The History Of European Theatre

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 playThe early print history of the playThe sources for the playThe different style of the play from it’s near neighboursA brief synopsis of the playHow the main characters and the political story and love story are balanced in the playThe hyperbolic language used in the playThe character of AntonyEquals and opposites in the play and how Antony deals with themThe character of OctaviusThe character of CleopatraThe death of CleopatraAntony and Cleopatra as a Stuart period playA short word on the history of criticism of the playThe later performance history of the play Support the podcast at:www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.comwww.patreon.com/thoetpwww.ko-fi.com/thoetpYou 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. 

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.comLinks 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/Support the podcast at:www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.comwww.patreon.com/thoetpwww.ko-fi.com/thoetpYou 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. 

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 FoolThe mock trial sceneThe blinding of GloucesterThe character and cruelty of ReganEdgar and Gloucester on the cliffs at DoverHope before tragedy as Lear and Cordelia are reunitedA family dispute as the heart of the playWhy Lear resonates so strongly with audiencesThe sense of ‘no place’ in the playKing Lear as a message for King James The significance of the non-Christian setting of the playThe play as a tragedy and a history playA brief view of the later critical and performance history of the playA small selection of ‘King Lear’ on filmSupport the podcast at:www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.comwww.patreon.com/thoetpwww.ko-fi.com/thoetpYou 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. 

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 playThe influences and sources for the playThe opening scene of the play and the abandonment of the natural orderThe questions of judgement and miscommunication in the playThe character of GonerilEdmund as one of Shakespeare’s truly evil charactersKent as the voice of reason and loyaltyLear and the Fool in the stormLear’s moral awakeningSupport the podcast at:www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.comwww.patreon.com/thoetpwww.ko-fi.com/thoetpYou 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.  

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.comwww.patreon.com/thoetpwww.ko-fi.com/thoetpYou 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. 

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 playThe source material for the playThe possible co-authorship of the playA brief synopsis of the plotThe structure of the playThe character of TimonIssues with explaining Timon’s behaviourTimon’s railing against Athens and mankindTimon’s discovery of buried goldTimon’s deathThe character of AlcibiadesThe play as a satire of wealth rather than a tragedyThe later performance historySome of the critical assessments of the playSupport the podcast at:www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.comwww.patreon.com/thoetpwww.ko-fi.com/thoetpYou 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. 

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.comwww.patreon.com/thoetpwww.ko-fi.com/thoetp 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. 

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 playThe slow demise of the Children of the Queen’s RevelsEarly performances of the playA brief synopsis of the playThe prologue and the argumentThe city comedy elements in the playWhat the setting of the play meant to the English audienceThe methods by which Jonson created the Venetian settingThe purpose of the subplot featuring three English touristsThe beast fable elements in the playDeception and the influence of the gunpowder plot on the playThe satire of greed as the driving theme of the playClass conflict in the play and it’s moralistic endingThe later performance history of the playSupport the podcast at:www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.comwww.patreon.com/thoetpwww.ko-fi.com/thoetpYou 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.