Beyond Shakespeare

The Tragedy of Panthea possibly by Richard Farrant.  So, this is a short fragment from The Tragedy of Panthea. It was performed by a boy’s company sometime between 1567 and 1580, and depending on the date by the Children of Winsor or the Children of the Chapel Royal. Richard Farrant is a reasonable shout as the author, as he produced within those limits. Panthea performed by Fiona Thraille, the host is Robert Crighton Our patrons received this episode in May 2023 - approx. 10 months early. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessio

We continue our Spoilers for The World and the Child, or Mundus et Infans by the Unknown. Dating around 1500, printed in 1522, it's the smallest cast show on the block - potentially stageable with two (we used five) actors. As a pre-plague bonus recording, we are locked into the takes we made four years ago - but it's come out quite well. This !Spoilers! episode unlocks the final movement of the play (I call them movements, because they're not quite perfectly delineated as scenes - plus I like to sound arty) which includes the two actor clash point - is it actually reasonable to stage this play with two actors? Kinda. With Robert Crighton as Age, and Fiona Thraille as Perseverance Earlier exploring session on the podcast can be found here - https://audioboom.com/posts/7413235-exploring-mundus-et-infans YouTube First and Second look sessions here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLflmEwgdfKoLGMp3bRtUBO0KY_38X0vnc Our patrons received this episode in October 2023 - approx. 4 months early. The Beyond Sha

Welcome to this discussing episode, where I chat with modern playwright Mark Ravenhill about early plays by unmodern playwrights. We talk about a whole host of plays, productions, inspirations, and approaches to early modern plays from the perspective of a modern one. Mark Ravenhill's latest play Ben and Imo is being produced by the RSC and will be performing at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon from the 21st February to 6th April 2024 Information and tickets can be found here - https://www.rsc.org.uk/ben-and-imo Mark Ravenhill is the author of many plays, including Shopping and Fucking; Faust is Dead; Handbag; Some Explicit Polaroids; Mother Clap’s Molly House; Citizenship; Pool No Water; The Cut; Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat; Over There; The Cane. Our patrons received this episode a couple weeks early. Which is nice. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to b

The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus, is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. Performed by Robert Crighton Chapter Two: How Doctor Faustus began to practise in his devilish Art, and how he conjured the devil, making him to appear and meet him on the morrow at his own house. Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in detail at the text -  join our chat here - https://www.patreon.com/posts/76209158 Our patrons received this episode in June 2023 - approx. 7 months early. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go

We continue our Spoilers for The World and the Child, or Mundus et Infans by the Unknown. Dating around 1500, printed in 1522, it's the smallest cast show on the block - potentially stageable with two (we used five) actors. As a pre-plague bonus recording, we are locked into the takes we made four years ago - but it's come out quite well. This !Spoilers! episode unlocks the third movement of the play (I call them movements, because they're not quite perfectly delineated as scenes - plus I like to sound arty) which includes some of the most dynamic cross-talk of the play - but also, the hardest to understand. With Robert Crighton as Manhood, Hugh Weller-Poley as Folly, and Rob Myson as Conscience. Earlier exploring session on the podcast can be found here - https://audioboom.com/posts/7413235-exploring-mundus-et-infans YouTube First and Second look sessions here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLflmEwgdfKoLGMp3bRtUBO0KY_38X0vnc Our patrons received this episode in October 2023 - approx. 4 months early

A discussion of the play Love's Victory by Lady Mary Wroth - which has been produced live by the team of Professor Alison Findlay and director Emma Rucastle. A video of that production is available online now. More about the project can be found here. A production of Edward III  at Lancaster Castle (2023), mentioned in the episode, can be seen here. Our patrons received this episode in November 2023 - approx. 3 months early. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNd

We continue our !Spoilers! for The World and the Child, or Mundus et Infans by the Unknown. Dating around 1500, printed in 1522, it's the smallest cast show on the block - potentially stageable with two (we used five) actors. As a pre-plague bonus recording, we are locked into the takes we made four years ago - but it's come out quite well. This !Spoilers! episode unlocks the second movement of the play (I call them movements, because they're not quite perfectly delineated as scenes - plus I like to sound arty) which features the appearance of Conscience. With Robert Crighton as Manhood, and Rob Myson as Conscience. Earlier exploring session on the podcast can be found here - https://audioboom.com/posts/7413235-exploring-mundus-et-infans YouTube First and Second look sessions here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLflmEwgdfKoLGMp3bRtUBO0KY_38X0vnc Our patrons received this episode in September 2023 - approx. 4 months early. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron a

A full performance of The Hanging of Judas, an odd bit of text in the Towneley mystery cycle documents. It's a fragment only, the narrative cuts off, but we fill in some of the gaps. Sadly, this was one of the recording sessions which went wrong technically - I have cleaned it up as best I can, and added some background sfx for atmosphere, but some artifacts do still occur. However, it was such a good performance I didn't want to lose it. With Alexandra Kataigida as Judas, the host was Robert Crighton Our patrons received this episode in July 2023 - approx. 6 months early. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.

