Kyd — Podcast Episodes — The Hurly Burly Shakespeare Show!

Podcast Episodes

What happens when two bawdy, Early Modern word-nerds sit down to talk about all things Shakespeare? You get "The Hurly Burly Shakespeare Show!": an irreverent mix of entertainment and scholarly content suitable for novices and hard-core “Bardolaters” alike. Jess (The Scholar) and Aubrey (The Practitioner) discuss the plays of William Shakespeare and his contemporaries, as well as other fascinating aspects of the Early Modern period’s lively theatre and print culture. “The Hurly Burly Shakespeare Show!” features the latest “Shakes-bubble” gossip, Burbage Breaks, nerdy games, hot takes and absolute havoc as Jess and Aubrey attempt to summarize each play in five minutes or less. Or not. We do what we want! Come for the Hurly, stay for the Burly: we guarantee you’ll learn something new with every episode.

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.

In our very first non-Shakespeare episode featuring Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, we break a few traditions and create some new ones. Our Rhetorical Device of the Week is aposiopesis; we introduce a new feature for non-Shakes episodes called "Meet the Contemporary" in which we tell you whatever facts are available about the playwright; we also introduce a new game, purely inspired by the not-so-friendly, Mean-Girls-esuqe rivalry between Thomas Kyd and Christopher Marlowe; and our ShakesBubble Gossip features a review of OSF's production of Henry V and Cheek By Jowl's french-speaking production of Pericles. What a way to end Season One! See you in August, wordnerds!

Some articles and resources we mentioned in today's episode:

Spanish Tragedy 201

Spanish Tragedy 101