Blogging Shakespeare

By Daisy Edwards, Bootleg Puppets When I became a University student I slowly forgot how desperately young people, families, and children needed art and theatre. Theatre was so accessible as a student, our University had five different drama societies each focussed on a different aspect of the craft there were opportunities for open mic nights, auditions, […]

By Sara Marie Westh I have over the past half year or so been working my way through the J.O. Halliwell-Phillipps notebook on Shakespeare’s Sonnets, held at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Archives. As you can imagine, puzzling out the notes of another person, notes compiled more than a century ago, and a vast amount of […]

By Sara Marie Westh The images from Peter Brook’s cinematic version of King Lear have been burned onto the retinas of countless Shakespeareans since its release in 1971. The stark landscape of the movie shows a world of mercilessly open space where a grey sky pushes a dark ground down. The beings that people this bleak […]

By Kelsey Ridge, the Shakespeare Institute. I was drawn to Gemma Bodinetz’s Othello at Liverpool’s Everyman largely for its high-concept approach: Othello (played by Golda Rosheuvel) is a lesbian.  An Othello with a lesbian Othello and bisexual Desdemona is one I believe can illuminate the text’s issues and is one I have wanted to see […]

closing date 29 June 2018 Are you studying Shakespeare at college, university, or for leisure? Are you going to be using the archives or library of The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust? If so, you might be interested in applying for the Louis Marder Shakespeare Centre Scholarship – or recommending it to a friend or colleague. This […]

By MC Lars The second episode of MC Lars’ venture into Shakespeare’s writing addresses the Sonnets, including their cultural and historical background, Shakespeare’s inspiration, and their relation to the blues genre in current music.     The views expressed in this post are the author’s own

Author in conversation: Ian Doescher on William Shakespeare’s The Force Doth Awaken (Star Wars Part the Seventh) 25/10/2017, Shakespeare Centre, Stratford-upon-Avon [spoiler alerts] By Dr Thea Buckley To begin with, Ian Doescher explained the origins of his series, long ago, in a country far away: “I pitched it to Quirk Books right after going to […]

Rapper MC Lars has launched a new youtube series in which he summarizes classic literary works. This week he addresses William Shakespeare’s 1608 tragedy “King Lear”, engaging with plot, themes and rounding off with raps about blindness and filial ingratitude. Series produced by MC Lars and Bryan Atchison. Beat by SMP Productions (http://smphq.com). Video and […]

Stephen H. Grant, distinguished member of and longtime contributor to the Blogging Shakespeare community talks about Henry and Emily Folger, and their lifelong engagement of collecting Shakespeare. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.