Welcome to a new monthly Tuesday short release - it's a reading of a book you might not have read, but you will know. The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus, is the book that is the source for Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. Performed by Robert Crighton Chapter One: Of his Parentage and Birth. Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in detail at the text -  join our chat here - https://www.patreon.com/posts/76206403 Our patrons received this episode in June 2023 - approx. 7 months early. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https

We are finally releasing this last of the pre-plague recordings - it's The World and the Child, or Mundus et Infans by the Unknown. Dating around 1500, printed in 1522, it's the smallest cast show on the block - potentially stageable with two (we used five) actors. As a pre-plague bonus recording, we are locked into the takes we made four years ago - but it's come out quite well. This first !Spoilers! episode unlocks the opening movement of the play (I call them movements, because they're not quite perfectly delineated as scenes - plus I like to sound arty) which is the most exciting to stage as a producer. How do you make the Child grow up before the audiences eyes? With Robert Crighton as The Child, who grows up fast into Wanton/Lust and Liking/Manhood, and Sarah Golding as The World. Earlier exploring session on the podcast can be found here - https://audioboom.com/posts/7413235-exploring-mundus-et-infans YouTube First and Second look sessions here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLflmEwgdfKoLGMp3

This is our omnibus edition of the complete jests of George Peele - with additional music added to the mix! The Merry Conceited Jests of George Peele was narrated by Sarah Black, with music composed by Tom Cowell and performed by Tom Cowell, Gabriela Ansteeg, Paolo Maldari, Federico Picetti and Corinna Vatterodt. Produced by Sounds Curious for the Beyond podcast. Final omnibus mix by Robert Crighton. Our patrons have received early access to nearly all the episodes so far, and have exclusive access to our exploring sessions and discussion of the text - join us on the patreon to get more from the world of jest books. Sarah Blake discusses the project with Robert Crighton on the podcast here - https://audioboom.com/posts/8194838-discussing-the-jests-of-george-peele-with-sarah-blake The jests can be found variously online, though none of the ones we looked at were very tidy or void of errors - this is a fairly good option, but feel free to hunt. http://www.luminarium.org/renascence-editions/peele1.html The

This week it's a chat about Brutan Drama - or plays about Britain's pre-Roman history, which feature in Stage Britain's Past by Dr Kim Gilchrist, our guest! This has been a chat long in the making, and much prepared for, as we discuss Gorboduc, Locrine, King Leir, and Nobody and Somebody - all of which we have played with in exploring sessions (though Nobody and Somebody won't be released till later in the year 2024).  Otherwise, here's a playlist of lots of history plays. Some are more historical than others. Kim Gilchrist is a lecturer in the School of English at Cardiff University, UK, and an Honorary Research fellow at the University of Roehampton, UK. Prior ton joining Cardiff University, he taught on Shakespeare and early modern literature at Roehampton, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Central School of Speech and Drama, UK. Our patrons received this episode in September 2023 - approx. 4 months early. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose th

Our patrons received this episode about a week ago. It's hard to do a round up in advance. A round up of all things Beyond, as well as beyond Beyond in the world of pre-modern drama. You can join the public end of the BIG VOTE for our next season here! If you're interested in being involved in our live sessions on A Game at Chess by Thomas Middleton next August, sign up here. The video version - with the pictures - is on YouTube here. Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX

A fuller look than usual at the epilogue to King Darius (c.1565) in the context of the wider play. And... oh boy... is King Darius WEIRD. With the wonderful Fiona Thraille as the epilogue, and various voices in passing in our exploring session clip, including possibly Heydn McCabe, Stephen Longstaffe, Gregory Musson, Liza Graham, Alex Scott Fairley, Rob Myson, Lynsey Beauchamp. The host is Robert Crighton. If you'd like to look at more of our hysteria reading this play, go to this handy playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLflmEwgdfKoJ7F93JctDgYfcTuxXVBjpS Our patrons received this episode in April 2023 - approx. 8 months early. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & I

