In our first deep dive episode into the world of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, we are examining early modern gender norms and how they influence the world of Messina and Leonato's household in Shakespeare's play.

Join us as we discuss the spectrum of womanhood represented by Hero and Beatrice and examine the early modern anxieties that fuelled representations of cuckoldry on stage (and where did the idea of horns come from?). We'll also explore the early modern ideal of the silent wife and the trope of women at windows before talking about how modern theatremakers can choose to address these themes.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.

Works referenced:

Berger, Harry. “Against the Sink-a-Pace: Sexual and Family Politics In Much Ado About Nothing.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 33, no. 3, 1982, pp. 302–13. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2869734. Accessed 9 July 2024.

Friedman, Michael D. “‘Hush’d on Purpose to Grace Harmony’: Wives and Silence in ‘Much Ado about Nothing.’” Theatre Journal, vol. 42, no. 3, 1990, pp. 350–363, https://doi.org/10.2307/3208080.

Lewis, Cynthia. “‘You Were an Actor with Your Handkerchief’: Women, Windows, and Moral Agency.” Comparative Drama, vol. 43, no. 4, 2009, pp. 473–96. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23038006. Accessed 9 July 2024.

THOMSON, LESLIE. “Window Scenes in Renaissance Plays: A Survey and Some Conclusions.” Medieval & Renaissance Drama in England, vol. 5, 1991, pp. 225–43. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24322098. Accessed 9 July 2024.

To kick off our series on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, we are (as always) starting with an overview of basic facts about the play and an introduction to the major themes and motifs of the play.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

Works referenced:

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing: Revised Edition. Edited by Claire McEachern, 2nd ed., Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.

SparkNotes Editors. “Much Ado About Nothing.” SparkNotes.com, SparkNotes LLC, 2005, https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/muchado/section1/.

It's time for our next play, and we are so excited to dive into the world of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. As always, we will start off with a detailed plot summary, breaking down the action of the play scene by scene. Let's dive in!

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

Works referenced:

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing: Revised Edition. Edited by Claire McEachern, 2nd ed., Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.

In today's episode, we are joined by Ricky Dukes, Artistic Director of the Lazarus Theatre Company, to discuss the work of the Lazarus Theatre Company, why classical plays, including Shakespeare, are still relevant for audiences today, and the upcoming (and timely) Lazarus Theatre Company production of Julius Caesar.

About Ricky Dukes

Ricky is a working-class, award-winning Director, Practitioner and Teacher based in the West Midlands and London. In 2007 he founded Lazarus Theatre Company and is the company’s current Artistic Director for which he won Best Artistic Director in the 2012 Fringe Report Awards.

His work is ensemble led with actor detail at its heart creating large scale visual, visceral, and vibrant theatrical experiences. Founded in 2007 Ricky has gone on to direct over 40 productions for Lazarus Theatre Company. He is currently working on a new production of Shakespeare’s Rowley’s Julius Caesar which will open at Southwark Playhouse in Sept 2024.

Notable productions include: The Changeling, Middleton & Rowley, Southwark Playhouse, 2023. Hamlet, Shakespeare, Southwark Playhouse, 2023. Doctor Faustus, Marlowe, Southwark Playhouse, 2022. Salomé, Oscar Wilde, Southwark Playhouse, 2021. Macbeth, Shakespeare, Greenwich Theatre, 2020. Edward II, Christopher Marlowe, Tristan Bates Theatre / Greenwich Theatre, 2017 /2018. Caucasian Chalk Circle, Brecht, Jack Studio Theatre / Greenwich Theatre, 2016 /2017. Tis Pity She’s A Whore, John Ford, Tristan Bates Theatre, 2016. Dido, Queen of Carthage, Christopher Marlowe, Greenwich Theatre, 2013.

About Lazarus Theatre Company

Lazarus Theatre Company is an award-winning ensemble, reimagining and revitalising classic plays in visual, visceral and vibrant productions. Follow them on Instagram and Twitter at @LazarusTheatre

About Lazarus Theatre Company's 2024 production of Julius Caesar

Lazarus Theatre Company will return to Southwark Playhouse Borough with a glimpse into the behind the scenes of government politics in a multimedia reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Set within a government spin room, this uncanny insight into the inner workings of politics and media engages with what we are fed and how we consume news. In what is set to be a hotly contested electoral year in the UK, US and across Europe, Julius Caesar’s investigation into what we can trust in the media and through our screens presents a crucial look at the current landscape of media, AI and public opinion.

A striking reimagining, which exposes the plots and betrayal at the forefront of the classic story, this political thriller will use an innovative blend of technology and staging to present both sides of the political coin. Expect dramatic and striking theatrics as Lazarus’s ensemble present a raucous and bloody production that sees The Thick of It meets West Wing.

Julius Caesar will run Friday September 6th – Saturday October 5th, 2024 at Southwark Playhouse Borough, The Large, 77-84 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD.

Captioned Performance Saturday 21st September 2024
Relaxed Performance Saturday 28th September 2024, 3pm, 7.30pm
Streamed Performance Thursday 17th October 2024

Tickets are available online at https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/julius-caesar/

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Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com/

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

It's hard to believe it is finally here, but we are wrapping up our Romeo and Juliet series this week by watching and discussing two productions.

First, we will discuss Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the title roles. Then, we will move into the National Theatre at Home production of Romeo and Juliet directed by Simon Godwin and starring Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor.

Not enough Romeo and Juliet? Paid Patreon members can access our bonus episodes on Gnomeo & Juliet and the 2022 film Rosaline and suggest other adaptations we should watch for future Patreon bonus episodes!

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

Works referenced:

Godwin, Simon, director. Romeo and Juliet. National Theatre at Home, National Theatre, 2021, https://www.ntathome.com/romeo-juliet. Accessed 2024.

Luhrmann, Baz, director. William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 1996.

In today's episode, we are joined in discussion with Kelly Hunter, MBE, to discuss her work producting Shakespeare for autistic audiences. We will discuss Kelly's professional journey that led her from working with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and on the West End to founding The Flute Theatre and developing the Hunter Heartbeat Method in collaboration with autistic individuals.

Kelly Hunter, MBE began working in theatre aged 17 playing The Mistress in Evita in the West End in 1980. Since then she has been creatively engaged in theatres, performing and adapting and directing Shakespeare. Kelly has also taught and directed students across the world. Kelly is the author of Cracking Shakespeare, which serves to demystify the process of speaking Shakespeare's language, offering hands-on techniques for drama students, young actors and directors who are intimidated by rehearsing, performing and directing Shakespeare's plays, and Shakespeare’s Heartbeat: Drama Games for Children with Autism. Kelly developed the Hunter Heartbeat Method, a series of sensory drama games, which allow autistic individuals to share how it feels to be alive and celebrate their identity. Autistic individuals have created this award-winning methodology across the world, working with Kelly over the last twenty years.

Kelly is the artistic director of The Flute Theatre, which produces award winning productions of Shakespeare and runs long term community projects for people marginalised by autism. The Flute Theatre is renowned for our innovative productions of Shakespeare including specialised shows for autistic individuals, refugees and those displaced by war. These productions use the award-winning Hunter Heartbeat Method. The Flute Theatre performs internationally, adapting the language of their performances to the needs and ears of their audience. They also perform in the UK and internationally with refugees and those displaced by war.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

In today's episode, we are exploring the historical context for the family feud and violence between the Capulets and Montagues in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. We'll briefly revisit the history of medieval bloodfeuds that we examined in our episodes on Macbeth, then we will dive into the pratices of vendettas and dueling in the Italian renaissance and how this form of violence was imported into England, Scotland, and Wales in the late 1500s and early 1600s.

We will examine the rise in popularity of dueling among young men of the English nobility and gentry, how the public theatres romanticized and dramatized dueling, and how Shakespeare wove this trend and reactions to it into the plot of Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

Works referenced:

Bowen, Lloyd. “The Duel in Elizabethan and Jacobean England and Wales.” Anatomy of a Duel in Jacobean England: Gentry Honour, Violence and the Law, NED-New edition, Boydell & Brewer, 2021, pp. 68–83. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv18x4j9z.11. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

Dean, Trevor. “Marriage and Mutilation: Vendetta in Late Medieval Italy.” Past & Present, no. 157, 1997, pp. 3–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/651079. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

Quint, David. “Duelling and Civility in Sixteenth Century Italy.” I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance, vol. 7, 1997, pp. 231–78. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/4603706. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

In today's episode, we are exploring the life and works of one of Shakespeare's contemporaries: Ben Jonson. Often called "Shakespeare's rival," Ben Jonson was an early modern actor turned playwright who came from humble beginnings to achieve success on the London stages. We'll dive into the parallels between Shakespeare and Jonson's lives, and we'll discuss how Jonson may be the person who we should thank for Shakespeare's First Folio.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

Works referenced:

Donaldson, Ian. "Jonson, Benjamin [Ben] (1572–1637), poet and playwright." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 03, 2013. Oxford University Press. Date of access 9 Apr. 2024,

Editors of Poetry Foundation. “Ben Jonson.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 2024, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ben-jonson.

Jonson, Ben. “To the Memory of My Beloved the Author, Mr....” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 2024, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44466/to-the-memory-of-my-beloved-the-author-mr-william-shakespeare.

Leech, Clifford. “Ben Jonson.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 7 Apr. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Ben-Jonson-English-writer.

Mabillard, Amanda. “Preface to The First Folio (1623).” William Shakespeare’s First Folio: The Preface to the First Folio, 21 Jan. 2022, www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/firstfolio.html.

“Research Guides: Shakespeare Studies: Ben Jonson.” Ben Jonson - Shakespeare Studies - Research Guides at New York University, New York University, 2024, guides.nyu.edu/shakespeare-studies/ben-johnson.

“Shakespeare First Folio: Folger Shakespeare Library.” Edited by Folger Shakespeare Library, Shakespeare First Folio | Folger Shakespeare Library, Folger Shakespeare Library, 2024, www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeare-in-print/first-folio/.

Shoemaker, Robert. “Punishment Sentences at the Old Bailey.” The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, Digital Humanities Institute at the University of Sheffield, autumn 2023, www.oldbaileyonline.org/about/punishment.

Westminister Abbey. “Ben Jonson.” Westminster Abbey, Westminster Abbey, 2024, www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/ben-jonson.