Beyond Shakespeare

Today we're having a chat with Nathan Winkelstein of Red Bull Theater about their upcoming Revelation Reading of Sejanus by Ben Jonson. Performing in New York, but also live streaming around the world on 26th January 2026 - the recording accessible for the week following. Do support this show, or the following production (in person) of The Roaring Girl, if you can. From their mission statement: "RED BULL THEATER brings rarely seen classic plays to dynamic new life for contemporary audiences. Our work unites a respect for tradition with a modern sensibility." And we can't support that sentiment more highly.Tickets available here! Our patrons received this episode a few days ago - most episodes are a month or twelve in advance, some are time sensitive like this one!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.orgYou can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQThe Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

Here's the second of two mini seasons of crossover episodes with Emily C A Synder and Colin Kovarik of the Hamlet to Hamilton podcast. It's actually the third episode of five, following on from the two part 1560 and All That which came as a mini set. We have been dancing through texts from the medieval up to the reign of Elizabeth on their podcast, and now we're doing the same over on ours - we might have finally made it into actual plays from the 1570's. Possibly. There aren't that many to play with.As ever, this is a case of thinking aloud, and seeing what comes up.Hamlet to Hamilton: Exploring Verse Drama is an educational podcast from TURN TO FLESH PRODUCTIONS Audio Network. Teaching how to write and perform new verse drama.  Hosted by Emily C. A. Snyder.  Edited by Colin Kovarik.SEASON ONE: Writing Verse DramaSEASON TWO: Arthur Through the AgesSEASON THREE: SoliloquySEASON FOUR: The Origins of English Verse Drama - which is with us!Hamlet to Hamilton website - http://www.hamlettohamilton.com/Support H2H at their patreon - https://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamiltonOur patrons received this episode in May 2024 - 20 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.orgYou can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQThe Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton.

It's the end of another year - so much has happened! Entertaining Henry, our Wyrd Revels, so many things... and I cram them into this short episode! Future things links - Live shows, not much I can announce year but next year, we’ll be performing live at  the Thomas Nashe and Voice conference (Friday 9th January) - doing Pierce Penniless It is part of a two-day conference on the writings of Thomas Nashe (1567-c.1601)– and they commissioned a staged reading of Pierce Penniless from us – recordings will of course follow. Please register for the conference at  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIz0iL-BbOEXKlIFw30m7Wlou4x7ZeQYqkoTYRFS0ezyuMQQ/viewform And the big live show is Sunday 12th April - All Day Event, London, looking at Sir Thomas More in detail. SAVE THE DATE - priority tickets list, sign up here!  Our patrons received this episode... well, the other day actually, but it is the end of the year round up, so whatcha gonna do? But everything else we do goes to them weeks, months - occasionally years - in advance! 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

Here's the second of two mini seasons of crossover episodes with Emily C A Synder and Colin Kovarik of the Hamlet to Hamilton podcast. It's actually second of five, as it follows on from the two part 1560 and All That which came as a mini set. We have been dancing through texts from the medieval up to the reign of Elizabeth on their podcast, and now we're doing the same over on ours - from the end of 1560's into the wilds of the 1570's. It's a case of thinking aloud, and seeing what comes up. Hamlet to Hamilton: Exploring Verse Drama is an educational podcast from TURN TO FLESH PRODUCTIONS Audio Network. Teaching how to write and perform new verse drama.  Hosted by Emily C. A. Snyder.  Edited by Colin Kovarik. SEASON ONE: Writing Verse Drama SEASON TWO: Arthur Through the Ages SEASON THREE: Soliloquy SEASON FOUR: The Origins of English Verse Drama - which is with us! Hamlet to Hamilton website - http://www.hamlettohamilton.com/ Support H2H at their patreon - https://www.patreon.com/hamlettohamilton Our patrons received this episode in May 2024 - 19 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton.