The Jests of George Peele - Episode 14: How George Served a Gentlewoman. Performed by Sarah Blake A full audiobook reading, performed by Sarah Blake of Sounds Curious Productions, released monthly - followed by an omnibus version. Our patrons have received early access to nearly all the episodes so far, and have exclusive access to our exploring sessions and discussion of the text - join us on the patreon to get more from the world of jest books. Music by Tom Cowell. Produced by Sounds Curious Productions for the Beyond Podcast. Sarah Blake discusses the project with Robert Crighton on the podcast here - https://audioboom.com/posts/8194838-discussing-the-jests-of-george-peele-with-sarah-blake The jests can be found variously online, though none of the ones we looked at were very tidy or void of errors - this is a fairly good option, but feel free to hunt. http://www.luminarium.org/renascence-editions/peele1.html The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to ch

Another fun fragmentary text, Judith by Cornelius Schonaeus, which is... well the more we look at it, the more we think that the translation of the original text is bobbins. It's not really designed for performance, more a literal translation job... so, it's a bit... yeah. Messy. But we had a go. Judith by Cornelius Schonaeus, possibly translated by Henry Evans. With Rob Myson as the Prologue and Simon Nader as Holofernes. Additional trumpet by Matt Byham. Hosted and produced by Robert Crighton Our patrons received this episode in December 2022 - approx. 11 months early! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.or

Hello! A quick update on our Winter Revels 2023 and the opening of Round 1 (ding, ding) for our BIG Vote for 2024. Open to all, you get to help create the shortlist for next years new productions - https://forms.gle/YvuS657yV8rVEhq19 All of which is (in part) dependent on the success of our upcoming Winter Revels - do come if you can, or share the shows with your friends and on social media. The Beyond Shakespeare Winter Revels 2023 A Season of Tragedy, History, True Crime, Horror & Comedy Welcome to the Beyond Winter Revels, a celebration selection box of shows from our repertoire. From Marlowe’s famous tragedy of Dido, through famous historical characters in Cleopatra, via true crime in Arden of Faversham and a gothic proto-horror story in Beware the Cat, to the chaotic comedy of a story that comes to life in Old Wives’ Tale – we’ve a show for you. You can sample one play or, for a discount price, catch them all! Live play readings, recording for the Beyond Shakespeare podcast, for one week only. Perf

Welcome to our full cast audio adaptation of Iphigenia - recorded as a test live stream for our patrons in April, this is the mixed down version. Many thanks to everyone who helped get this show on the road, and to our wonderful patrons who voted for it. The Tragedy of Iphigenia by Jane, Lady Lumley, as translated from the play by Euripides The Chorus / Lady Lumley was played by Sarah Blake, Agamemnon by Aliki Chapple, Senex by Liza Graham, Menelaus by Valentina Vinci, Clytemnestra by Alexandra Kataigida, Iphigenia by Minna Pang, Achilles by Emma Kemp, and Nuncius by Melissa Shirley. The play was directed by Sarah Blake, and recorded by Robert Crighton, with special thanks to Liza Graham and Helen Good. CW: Themes of infanticide, murder, war, and misogyny throughout. Our patrons received the initial live stream of this play in April 2023 - approx 7 months ago. They then received this edit of the episode in October 2023 - approx. 1 and a bit months early. And the gap between patron early access and final

The Jests of George Peele - Episode 13: How he Served a Tapster. Performed by Sarah Blake A full audiobook reading, performed by Sarah Blake of Sounds Curious Productions, released monthly - followed by an omnibus version. Our patrons have received early access to nearly all the episodes so far, and have exclusive access to our exploring sessions and discussion of the text - join us on the patreon to get more from the world of jest books. Music by Tom Cowell. Produced by Sounds Curious Productions for the Beyond Podcast. Sarah Blake discusses the project with Robert Crighton on the podcast here - https://audioboom.com/posts/8194838-discussing-the-jests-of-george-peele-with-sarah-blake The jests can be found variously online, though none of the ones we looked at were very tidy or void of errors - this is a fairly good option, but feel free to hunt. http://www.luminarium.org/renascence-editions/peele1.html The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the

It's a brand new !Spoilers! episode for The Tragedy of Iphigenia as translated from Euripides by Jane, Lady Lumley around 1553. This episode works through the action, but there isn't the plain text audio at the end - largely because we don't plan to cut the final version. As ever, the text as recorded may contain minor errors and is a bit rough round the edges. In The Tragedy of Iphigenia by Jane, Lady Lumley, as translated from the play by Euripides The chorus was played by Sarah Blake, Agamemnon by Aliki Chapple, Senex by Liza Graham, Menelaus by Valentina Vinci, Clytemnestra by Alexandra Kataigida, Iphigenia by Minna Pang, Achilles by Emma Kemp, and Nuncius by Melissa Shirley. The play was directed by Sarah Blake, and recorded by Robert Crighton, with special thanks to Liza Graham and Helen Good. The host was Robert Crighton. Our exploring sessions on the play are also available here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLflmEwgdfKoLCbWNAHshgw0ZzNM6OseRP The Second Look is also available audio only on