well as transcriptions of all the episodes, check out his website at https://guywindsor.net/ And to support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy    

guywindsor.net/silver In 1599 George Silver, gentleman, published his Paradoxes of Defence, which lambastes the outlandish (i.e. foreign) Italian rapier fencing that was becoming popular in England, and offers an extraordinary window into the medieval martial arts that the rapier was superceding. Whatever you think about Silver, or rapier fencing, his book is simply essential reading for all historical martial artists. It is one of the few historical fencing sources that doesn't rely on images, so it struck me that it would make an excellent audiobook. Why not listen to Silver in the car, while cooking, doing housework, or whatever else? And, why not have him read not only in our modern pronunciation, but also in Original pronunciation? I hired Jonathan Hartman to do a modern narration, and Ben Crystal to do the Original pronunciation. Renowned historical harpist Andrew Lawrence-King is providing the musical punctuation. This project provides Silver's work in an accessible format, and an unmissable opportunity to compare and contrast the two versions. If you are a sword person, a historian, a linguist, re-enactor or a Shakespeare fan, this is for you. I've put together a crowdfunding campaign to help raise funds to pay for the rest of the work. If you think this is a good idea, please support it!   

Thebravewayhome.com @thebravewayhome @benjaminwoods @crystalluwoods --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/george-shadburne4/support

Back in March of 2020, theaters shut down across the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than closing up shop, actor Rob Myles formed a Shakespeare reading group over Zoom — a group which quickly transformed into an online theater company, The Show Must Go Online. Since then, TSMGO has performed the entire Shakespeare canon, premiering a new production every week throughout the pandemic. They've involved actors and theater makers from across the world, and every performance included guest speakers, with luminaries like Ben Crystal and Simon Russell Beale joining in on the fun. All of the performances are still up on YouTube, and have garnered tens of thousands of views across the globe. Rob Myles joins us from his home in Glasgow. He is an actor, author, director, stage fighter, and creator of the Shakespeare Deck, which aims to make Shakespeare simple on the go. Today he'll be joining us to talk about how The Show Must Go Online developed, the process and challenges of creating Zoom theater so quickly and at such a high level, and his views on how we can make Shakespeare and theater in general more inclusive and accessible going forward. Rob is interviewed by host Emily Jackoway. To learn more about NoSweatShakespeare, check out our site at nosweatshakespeare.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to follow or subscribe and give us a five-star rating. Thanks for listening in!

Today, 23 April, is the birthday (and death day) of William Shakespeare, who introduced 1700 new words and phrases to the English language. Scott shares a handful of those with us, plus shouts out to David and Ben Crystal as authorities on the Bard.

Check out Shakespeare on Toast:  https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Toast-Getting-Taste-Bard/dp/1785780301/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=shakespeare+on+toast&qid=1614645824&sr=8-1 

Check out Shakespeare on Toast:  https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Toast-Getting-Taste-Bard/dp/1785780301/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=shakespeare+on+toast&qid=1614645824&sr=8-1 

Master of the Revels is Nicole Galland’s sequel to her New York Times best-selling novel The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., and picks up right where that fast-paced adventure takes off. It's a thrilling tale of time-travel, witchcraft, and Shakespeare, and Nicole describes how the novel came to be; how she dipped into Shakespearean fiction before with her memoir I, Iago; some twisted love letters; how characters evolve from one novel to another; a climax at the very first public performance of Shakespeare’s Scottish Play; and how a years-long passion for Edmund Tilney has resulted in an extraordinary new novel. With a special appearance by (speaking of Shakespeare's original productions) Ben Crystal. (Length 19:42) The post The Revels Master appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

O brawling love, O loving hate! Mary and Victoria are discussing mixed feelings towards Shakespeare, why and how to take him off the pedestal, and nerding out over Original Pronunciation (OP)!      article mentioned:  https://howlround.com/interrogating-shakespeare-system?fbclid=IwAR1qsC0BAX20nZc7vopo0eWheJNKHiDxAWPo6kTxIS35voVM3Jd0_I94fpU   OP with Ben Crystal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYiYd9RcK5M    

Ben Crystal performs Shakespeare's plays with what we think was the Bard's original pronunciation. Brian Jay Jones explains why adults and kids alike still love Dr. Seuss.

