Well, friends, this episode marks the last for the pod. We give you a short list of things we love about Shakespeare and about making this podcast together, we play a few games, and we say our goodbyes. With lots of bird-walking and rabbit holes along the way because when we promise Vintage Whamlet, we deliver. Thank you for making the last 6 years so fantastic. Whamlet OUT!
10 Things We Hate About Shakespeare
This week, for our penultimate episode, we decided to get some sh*t off our chests and make a list of 10 things we hate about Shakespeare. That’s it. No other segments. Oh and we list our bottom 5 plays in the canon, too. But don’t worry, as the saying goes, hatred isn’t the opposite of love, it’s indifference. We bitch because we love.
Love's Labour's Lost 201
It only took us 4 years, but we have finally circled back to Love’s Labour’s Lost for a deep dive into what some fussy Victorians - Hazlitt and Tennyson - had to say about the play, plus a little bit about the moral implications of the ladies’ “homework” for the boys at the play’s conclusion. There also may or may not be some extensive bird walking into a little-known whodunit called The Moonstone #sorrynotsorry. We gossip a little and also deliver A Big Announcement About the Podcast.
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
Aubrey’s rec: Black Shakespeare: Reading and Misreading Race by Ian Smith
Jess’s rec: Anti-Racist Shakespeare edited by Ambereen Dadabhoy and Nedda Mehdizadeh
Here’s what we talked about in our ShakesBubble Gossip segment:
That dumb tweet about pronoun use in Shakespeare eye roll
Southwest Shakespeare’s LLL production runs March 24 & 30
LLL plays at the Stratford Festival from August 23- October 1
Asolo Rep’s LLL production runs April 4-23
Henry VIII 201
Our winter break is officially over and we hope you did your homework because Dr. Yasmine Hachimi joins us to talk about Henry VIII (the man, and sometimes Shakespeare’s play) and his most infamous wife, Anne Boleyn. In this longer-than-usual conversation we focus on the Netflix miniseries Blood, Sex, and Royalty, but also several other TV series and books that feature Anne and other Tudor queens. We examine why Anne in particular is the subject of this type of historical hyper-focus (spoiler alert: it mostly boils down to sexism…) and why we feel the need to sexualize historical queens at all. Yasmine also graces us with a fantastic reading list and tons of other recommendations if you’re interested in learning more. Thanks for joining us, Yasmine!
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
Aubrey’s rec: Wednesday on Netflix
Jess’s rec: Using museum collections in your classes
Yasmine’s rec: Beverly Jenkins novels like Forbidden
Here’s what we talked about in our ShakesBubble Gossip segment:
Yasmine’s Must-Read list:
Read Yasmine’s article and then watch the show referenced in it!
The Final Year of Anne Boleyn by Natalie Grueninger
Blood, Fire, and Gold by Estelle Paranque
The House of Dudley by Joanne Paul
Dig podcast’s episode about Amy Robsart’s mysterious death
The Boleyns of Hever Castle by Claire Ridgway and Owen Emmerson
The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives
The Creation of Anne Boleyn by Susan Bordo
Twelfth Night 302
This week we return to the classic romantic comedy, Twelfth Night, to talk about the recent production at the American Shakespeare Center (directed by the amazing Jenny Bennett) and how it's a great example of how queering your casting and production concept can unlock new takes on a well-known, popular play. We also gossip about Jess's experience at the recent Early Modern Trans 2 Conference, as well as some...um...highly questionable choices made by a certain theatre company for their ill-fated production of Romeo & Juliet. Bottom line, when in doubt: queer it up and say NO to Nazis.
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
Aubrey’s rec: Circe by Madeline Miller
Jess’s rec: If at all possible, get back to in-person conference attendance. It’s good for the soul!
Here’s what we talked about in our ShakesBubble Gossip segment:
Nataki Garret’s response to NPR article
Podcasts & Feminist Shakespeare Pedagogy by Varsha Panjwani–free to download!
EmoTrans2 Conference