This is a very late release of a discussion we had last year about the website 100 Ballads, which features over 100 ballads from the early modern period. Go have a look, it's fabulous. https://www.100ballads.org/ With Christopher Marsh, Angela McShane, Andy Watts and host Robert Crighton. Our patrons received this episode in May 2025 - 18 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

The votes are in, we have our winner - and a host of runners up and stats to discuss! Visual charts will be available on our website shortly after this episode drops. Our patrons received this episode a few days ago... you can't keep secrets long. 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

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. This was a tricky episode to record, as I had made a decision to use a specific version of the text with very odd versions of place names - I lost all ability to say these places in any comprehensible way, but hopefully it isn't too weird. CW: Infanticide, anti-Catholic and Islamphobic sentiments, especially towards the end. The latter section with the problematic depiction of Islamic culture, also features a host of sexual consent issues. Chapter Twenty-Two: How Doctor Faustus made his journey through the principal and most famous lands in the world.   Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in detail at the text - join our chat here. Thunder sfx thanks to zapsplat.com Our patrons received this episode in September 2024 - approx. 14 months early. They have also already received the next 19 chapters and exploring sessions! 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

Hello! It's a chunky fragment this week, and one I've been wanted to produce more fully for a long time. A kinda content warning that this episode is about bad actors (in the political sense of the word) deliberately plotting to turn people against each other in a blatant attempt to leverage power. Which is upsetting enough in the real world, let alone in a 500ish year old play. Albion Knight by the Unknown Albion Knight - Heydn McCabe Justice - Simon Nader Injury - Valentina Vinci Division - Robert Crighton Fragments is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton - additional special sound by zapsplat.com Our patrons received the scene within this episode in August 2025 - 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. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

 After joining us for so many explorations of the cony-catching pamphlets on our patreon channel, we couldn't not ask Michelle Michel to join us to discuss the world of printing and John Danter. In theory we were going to be talking around the play text of Fair Em, the Miller's Daughter of Manchester... and then we mostly didn't! But we did talk about the printing of plays and Danter's part in it all. (If you'd like to join an exploring session that does talk about the play, follow this link!) Michelle is working on a PhD at the Shakespeare Institute, doing a bibliographic analysis of the titles printed by printer/publisher John Danter between 1591 and 1599 Our patrons received the scene within this episode in July 2025 - 4 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton.

This is our closing panel discussion from Middleton's Endgame, following a whole day looking at A Game at Chess and the end of Middleton's career, recorded live at The White Bear Theatre on Sunday 11th August 2024. The panel get to grips, finally, with the question of the play itself - not just the history, the scandal, the context, but the actual goddamn play. CW: We will be discussing - quite bluntly at times - events of the play which include attempted sexual assault, dismissal of sexual assault victims, anti-catholic sentiments, ableist, racist, and fatphobic dialogue from the period, discussion of violence, and of physical injuries. With Professor Tracey Hill, Dr Will Green, Daniel Yabut and cast member Keith Hill. The panel was hosted by Robert Crighton Also heard in the audience were Helen Good, Lois Potter, Roel Fox, and an exclamation by Liza Graham. The event was produced and edited by Robert Crighton This followed and before that Setting up the Board, which delivered an overview of Thomas Middleton in the 1620’s, the first half and second half of the play A Game at Chess, King's Gambit, which covered the aftermath of the affair, and an adaptation of the 1626 Lord Mayor's Show. YouTube playlist of readings of the play. Podcast playlist on the play. Patreon box set of this show. The Legacy of Thomas Middleton discussing episode. Webpage covering the play. Our patrons received a rough mix of this episode in October 2024 - over a year in advance. 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