Robert, Royal Clerk to King Henry VIII, is diligent, dedicated, and totally indifferent to the religious changes sweeping the country around him. But when treasures confiscated from a dissolved monastery fall into his hands, he faces a very personal choice.  Will he do his duty, or risk it all to preserve the past? Remember to subscribe, rate and review!    Join the conversation using #OutliersPod @hrp_palaces or @therustyquill    Discover the history behind Outliers - blog.hrp.org.uk    Transcript - https://bit.ly/38CUtrw   Written by Abir Mukherjee   Performed by Ben Crystal   Produced by Adam Sibbald, Claudia Strange, and Alexander J Newall with April Sumner   Script edited by Sarah Kilby    Directed by Alexander J Newall    Edited by Michelle O’Toole and Alexander J Newall   Main theme arranged by Samuel D F Jones, adapted by Domini Hooper and Nick Hart from the original 17th century ballad ‘The Sea Martyrs’.    Additional Music by Samuel D F Jones    Artwork by Lyndon White   Additional SFX from Paul368, Yuval, mookie182, Nkzdra, sphion, BarkersPinhead, jrssandoval, Timmeh515, Dominik_W, InspectorJ, Tagiri, VlatkoBlazek, BockelSound, dersuperanton, gustavever, taure and previously credited artists via Freesound.org     Further Reading: Tracy Borman, Thomas Cromwell: The untold story of Henry VIII's most faithful servant (London, 2015)   For more information visit www.hrp.org.uk/learning www.RustyQuill.com/outliers   This podcast was created by Historic Royal Palaces, in association with Rusty Quill. It is distributed under a creative commons attribution NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.   

From so-called "climate change," to so-called "gun control," how come the Democrats' idea of utopia requires millions of people to be poor, or - better yet, dead?Ben Crystal has the answer in latest edition of the Last Pod on the Right!

In this Very Special Episode, we are joined by Ben Crystal as we pity truly, rep the Canon (boom), and break down the recently released short film Squad Leader 73028, where a storm trooper recites Hamlet's soliloquy on a desert planet for some reason. Special thanks to Ben Crystal for joining us for this episode. You can follow Ben on Twitter @bencrystal. This episode is dedicated to Sir Theodore Freebish Beaulieu III. www.noholdsbard.com noholdsbardpodcast@gmail.com patreon.com/NoHoldsBard @NoHoldsBardCast facebook.com/NoHoldsBardCast   Kevin Condardo c/o No Holds Bard P.O. Box 170004 Brooklyn, NY 11217

Join Gyles Brandreth and Natalie Haynes as they chance it with Chaucer, shimmy with Shakespeare and battle-rap it all up. It’s going to be totally wicked.This episode they are joined by Shakespearean actor and producer Ben Crystal, Jill Taylor, editorial director at Penguin Books, and Mark Grist, Shetland's leading - and only - battle-rapper. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join Gyles Brandreth and Natalie Haynes as they discuss the Bard, the beat and the long sleep. This episode they are joined by Ben Crystal, leading practitioner of Shakespeare modern original practice performance and production, Rai Rafiq from the award-winning Mostly Lit podcast and writer Paul Bassett Davies. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For this month's Wildcard episode we throw ten duel questions at Ben Crystal, co-writer of Shakespeare's Words and The Shakespeare Miscellany, author of Shakespeare on Toast - Getting A Taste for the Bard, explorer of original practices in Shakespeare rehearsal and production, producer, actor, and actual listener of the podcast. You can check out Ben's work at the recently revised ShakespearesWords.com or his personal website at bencrystal.com. www.noholdsbard.com noholdsbardpodcast@gmail.com patreon.com/NoHoldsBard @NoHoldsBardCast facebook.com/NoHoldsBardCast

How do you write a fight? Ian McMillan and Hollie McNish are joined by Ross Sutherland, Ben Crystal, Willy Vlautin and Theresa Lola to talk about punching with a pen. Willy Vlautin is an American novelist and musician. He is the lead singer for Richmond Fontaine, and his latest novel 'Don't Skip out on Me' (Faber), follows a young man who dreams of being a championship boxer. The poet Ross Sutherland has written a brand new commission for The Verb inspired by the Jackie Chan film 'Rumble in the Bronx' Hollie McNish introduces Theresa Lola, a British Nigerian poet and workshop facilitator. Based in London, Theresa hosts 'The Rhythm And Poetry Party', an evening of hip-hop-inspired poems and hip-hop song. The Shakespearean actor and producer Ben Crystal explains how to bring alive a fight scene from page to stage, showing us how the seeds of physical combat are often sown into the fabric of the play without us necessarily knowing. Producer: Cecile Wright Presenter: Ian McMillan.

Forget Laurence Olivier and Peggy Ashcroft, Al Pacino and Judi Dench. To take us back to Shakespeare's own time Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright hear Shakespeare as he himself would have spoken. The original, unvarnished version from linguist David Crystal and actor Ben Crystal. They look at the fashion for Original Pronunciation and ask what it can tell us about how we speak now. Michael and Laura perform some of Shakespeare's best known work in the original accent and attempt to bring new meaning and wit to language coated by centuries of veneer. Producer: Mair Bosworth.

For the tenth and final episode of this series of Let’s Talk Shakespeare, I asked “How did Shakespeare get so popular?”. This is a good question, and a lot of people wonder why it is Shakespeare that is so well celebrated over his fellow playwrights. In this episode we looks at lots of reasons why this is the case, through key events and opportunities over the last 400 years that have led to his popularity today. This is such a big topic that this episode really acts and an introduction to further areas you might want to look up. Our experts also express beautifully how and why they enjoy seeing Shakespeare’s plays over and over again. This weeks guests are: * Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the Shakespeare Institute  * Dr Elizabeth Dollimore, Outreach and Primary Learning Manager a the SBT  * Professor Stanley Wells, Honorary President of the SBT  * Dr Paul Edmondson, Head of Research and Knowledge at the SBT  * Ben Crystal, Actor, director and producer You can find the show notes for this episode on our blog: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/podcast/how-did-shakespeare-get-so-popular/

For the sixth episode of Let’s Talk Shakespeare, I asked “Did Shakespeare know Queen Elizabeth 1?”. This is something that people love to imagine, that these two icons of British culture could have had a relationship, and in this episode we look at Shakespeare's royal patronage, performance's at court and whether or not anyone could really have had a relationship with a monarch at all. Ye Bard - hys Birth… ye immortal bard cometh to town - ergo, he is Born in ye merrie town of Stratford, A. D. 1564, c1850, by unknown author Ye Bard - hys Birth… ye immortal bard cometh to town - ergo, he is Born in ye merrie town of Stratford, A. D. 1564, c1850, by unknown author This weeks guests are: * Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the Shakespeare Institute * Dr Elizabeth Dollimore, Outreach and Primary Learning Manager a the SBT * Professor Stanley Wells, Honorary President of the SBT * Dr Anjna Chouhan, Lecturer in Shakespeare Studies at the SBT - * Ben Crystal, Actor Director and producer You can find the shownotes for this episode over on our blog: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/podcast/did-shakespeare-know-queen-elizabeth-i/

For the fifth episode of Let’s Talk Shakespeare, I asked “Where did Shakespeare Live?”. To answer this question we must look at three differnt periods in his life: his youth, his life in London and his married and family life. In this episode I talk to our guests about the different properties we know Shakespeare lived in, which ones he owned and when he bought them, and we also look at what life would have been like living in these very different properties, both for Shakespeare and his housemates. This weeks guests are: * Professor Stanley Wells, Honorary President of the SBT  * Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the Shakespeare Institute  * Ben Crystal, Actor and Producer  * Dr Tara Hamling, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern history at Birmingham University  * Dr Paul Edmonson, Head of Research and Knowledge at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust You can find the accompanying show notes for this podcast over on our blog: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/podcast/where-did-shakespeare-live/

For the fourth episode of Let’s Talk Shakespeare, I asked “How did actors learn their lines?”. If you were an actor in the Kings Men, your rehearsal process would have been very different from todays! In this episode I talk to my guests about cure scripts, rehearsal time, where acting companies got their costumes and sets, and who exactly would have done to the theatre. This weeks guests include: Professor Stanley Wells, Honorary President of the SBT  Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the Shakespeare Institute  Dr Elizabeth Dollimore, Outreach and Primary Learning Manager a the SBT  Dr Anjna Chouhan, Lecturer in Shakespeare Studies at the SBT  Ben Crystal, Actor Director and producer  You can find show notes for today's episode over on our blog: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/podcast/how-did-actors-learn-their-lines/

Episode two of Let's Talk Shakespeare from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. In the second episode of Let’s Talk Shakespeare, I asked “Did Shakespeare love his wife?”. This question has tantalised for years, we have so frustrating little evidence of their relationship, in truth all we know for certain is that they married, had three children, and stayed married until William's death in 1616. In this weeks podcast we discuss how they may have met, the unusual circumstances in which they married, what Williams prolonged absence from his family while he was in London may have meant for his wife and children, and of course the frustratingly vague reference to his wife in his will. This weeks guests on the podcast are: Professor Stanley Wells, Honorary President of the SBT  Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the Shakespeare Institute  Dr Elizabeth Dollimore, Outreach and Primary Learning Manager a the SBT  Dr Tara Hamling, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern history at Birmingham University  Ben Crystal, actor, writer and producer You can find the show notes for this episode on our blog: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/podcast/did-shakespeare-love-his-wife/

"Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue." —HAMLET (3:2:1–2) When Shakespeare wrote his lines, and actors first spoke them, how did they say the words—and what does that tell us? Rebecca Sheir, host of the Shakespeare Unlimited series, talks "original pronunciation" (OP) with Shakespearean actor Ben Crystal and his father, linguist David Crystal, one of the world's foremost researchers on how English was spoken in Shakespeare's time. Filled with lively banter as well as familiar lines spoken in OP, the conversation offers a different perspective on the plays, from the puns and rhymes hidden by modern pronunciation to added meanings and the opportunity for quicker speech. Ben Crystal is a Shakespearean actor who has appeared through Great Britain and the United States. David Crystal, Ben Crystal's father, is a linguist, editor, lecturer, and author of more than 100 books, including "The Stories of English," "The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language," and "The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language." ---------------- From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. Written and produced for the Folger Shakespeare Library by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. Edited by Gail Kern Paster and Esther Ferington. We had help from Esther French at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Geoff Oliver at the Sound Company in London, and Jonathan Charry at WAMU radio in Washington, DC.

Libby Purves meets musician Keith Ball; wildlife expert Lucy Cooke; writers David and Ben Crystal and Angie Marchese, director of archives at Graceland. Angie Marchese is the director of archives at Graceland, the former home of Elvis Presley. She is curating a new exhibition in London which showcases over 300 artefacts from the Presley family's archives, some of which have never been exhibited outside of Graceland in Memphis. Objects on display include Elvis's American Eagle jumpsuit; the red 1960 MG Roadster from the film Blue Hawaii and the star's personal wallet containing photos of a young Lisa Marie Presley. Elvis At the O2: The Exhibition of His Life is at the O2 Arena. Father and son David and Ben Crystal are writers with a keen interest in language. Their latest collaboration is You Say Potato, a witty look at the differences between our many accents. Ben is an actor, producer and writer and David is a writer, editor and lecturer who is honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Wales. You Say Potato - A Book About Accents is published by MacMillan. Lucy Cooke is an award-winning presenter, writer and founder of the Sloth Appreciation Society. She is a panellist on A Wild Audience with...an event in which five natural history experts share some of their life-changing wildlife experiences. Lucy's talk celebrates the sloth and she reveals why the planet's laziest animal is in fact the true king of the jungle and why she believes being fast is overrated. Her book, The Power of Sloth, is published by Franklin Watts and A Wild Audience with... is at the Lyric Theatre, London. Keith Ball is the son of the late jazz trumpeter Kenny Ball. Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen were famous for hits such as Midnight in Moscow and Samantha. Under the stage name Kenny Ball Junior, Keith now fronts the Jazzmen and pays tribute to his father's legacy. Kenny Ball Junior and his Jazzmen are on tour. Producer: Paula McGinley.

The first half of our spooky October 2013 event. Features the stories Death of an Urban Hermit by Matthew Parker, read by Ben Crystal; Sorry for your Loss by Mary McCluskey, read by Jo Widdowson and White Van Men by David McGrath, read by Suzanne Goldberg.

"Your body starts cooling down as soon as you die, at a rate of 1.5 degrees Celsius per hour. Rigor Mortis sets in after six hours. That’s a problem for me. I passed on in a chair, seven hours ago." Death of an Urban Hermit by Matthew Parker was read by Ben Crystal at the Liars' League DEAD & BURIED event on Tuesday, 8th October 2013 at The Phoenix, Cavendish Square, London.

Ron Severdia sits down with actor Ben Crystal to discuss playing the title role in Hamlet in original pronunciation.

Transcript -- An introduction by David and Ben Crystal to the 'Original Pronunciation' production of Shakespeare and what they reveal about the history of the English language.

An introduction by David and Ben Crystal to the 'Original Pronunciation' production of Shakespeare and what they reveal about the history of the English language.

An introduction by David and Ben Crystal to the 'Original Pronunciation' production of Shakespeare and what they reveal about the history of the English language.

Transcript -- An introduction by David and Ben Crystal to the 'Original Pronunciation' production of Shakespeare and what they reveal about the history of the English language.

The art of speaking Shakespeare is discussed by actors Ben Crystal, an expert in pronunciation of the Shakespearian period, Patrice Naiambana originally from Sierra Leone and actress Janet Dale along with writer and broadcaster Paul Allen.