Birth of Merlin 101
Sooooooo William Rowley’s The Birth of Merlin actually has very little to do with Merlin or any other part of the Arthurian legend, and it’s more of a history play than its title would suggest. We re-introduce you to playwright William Rowley, who apparently loved to write himself into all of his plays as a “fat clown;” we give you A Taste of Text from Act IV involving a little antic spirit; we talk about how this play doesn’t fit neatly into any particular genre because it is doing The Literal Most at all times, but for all that it’s not even that great; then we gossip a bit and that’s that. Don’t believe anyone that tells you this play was written by Shakespeare, and definitely don’t believe them if they say it’s their favorite play.
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
Aubrey’s rec: Queen City Mischief and Magic Festival
Jess’s rec: Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Here’s what we talked about in our ShakesBubble Gossip segment:
Lazarus Theatre UK’s live-streamed performance of Dr. Faustus coming on Oct. 6
Fall Season opens at ASC
Roaring Girl 101
Season 6 begins with a ROAR(ing Girl) courtesy of Thomases Dekker and Middleton. The famous city comedy features real-life legend Mary Frith, aka Moll Cutpurse, but not with nearly the stage time such a character deserves; we give you a brief introduction to the lesser-known Thomas of this collab team, Dekker, and also a Taste of Text where Moll’s voice really shines. Jess gives you a refresher on the city comedy genre, as well as the real life Moll and we deliver a little personal gossip. We hope you enjoy our roaring return. It’s good to be back!
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
As You Like It 301
Why As You Like It now? We cover many possible answers to this question, but also take some long, healthy bird walks into other topics both relevant and irrelevant as we make our way through those thoughts. We also dive deep into the New Oxford edition’s notes on AYLI (because it gets real sexist real quick) and attempt to unravel the printing mystery of why there is no quarto edition of this play. We gossip a little bit about the ethics of book reviews in Shakespeare journals and how Jon Snow…err…Kit Harrington is playing Henry V right now, once again disproving Aubrey’s claim that “no one’s doing the Henrys right now.” This episode is our season 5 finale; watch out for extras released during our hiatus, but otherwise we will see you for season 6 this fall. Go find your Green World!
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
Aubrey’s rec: Get you a snuggly onesie! Try the fun prints at TomboyX
Jess’s rec: the wonders of an epilator! Also the Up and Vanished podcast
Here’s what we featured in our ShakesBubble Gossip segments:
Henry V at the Donmar Warehouse and coming to a theatre near you with NT Live!
Taming of the Shrew 201
Today’s episode tackles one issue and one issue only, and that is to refute the assertion that The Taming of the Shrew is about “romance” (whatever the F that means). We examine a variation in the text between First Folio printing and several modern editions that seem to either soften or double down on Petruchio’s “domination” of Katherine, and eventually come to the conclusion that no matter which way you slice it, the entire charade is unnecessary. We unpack the term “romantic” and why our mothers’ opinions on romantic love might not have aged well, as well as quite possibly the only interpretation of Shrew that could make its protagonists journey actually romantic. No spoilers. #consentissexy
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
Aubrey’s rec: Shout outs to AFSP and MHA for being incredible mental health resources!
Jess’s rec: Isaac Fellman’s Dead Collections
Here’s what we featured in our ShakesBubble Gossip segments:
Check out Romeo & Juliet starring Meg Rodgers and Friend-of-the-Pod Brandon Carter at ASC
Spanish Tragedy 201
Today we put on our teacher hats and model the kind of thinking we ask our students to do. After a four-year hiatus, we return to Thomas Kyd’s ur-revenge tragedy that started them all, The Spanish Tragedy, to discuss how the F*ck we’re supposed to unpack it for 21st century learners. Jess starts with examining the difference between revenge and justice which, though nebulous, proved an easier topic to broach with her students than the concept of dumb shows and masques. Um…they don’t talk? There are masks and sometimes dancing? (There’s more to it than that, but you’ll need to listen to catch it all!)
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
Aubrey’s rec: WFA (Women’s Football Alliance- professional tackle football!) look up your nearest team! PLAY SOME FOOTBALL.
Jess’s rec: Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters and the wholesome joy that is Ted Lasso
Here’s what we featured in our ShakesBubble Gossip segments:
RSC’s first-ever disabled actor playing R3
RSC’s 37 plays initiative
White People in Shakespeare book out this fall
Fatal Throne novellas
Theatre J’s Expanding the Canon project
Also that nonsense in American Conservative, but we refuse to link to it.
Tempest 301
Sometimes when you think you have nothing to say about a play, it turns out you still have a sh*t-ton to say. Today’s 301 episode revisits The Tempest, and we ask the question - what is its genre, really, and also why this play now? Jess posits that maybe The Tempest would feel a little more cathartic at the end if it were staged more like a revenge tragedy at the beginning; Aubrey speculates a bit about why so many regional theaters have added this title to their 2022 lineup. Oh, and we take not one but TWO birdwalks down Marie de France lane because Jess just can’t shut up about this medieval author. Lesbian weasels! Fun times!
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
Aubrey’s rec: @decolonizeyourclassroom and @amplify.RJ communities on Insta are offering weekly asynchronous video lessons and live zoom discussions about “History of Black Abolitionist Politics and Action” starting Feb 5, going every saturday all month. You can learn more and sign up at tiny.cc/abolition
Jess’s rec: Marie de France. Know her. Read her. Love her.
Here’s what we featured in our ShakesBubble Gossip segments:
This Washington Post article about the recent STA conference
Nataki Garrett’s op ed in The Hill
The Globe’s continuing series on Anti-racist Shakespeare webinars - next one is Feb. 10
American Moor is coming to Pittsburg, PA Feb 17-20!!
Awesome letter from ACMRS and RaceB4Race Executive Board on medium.com
201 Roulette!
SURPRISE! You thought you were getting a Love’s Labour’s episode but we had a last minute change of plans. Instead, we opted for something new, a way to get a bunch of plays into a 201-ish discussion without dedicating an episode to each individual one (because, tbh, we’re down to the dregs - mostly plays we just don’t wanna talk about anymore). So we invented 201 Roulette! Jess and Aubrey take turns drawing the names of plays out of a hat and extemporizing about those plays however they like. No spoilers, but you’ll definitely get a dose of what we love and hate, as well as who we would cast in dream productions of the titles we draw. Tell us what you think - if you like this format, we might do it again!
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
GoFundMe campaign for Tonga tsunami relief!
Here’s what we featured in our ShakesBubble Gossip segments:
meh…not a lot this week. The breaking news from last episode tapped us out!
Henriad 201
This episode is a Hurly Burly first, both because we’re rolling 201 content for three plays - 1 & 2 Henry IV and Henry V - all into one episode, but also because we have a MAJOR SCOOP in ShakesBubble Gossip that you get to hear all about here first! The endlessly charming Brandon Carter joins us to talk about tackling the arc of the first Henriad as Prince Hal/King Henry, being the first (and maybe only?) African American to play the role in a series of connected productions, and spill the hot hot tea about what else is happening in his career. You’ll have to listen to the end to catch it, but he’s such a delight that you won’t mind one bit.
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
Distributed Leadership research, for anyone looking for a less hierarchical way of operating in the workplace
Bonding on Netflix
Here’s what we featured in our ShakesBubble Gossip segments:
Open access special edition of Literature Compass on PCRS: includes Medieval and Renaissance topics together, and a couple of the articles also come with teaching guides.
Hamlet 202: Interred With Their Bones
In our second ever 202 episode (reserved for a Shakespeare adaptation or adjacent work), we take you through the suspenseful and sometimes bemusing and frustrating plot of Jennifer Lee Carrell’s mystery thriller Interred With Their Bones. We give you a plot and character synopsis as well as all the Shakespearean easter eggs you can handle, with just a sprinkle of “authorship question” (because the book forced us to) and some early modern true crime to boot. Looking for a fun read for your holiday break? Read this book (and listen to our episode before you do)!
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert and All The Feels
Here’s what we featured in our ShakesBubble Gossip segments:
ACMRS first and second book fellowships
ACMRS poetics symposium
Guardian article about a forthcoming book by Molly Yarn from Cambridge Press about history of Shakespearean “lady editors”
Scholar Haley Bachrach making headlines!
Midsummer 301
It’s not enough to talk to one Bottom about being Nick Bottom, we needed at least 2: utter delights and all-around good humans (and actors) Topher Embry and Gregory Jon Phelps join us to talk about what they love (and hate) about A Midsummer Night’s Dream, playing Bottom and other characters, and so much more. It’s a shenanigan roller coaster for this 301-level episode, so buckle up!
Here’s what we featured in our ShakesBubble Gossip segments:
Here are the anticipated early modern (and EM-adjacent) titles of North American theatres for 2022 (next time we’ll cover across the pond):
Old Globe: Taming and Midsummer
OSF: The Tempest, King John, and The Cymbeline Project
Colorado Shakes: 2 Gents, All’s Well, Coriolanus, and The Alchemist
Utah Shakes: All’s Well, Lear, Tempest
STC in DC: Merchant and Much Ado
Stratford Fest: Hamlet, All’s Well, Richard 3, Hamlet-911
Jess’s latest publication is out now - check it out!