Welcome to our live recording of the 1626 Lord Mayor's Show - The Triumphs of Health and Prosperity - by Thomas Middleton, performed as part of Middleton's Endgame at The White Bear Theatre on Sunday 11th August 2024. This is Middleton's last performed work before his early death, and so a fitting coda to our look at his last play, A Game at Chess. Introduction by Professor Tracey Hill Robert Crighton as Mine Host John Liza Graham as Mine Hostess Joan Alexandra Kataigida as Thomas Middleton Daniel Yabut - Speech on the Hill Roel Fox – Speech in the Sanctuary and the Last Speech. Simon Nader – Government The event was produced and edited by Robert Crighton This followed and before that Setting up the Board, which delivered an overview of Thomas Middleton in the 1620’s, the first half and second half of the play A Game at Chess, and King's Gambit, which covered the aftermath of the affair. YouTube playlist of readings of the play. Podcast playlist on the play. Patreon box set of this show. The Legacy of Thomas Middleton discussing episode. Webpage covering the play. Our patrons received a rough mix of this episode in October 2024 - over a year in advance. 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

In August 2024, we produced an all day event Middleton’s Endgame: A Game at Chess LIVE! a pop up Middleton festival at The White Bear in Kennington, featuring a live performance of A Game at Chess, discussions of the play, a look at Middleton’s last public work, the 1626 Lord Mayor’s show, and other selections of writing from across his life. The whole event, as ever, was recorded, and we're releasing these over the next few months. This is episode 4, which covers what happened after the play closed, with readings of letters from the time, official records, and discussion with our expert panel. With panelists Professor Tracey Hill, Daniel Yabut, Dr Will Green and readings by Keith Hill and Gillian Horgan. The host was Robert Crighton This followed the first half, and second half of the play, and before that Setting up the Board, which delivered an overview of Thomas Middleton in the 1620’s, and the theatrical context for the play. The event was produced and edited by Robert Crighton CW: Attempted sexual assault, dismissal of sexual assault victims, anti-catholic sentiments, ableist, racist, and fatphobic dialogue from the period. Discussion of violence, and of physical injuries. YouTube playlist of readings of the play. Podcast playlist on the play. Patreon box set of this show. The Legacy of Thomas Middleton discussing episode. Our patrons received a rough mix of this episode in September 2024 - over 11 months in advance. 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

Welcome to this full audio adaptation of the 1624 Lord Mayor's Show - The Monuments of Honour by John Webster. This is a playful reconstruction of the show performed on the 29th October 1624. It was a massive civic event created by the city for it’s new Lord Mayor. This reconstruction was SUPPOSED to have been recorded live on the 400th anniversary of the show - but, alas, the production fell through at the last minute. Instead we recorded this piecemeal over the last six months around other shows. Full coverage of the 400 year old event, fed into our studio via the latest scrying glass link up... It features Robert Crighton, as radio Host John doing the live commentary. With Liza Graham as Hostess Joan on the street. Karim Kronfli plays the author of the pageant, John Webster, and the speeches of the shows are performed by Keith Hill and Emma Kemp. Our advisor was Professor Tracey Hill, our city chronologer. More from the civic world of London will come as we can pull it together. Our patrons received this episode a month 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton.

In August 2024, we produced an all day event  Middleton’s Endgame: A Game at Chess LIVE! a pop up Middleton festival at The White Bear in Kennington, featuring a live performance of A Game at Chess, discussions of the play, a look at Middleton’s last public work, the 1626 Lord Mayor’s show, and other selections of writing from across his life. The whole event, as ever, was recorded, and we're releasing these over the next few months. This is episode 3, which covers the second half of the live performance of A Game at Chess itself - from midway into Act 3. It followed the first half, and before that Setting up the Board, which delivered an overview of Thomas Middleton in the 1620’s, and the theatrical context for the play. It is a relatively simple mix of the play, a fuller mix with extra bells and whistles will follow anon. In A Game at Chess by Thomas Middleton were… Alexandra Kataigida – Black Queen’s Pawn Ailbhe Casey – White Queen’s Pawn Roel Fox – A White Pawn / Black Bishop’s Pawn Robert Crighton – Black Knight’s Pawn Keith Hill – Black Knight Simon Nader – White Duke Liza Graham – Fat Bishop Daniel Yabut – Second Black Pawn / White King Gillian Horgan – White Queen Kit McGuire – Black Jesting Pawn / White Knight Sojourner Hazelwood-Connell – White Bishop’s Pawn Connor Robert-Brown – Black King Valentina Vinci – Black Queen Text coaching by Liza Graham The music was specially composed and produced for the show by Roel Fox The event was produced and edited by Robert Crighton CW: Attempted sexual assault, dismissal of sexual assault victims, anti-catholic sentiments, ableist, racist, and fatphobic dialogue from the period. Discussion of violence, and of physical injuries. YouTube playlist of readings of the play. Podcast playlist on the play. Patreon box set of this show. The Legacy of Thomas Middleton discussing episode. Our patrons received a rough mix of this episode in September 2024 - over 11 months in advance. 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton.

