House of Desires 101

For our final 101 episode, we take you back to the Spanish Golden Age with House of Desires and its proto-Mexican, female playwright Sor Juana (a nun!). We tell you a little about this Metal AF nun in Meet the Contemporary, and we summarize the play and read a very silly cross-dressing scene from the second act for A Taste of Text. We compare translations of the scene a little bit, and then gossip a lot about yet another Oxfraudian, anti-Stratfordian overture made by the Shakespeare Authorship Coalition (aka SAC - which, like, LOL at your dumb acronym, bros). Listener beware: if the authorship “debate” fills you with white-hot rage, you may just want to skip the last 15 minutes of the episode. That aside, someone please produce House of Desires so we can go see it. We think it’s a delight and we hope you agree.

Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:

• Aubrey’s rec: Himalayan yak cheese dog chews for the adorable extreme chewers in your life

• Jess’s rec: this is so dumb, but changing your highlight color on your computer/phone :)

Here’s what we talked about in our ShakesBubble Gossip segment:

• That dumb survey Jess and a bunch of other Shakespeare scholars got from the anti-Strats of SAC. (We’re not going to dignify their nonsense with a link to their site. You’re smart. You can find it if you want to.)

A King and No King 101

CW: Today’s episode involves one of our classic tangents, this time into the topic of incest and incest porn.

That said, today’s episode is a 101 all about dynamic playwriting duo Beaumont and Fletcher’s “tragicomedy” A King and No King. We summarize this bonkers play for you - spoilers: it’s only a fake incest plot to lure you in - and ready a portion of act 3 for a Taste of Text. We talk a little about why incest tropes are so popular in modern media, particularly in pornography but also in early modern drama, we gossip a little about the still-unraveling Cleveland Playhouse debacle, and call it a day. Also, there’s a minor character in the play whose name sounds like BI-CURIOUS, so start the fan fictions engines NOW.

Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:

• Aubrey’s rec: Ancient History FanGirl podcast

• Jess’s rec: Louise Erdrich, The Future Home of the Living God  and Grace D. Li, Portrait of a Thief

Here’s what we talked about in our ShakesBubble Gossip segment:

• Cleveland Playhouse debacle

City Nightcap 101

This week we’re talking about The City Nightcap by Robert Davenport, a bewildering play by an even more bewildering (read: mysterious) author. We try to help you Meet the Contemporary, but Bobby Davs left us very little to go on; our Taste of Text is sure to amuse (and confuse) you; we talk a LOT about all the kicking happening in this play, as well as why it - among other things - is so problematic (read: sexist AF). If you have the chance to see this play, awesome, but if you don’t you’re not really missing much aside from a unique barnyard-themed masque and the most hilarious not-a-bed-trick bed trick of all time. Have a great holiday season and we’ll see you in January!

Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:

• Aubrey’s rec: get your stir crazy dog a Flirt Pole!

• Jess’s rec: Take yourself out for something nice - treat yo’self!

Here’s what we talked about in our ShakesBubble Gossip segment:

• “New” portrait of “Shakespeare”

• Dr. Patricia Akhimie named new executive director of the Folger Institute!

Fuenteovejuna 101

It’s our first ever 101 for a Spanish Golden Age play! Today we’re talking about Lope de Vega’s Fuenteovejuna and all the wild, wonderful customs and traditions of the early modern Spanish theatre. Our Meet the Playwright segment takes you through de Vega’s impressive (and horny) biography; Jess delights with her multitude of voices in A Taste of Text; we take you through the real event that this play is based on - true crime, again, huzzah! - and Aubrey compares the structure and culture of Spanish playhouses to the English ones we usually talk about, plus the added layer of textual instability that comes with second-language translation. The differences may surprise you! Not only that, but this play gives you the perfect excuse for your mistakes and/or crimes: just say “Fuenteovejuna did it!”

Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:

• Aubrey’s rec: follow the @teachingwithcorazon instagram account!

• Jess’s rec: Patronize your local massage school for some self-care on a budget!

Here’s what we talked about in our ShakesBubble Gossip segment:

• This story about OSF’s Artistic Director

• Ian Smith’s new book!

• Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre’s 2022 Expand the Canon titles

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