- 35 minutes 9 secondsAnthony and Cleopatra: ‘Age Cannot Wither Her, Nor Custom Stale Her Infinite Variety’
Episode 221:
Last time I took you into the world of the court masque with the help of Kristen Macdermott who, I think you will agree, painted a very detailed picture of that very particular theatrical form and the way the Stuart court embraced it. As we heard, masques were often written by playwrights and performed by actors who also wrote for and performed in the public playhouse, so it’s no surprise that a few plays feature masques. We have already encountered short masques in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and ‘Timon of Athens’, with the best known example from ‘The Tempest’ still to come and Shakespeare’s next offering ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’ would, you might think, have been another opportunity to include a masque featuring exotic characters to add to the glamorous setting. In fact, Shakespeare chose not to include a masque specifically, but we can see that he uses the attributes of the masque throughout the play.
Masque elements used in ‘Antony and Cleopatra’
The dating of the play
The early print history of the play
The sources for the play
The different style of the play from it’s near neighbours
A brief synopsis of the play
How the main characters and the political story and love story are balanced in the play
The hyperbolic language used in the play
The character of Antony
Equals and opposites in the play and how Antony deals with them
The character of Octavius
The character of Cleopatra
The death of Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra as a Stuart period play
A short word on the history of criticism of the play
The later performance history of the play
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22 June 2026, 5:00 am - 46 minutes 22 secondsMasques of Difference: A Conversation with Kristen McDermott part 2
Episode 220:
This is the second part of my conversation with Kristen McDermott about the court masque. In this part we discuss two masques and the later history of the art form.
Kristen McDermott is professor of English at Central Michigan University and co-author with Ari Berk of ‘William Shakespeare his life and times’ and the collection ‘Masques of Difference’, as well as numerous papers on Shakespeare and renaissance theatre. I have put a link in the show notes to Kristen’s website where you can find further details of her work. Kris is also a listener and supporter of the podcast, so I was particularly happy to welcome her as a contributor on the microphone as well. I spoke to Kris over a zoom call from her home in Michigan.
Find more about Kris at: https://kristen-mcdermott.com
Links to ‘Masques of Difference’
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Masques-Difference-Revels-Student-Editions/dp/071905754X/ref=sr_1_1?
https://www.amazon.com/Masques-Difference-masques-Student-Editions/dp/071905754X/ref=sr_1_1?
https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719057540/
Links to Greer Gilman books: https://smallbeerpress.com/books/2014/09/23/exit-pursued-by-a-bear/
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www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
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15 June 2026, 5:00 am - 28 minutes 43 secondsThe Origins and Development of Masques: A Conversation with Kristen McDermott part 1
Episode 219:
In this episode I take a look at the court masques of the Jacobean period. To do this I’m very lucky to have the guidance of Kristen McDermott who edited and wrote an extensive introduction to a collection of Jonson’s Masques called Masques of Difference. It is a volume that has been in print for an impressive twenty years and one that I found immensely useful in aiding my understanding of the court masque, an art form that can seem very obscure to us now. In the first part of the conversation Kristen describes the development of the masque from it’s very early days through to its flowering in the court of James 1st largely under the care of Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones. Next time Kris and I continue the conversation and discuss some of those ‘masques of difference’ and the later years of the court masque.
Kristen McDermott is professor of English at Central Michigan University and co-author with Ari Berk of ‘William Shakespeare His Life and Times’ and the collection ‘Masques of Difference’, as well as numerous papers on Shakespeare and renaissance theatre.
Find more about Kris at: https://kristen-mcdermott.com
Links to ‘Masques of Difference’
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Masques-Difference-Revels-Student-Editions/dp/071905754X/ref=sr_1_1?
https://www.amazon.com/Masques-Difference-masques-Student-Editions/dp/071905754X/ref=sr_1_1?
https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719057540/
Support the podcast at:
www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
You can find an advertisement free version of the latest podcast episodes by joining on Patreon at the lowest paid tier level – that’s for just £1 per month.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
8 June 2026, 5:00 am - 34 minutes 23 secondsKing Lear Part 2: ‘Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise’
Episode 218:
Last time I looked at the first part of ‘King Lear’ from the opening scene where Lear makes his disastrous decision to split his kingdom between his children, through to the renowned scene where the ex-king and his fool are caught in a raging storm on the moor and saved only by the loyalty of Kent. On the way I looked at the deliciously evil Edmund, the poor judgement of his father Gloucester, and the scheming of Lear’s oldest daughter Goneril. Now I will complete this look at the play and discuss it’s place as a very Jacobean play addressing the concerns of its time when King James was working hard at an attempt to unite his disparate kingdom.
The role, character and purpose of the Fool
The mock trial scene
The blinding of Gloucester
The character and cruelty of Regan
Edgar and Gloucester on the cliffs at Dover
Hope before tragedy as Lear and Cordelia are reunited
A family dispute as the heart of the play
Why Lear resonates so strongly with audiences
The sense of ‘no place’ in the play
King Lear as a message for King James
The significance of the non-Christian setting of the play
The play as a tragedy and a history play
A brief view of the later critical and performance history of the play
A small selection of ‘King Lear’ on film
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www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
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1 June 2026, 5:30 am - 33 minutes 41 secondsKing Lear Part 1: ‘How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth it is to Have a Thankless Child!’
Episode 217:
‘King Lear’, the play that is now often regarded as Shakespeare’s finest and deepest work is most often compared to the other two great tragedies of this period in Shakespeare’s writing, ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Othello’, and of course there are thematic comparisons that can be made with those plays, but it has to be pointed out that ‘King Lear’ is also a very different play in tone and structure. Whether we rate ‘King Lear’ as Shakespeare’s best play or not it is a play that has deeply affected audiences and critics through the centuries and I can only imagine the mark it leaves on actors who take on the main roles. Sadly, what we lack is much detail about initial reactions to the play.
The early performance and publishing history of the play
The influences and sources for the play
The opening scene of the play and the abandonment of the natural order
The questions of judgement and miscommunication in the play
The character of Goneril
Edmund as one of Shakespeare’s truly evil characters
Kent as the voice of reason and loyalty
Lear and the Fool in the storm
Lear’s moral awakening
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www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
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25 May 2026, 5:30 am - 40 minutes 2 secondsReading Shakespeare’s Mind: A Conversation with Steve Sohmer
Episode 216:
For today’s guest episode I had the pleasure of talking to Steve Sohmer, author of a book titled ‘Reading Shakespeare’s Mind’. In his book Steve examines how Shakespeare’s relationship with several contemporary authors is exposed in his plays. This involves a very close reading of the text and an endlessly enquiring mind and it’s fascinating to read through Steve’s thought processes to understand the conclusions he has come to. As I was preparing for the recording, which you will notice was made before I got onto the recent episodes on the so called problem plays, I saw that Steve had an extensive biography before he got onto Shakespeare study, so rather than read through it here I thought I would open our conversation by getting Steve to tell me about his working experience.
Publishers Website:https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/search-results/?
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reading-Shakespeares-Mind-Steve-Sohmer/dp/1526138077/ref=sr_1_1?
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Shakespeares-mind-Steve-Sohmer/dp/1526138077/ref=sr_1_1?
Support the podcast at:
www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
You can find an advertisement free version of the latest podcast episodes by joining on Patreon at the lowest paid tier level – that’s for just £1 per month.
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18 May 2026, 5:30 am - 34 minutes 49 secondsTimon of Athens: ‘Nothing Emboldens Sin So Much as Mercy’
Episode 215:
Last time Ben Jonson regained his stride in the public theatre with his comedy ‘Volpone’, an at moments sparkling satire of greed and avarice. Just about the only parallel I can draw between this and Shakespeare’s next offering, ‘Timon of Athens’, is that the study of greed appears in both, but they are very different plays in tone, character and intent. Shakespeare not only continued in his recent sombre mood but deepened it significantly with this play. When reading around the play in preparation for this episode on more than one occasion I saw the play cited as Shakespeare’s least popular play, it is certainly one that is rarely performed and there are many questions about the ‘whys and hows’ of its creation, so buckle up, this might well be more than a little challenging.
The early performance and print history of the play
The source material for the play
The possible co-authorship of the play
A brief synopsis of the plot
The structure of the play
The character of Timon
Issues with explaining Timon’s behaviour
Timon’s railing against Athens and mankind
Timon’s discovery of buried gold
Timon’s death
The character of Alcibiades
The play as a satire of wealth rather than a tragedy
The later performance history
Some of the critical assessments of the play
Support the podcast at:
www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
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11 May 2026, 5:30 am - 32 minutes 59 secondsMuch Ado About Numbers: A Conversation With Rob Eastaway
Episode 214:
For today’s guest episode I was pleased to get the chance to talk to Rob Eastaway, author of a book all about Shakespeare and his relationship to numbers and mathematics. Rob’s book ‘Much Ado About Numbers’ is a very entertaining read, whatever your level of understanding maths might be and quite an eye opener when considering how much maths permeates into Shakespeare’s plays. This is not just about hard numbers and number crunching, but touches to the Elizabethan attitude towards descriptive scales, astrology, astronomy, music and optics. Rob does a great job in the book of condensing these very broad and often technical subjects into a book that is a mixture of popular science, mathematics, history and, of course, literature, so it was great to chat to Rob about just some of those concepts.
Rob Eastaway is author of several bestselling books connecting maths with everyday life, including "Why do Buses Come in Threes?" and "How Many Socks Make a Pair?". His first book "What is a googly?", an introduction to cricket, was famously presented by British Prime Minister John Major to President Bush (snr) at Camp David in 1992, and was published in the USA under the title "Cricket Explained".
With Mike Askew, he wrote "Maths for Mums & Dads", a book that helps parents to understand the new methods being used to teach maths, and offers ideas for how to make maths more engaging and fun at home. An American edition was published in 2010 entitled "Old Dogs, New Math". Rob appears regularly on radio in the UK and is a regular speaker. An activity that has taken him to the Usa and Australia. He was President of the Mathematical Association from 2007-8.
Links to 'Much Ado About Numbers:
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Much-Ado-About-Numbers-Eastaway/dp/1805460293/ref=sr_1_1?
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Much-Ado-About-Numbers-Shakespeares/dp/B0CWD3SNXP/ref=sr_1_1?
Support the podcast at:
www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
You can find an advertisement free version of the latest podcast episodes by joining on Patreon at the lowest paid tier level – that’s for just £1 per month.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
4 May 2026, 5:30 am - 34 minutes 53 secondsVolpone: ‘What a Rare Punishment is Avarice to Itself’
Episode 213:
In the spring of 1606, a new Ben Jonson play premiered, not on this occasion at the Blackfriars theatre performed by one of the child companies, but at the Globe and performed by the King’s Men. The reasons for why Jonson sold his play to the King’s Men are not completely clear. Having a play performed by the Kings Men was, of course, prestigious in itself, and some of his early plays had been performed by the Lord Chamberlin’s Men, but up to this point for his most recent plays Johnson had seemed to prefer using the child companies. It may be that the Children of the Queens Revels were wary of another Jonson play after the problems that ‘Eastward Ho’ had caused for the playwrights, or perhaps Johnson himself felt it would be wise to distance himself from that association and switching to the adult company was a way of doing that. Perhaps Jonson had seen the writing on the wall for the Children of the Queens Revels after they had got into trouble for a production of a play by John Day called ‘The Isle of Gulls’.
The dating and first performance of the play
The slow demise of the Children of the Queen’s Revels
Early performances of the play
A brief synopsis of the play
The prologue and the argument
The city comedy elements in the play
What the setting of the play meant to the English audience
The methods by which Jonson created the Venetian setting
The purpose of the subplot featuring three English tourists
The beast fable elements in the play
Deception and the influence of the gunpowder plot on the play
The satire of greed as the driving theme of the play
Class conflict in the play and it’s moralistic ending
The later performance history of the play
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www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
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27 April 2026, 5:30 am - 43 minutes 41 secondsCollecting Thomas Kyd: A Conversation with Darren Freebury-Jones
Episode 212:
For today’s guest episode it is a warm welcome back to the podcast for Darren Freebury Jones. On this occasion Darren is here to discuss Thomas Kyd and the works that have been attributed to him in a new two-volume edition of his collected works, for which Darren is the associate editor. It is always a pleasure to talk to Darren and as a friend of the podcast he needs only the briefest of introductions:
Dr Darren Freebury-Jones is author of several works on early modern theatre including:
‘Reading Robert Greene: Recovering Shakespeare’s Rival’, ‘Shakespeare’s Tutor: The Influence of Thomas Kyd’ and his latest work ‘Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers’, has now just been published in a paperback edition.
In addition to these works and his role as Associate Editor for the first critical edition of The Collected Works of Thomas Kyd since 1901 he has also investigated the boundaries of John Marston’s dramatic corpus as part of the Oxford Marston project and is General Editor for ‘The Collected Plays of Robert Greene’ published by Edinburgh University Press. His findings on the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries have been discussed in national newspapers in the UK and on BBC Radio. His debut poetry collection, ‘Rambling’ was published by Broken Sleep Books in 2024. In 2023 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in recognition of his contributions to historical scholarship.
Links to 'The Collected Thomas Kyd' and 'Shakespeare's Borrowed Feathers'
https://boydellandbrewer.com/book/the-collected-works-of-thomas-kyd-2-volume-set-9781843846994/?
https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-borrowed-feathers-playwrights-greatest/dp/152617734X/ref=sr_1_1?
https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526177346/
Support the podcast at:
www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
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20 April 2026, 5:30 am - 33 minutes 29 secondsAll’s Well That Ends Well: ‘The Web of Our Life is of a Mingled Yarn’
Episode 211:
Through the last few episodes on Shakespeare’s plays, we seem to have seen a playwright in a serious mood, even when he was writing comedies. ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘Measure For Measure’ are often referred to as having an autumnal tone, something serious underlying the comedy and of course we also have the even darker worlds of the tragedies of ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Othello’. The next play we come to from Shakespeare fits well into this group, but I choose my words carefully there because I can’t say for sure that ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ was his ‘next’ play after ‘Measure For Measure’ as the dating of this comedy is difficult.
The dating of the play
The sources for the play
A brief summary of the plot
How Shakespeare subverts the original folk tale into a comedy
Irony in the play
The two sides of the character of Helen
What does Helen see in Bertram?
The role reversal between Helen and Bertram
The character of Bertram
The bed trick
The character of Parolas
Some examples of criticism of the play
The performance history of the play
Support the podcast at:
www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
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