Hello! Just a quick update to remind you of our upcoming Wyrd Revels, a few guest announcements, and the possibility of some live streaming! Beyond Wyrd Revels 2025 Tuesday 21st October at 7.30pm – The Witch of Edmonton by Dekker, Ford & Rowley Wednesday 22nd October at 7.30pm – The Wise-woman of Hogston by Thomas Heywood Thursday 23rd October at 7.30pm – Thyestes by Seneca, translated by Jasper Heywood, includes post-show discussion Friday 24th October at 7.30pm – Doctor Faustus (1604 text) by Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe* (*other collaborators are available) Saturday 25th October at 3pm – Doctor Faustus (1616 text) by Christopher Marlowe and Collaborators Tickets £16 / £12 concessions – except Saturday which is £18/14 for the extended show. Weekdays shows start at 7.30pm, with pre-show start at 7.20pm – Saturday show from 3pm Performing at The White Bear Theatre, Kennington - 138 Kennington Park Rd, London SE11 4DJ Discounts automatically applied for multiple show bookings, or you can purchase a full week season ticket for £55. Tickets available at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/beyondshakespeare More info at our Revels page. Support our work on our patreon.  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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

Speech! Speech! Occasional scenes and speeches from plays, voted for by those you support our work. This is a speech from Edward the Second by Christopher Marlowe, recorded live at our Revels season on Tuesday 11th December 2023. With Simon Mirza Nader as Edward II. For more on Marlowe and his work - https://audioboom.com/playlists/4630963-christopher-marlowe For a playlist covering all his extant and attributed work - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLflmEwgdfKoJWwbuP1UETF3ZBhrT--Wco Our patrons received the scene within this episode in January 2024 - 20 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

In August 2024, we produced an all day event  Middleton’s Endgame: A Game at Chess LIVE! a pop up Middleton festival at The White Bear in Kennington, featuring a live performance of A Game at Chess, discussions of the play, a look at Middleton’s last public work, the 1626 Lord Mayor’s show, and other selections of writing from across his life. The whole event, as ever, was recorded, and we're releasing these over the next few months. This is episode 2, which covers the first half of the live performance of A Game at Chess itself. It followed Setting up the Board, which delivered an overview of Thomas Middleton in the 1620’s, and the theatrical context for the play. It is a relatively simple mix of the play, a fuller mix with extra bells and whistles will follow anon. In A Game at Chess by Thomas Middleton were… Alexandra Kataigida – Black Queen’s Pawn Ailbhe Casey – White Queen’s Pawn Roel Fox – Black Bishop’s Pawn Robert Crighton – Black Knight’s Pawn Keith Hill – Ignatius Loyola / Black Knight Susan Kyd – Error / White King’s Pawn Simon Nader – Black Bishop / White Duke Liza Graham – Fat Bishop Daniel Yabut – White King Gillian Horgan – Prologue / White Queen / Fat Bishop’s Pawn Kit McGuire – White Knight Sojourner Hazelwood-Connell – White Bishop’s Pawn Connor Robert-Brown – Black King Valentina Vinci – Black Queen Text coaching by Liza Graham The music was specially composed and produced for the show by Roel Fox The event was produced and edited by Robert Crighton CW: Attempted sexual assault, dismissal of sexual assault victims, anti-catholic sentiments, ableist, racist, and fatphobic dialogue from the period. Discussion of violence, and of physical injuries.   YouTube playlist of readings of the play. Podcast playlist on the play. Patreon box set of this show. The Legacy of Thomas Middleton discussing episode. Our patrons received a rough mix of this episode in September 2024 - over 11 months in advance. 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton.

 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. Chapter Twenty-One: How Doctor Faustus was carried through the air up to the heavens to see the whole world, and how the Sky and Planets ruled, after the which he wrote a letter to his friend of the same to Leipzig, and how he went about the world in eight days.   Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in detail at the text - join our chat here. Thunder sfx thanks to zapsplat.com Our patrons received this episode in August 2024 - approx. 13 months early. They have also received the next 14 chapters and exploring sessions! 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

It's time for some !Spoilers! for Act Five of Dido, Queen of Carthage by Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe (discuss attribution with footnotes, please only write on one side of the paper at a time). The play was recorded at The White Bear Theatre on Tuesday 12th December 2023. If you’d like more on this play, there are exploring sessions galore on the YouTube. All our rehearsals, dress run, and rough live mix are on the patreon feed from £5 tier or above. The full cast audio adaptation edit of this will follow later in the year. The recording used throughout this episode is a live mix of the performed play – it focuses on the text as writ - though it was a live show and there are some deviations made in the heat of performance. The final release will be cleaner and a more entertaining listen. Sojourner Hazelwood-Connell – Dido Kit McGuire – Aeneas Karim Kronfli - Iarbus Alex Kapila - Anna Liza Graham - Hermes Lynsey Beauchamp - Ilioneus Sarah Blake - Nurse Keith Hill - Achates Alexandra Kataigida - Cloanthus Pamela Flanagan - Ascanius Simon Nader - Sergestus Valentina Vinci – Technical Operator The host was Robert Crighton. CW: Discussion of war trauma, deaths, and issues of consent and race, discussion of racist language, multiple suicides, fire. Our patrons received this episode in June 2025 - three months in advance. 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton.

Recorded live last year, this is the post show discussion of our adaptation of the opening of A Mirror for Magistrates which covers The Fall of Richard II. The audio adaptation is available on the pod now. After the Fall - Post Show Discussion Hosted by Robert Crighton, with Dr Harriet Archer, Professor Thomas Betteridge and Dr Stephen Longstaffe With readers from the company, Liza Graham and Valentina Vinci Professor Thomas Betteridge is Dean of the College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences at Brunel University London. He is an expert in English Reformation history and Tudor drama, a member of the Research Advisory Board for Historic Royal Palaces and a strategic reviewer for the AHRC. Dr Harriet Archer is a lecturer in Early Modern English Literature at the University of St Andrews. Harriet’s research focuses on Tudor attitudes toward textual transmission, cultural production and literary authority, including the Renaissance reception of classical and medieval writing and thought in drama and printed poetry. Dr Stephen Longstaffe has edited the only early modern play on the 1381 Peasant’s Revolt (Jack Straw) for the Edwin Mellen Press, a collection of essays on 1 Henry IV for Bloomsbury, and co-edited a collection of essays on the Elizabethan history play for Manchester University Press. He has a long-standing interest in the English radical tradition, history plays, clowns, and cue-scripts, and since his retirement a university lecturer, has trained in both clowning and improvisation. Other materials: William Baldwin/Beware the Cat - https://audioboom.com/playlists/4635670-beware-the-cat-by-william-baldwin The Life and Death of Jack Straw (also Richard II) - https://audioboom.com/playlists/4629941-the-life-and-death-of-jack-straw Thomas of Woodstock (also Richard II) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=639UxqcqScY&list=PLflmEwgdfKoJXBzOGF38vNRDJ78LC5pnm Patreon Mirror Box Set - https://www.patreon.com/collection/483574 Our patrons received a rough cut of this episode in September 2024 - over eleven months in advance. 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/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton.