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Beyond Shakespeare
Beyond Shakespeare
Author: Beyond Shakespeare
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From the earliest drama in English, to the closing of the theatres in 1642, there was a hell of a lot of drama produced - and a lot of it wasn't by Shakespeare. Apart from a few noble exceptions these plays are often passed over, ignored or simply unknown. This podcast presents full audio productions of the plays, fragmentary and extant, that shaped the theatrical world that shaped our dramatic history.
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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.
Speech! Speech! Occasional scenes and speeches from plays, voted for by those you support our work. This is a speech from The Arraignment of Paris by George Peele, recorded live at our Revels season on Saturday 16th December 2023. With Sarah Blake as Diana.
For more on the play The Arraignment of Paris visit our playlist on the play - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5rtIlvo8sQ&list=PLflmEwgdfKoIPwhoQevuUw4fqnoYhLk4X
For more on George Peele and one of his other plays The Old Wives' Tale - https://audioboom.com/playlists/4635651-the-old-wives-tale-by-george-peele
For a playlist covering all his extant and attributed work - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh7jhyKwrd4&list=PLflmEwgdfKoLEiTrRFvkIeYa0skCLKX7i
Our patrons received the scene within this episode in January 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.
Recorded live last year, this is our adaptation of the opening of A Mirror for Magistrates which covers The Fall of Richard II. We performed it live, and there were a few issues with the recording, so I've kept the edit fairly simple. The adaptation cuts the second poem on The Two Rogers, trims a few verses, and turns into acting dialogue the editorial meeting in the book.
There was also a post show discussion, which will follow on the pod soon.
The Fall of Richard the Second
Adapted by Robert Crighton, from the opening of A Mirror for Magistrates. Performed on Thursday 11th April 2024 at the Quay Theatre, Sudbury.
A team of writers gather to write a sequel to John Lydgate’s Fall of Princes, to accompany it’s reprinting. They decide to conjure the ghosts of dead figures, having them the wrongs they committed in life.
Introduction – Valentina Vinci
George Ferrer (conjuring Robert Tresilian) – Liza Graham
Henry, Lord Stafford (conjuring Sir Thomas of Woodstock) – Stephen Longstaffe
William Baldwin (conjuring Lord Mowbray) – Robert Crighton
Sir Thomas Chaloner (conjuring King Richard II) – Kit McGuire
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 August 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.
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: How Doctor Faustus desired to see hell, and of the manner how he was used therein
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 June 2024 - approx. 14 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 Four 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
Lynsey Beauchamp - Ilioneus
Sarah Blake - Nurse
Keith Hill - Achates
Alexandra Kataigida - Cloanthus
Emma Kemp - Cupid
Simon Nader - Sergestus
Valentina Vinci – Technical Operator
The host was Robert Crighton.
CW: Discussion of war trauma, deaths, and issues of consent and race.
Our patrons received this episode in May 2025 - over 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.
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 1, beginning at the top of the show.
The show started with Setting up the Board, which delivered an overview of Thomas Middleton in the 1620’s, and the theatrical context for the play. With readings of some of the sources, letters, and gossip behind the political theatre of the time.
The hosts were Robert Crighton and Liza Graham
Also featuring the voices of Keith Hill, Simon Nader, Daniel Yabut, Gillian Horgan, Kit McGuire, Sojourner Hazelwood-Connell, Connor Robert-Brown, Valentina Vinci.
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.
One of our follow on projects from the readings of The Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus has been to try and figure out how the process of adaptation from the book to the play might have happened. Coinciding with the Marlowe Society of America's conference in 2024, we pulled together a short play looking at the writing of the opening of the play. The resulting play Faustus to Faustus - Part One: Enter a Devil by Robert Crighton, was performed at the Royal Albert Pub in Deptford on Wednesday 10th July 2024 and was recorded for the podcast for future release.
And this is that release!
It's not a perfect recording, as there was a lot background noise and we were pressed for time because of an imminent football match. But the audience were great and it's wonderful to archive their response.
NB: The play does involve some swearing.
Faustus to Faustus: A Treatise on the Procession of Text from Book to Stage, made Dialogue Wise, concerning the translated text from the German, and the play by Christopher Marlowe, compiled by Robert Crighton.
With Roel Fox as Christopher Marlowe, Robert Crighton as Thomas Nashe, and Liza Graham as introduction and ballad singer.
The performance was reviewed here.
Part two of this ongoing series will premier on the final performance day of our Wyrd Revels, following our performance of the B-Text of Doctor Faustus by... well, you've got the idea by now.
Our patrons received a rough mix of this episode in November 2024 - over eight 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.
This week we're discussing... (sinister music plays) Horror, and whether we can sensibly describe some of the early modern and medieval drama as Horror? How far can we push a modern genre onto an older form.
Joining me in this discussion is Dr Rebekah King, who graduated from Cambridge with a PhD in English looking at how magicians were depicted on the early modern stage. As well as being a researcher, she is an award-winning writer whose recent play ‘Moderation’ followed the lives of social media moderators forced to see the worst things on the internet all day for a living. It transferred from an extended run at the Edinburgh Fringe to the Greenwich Theatre’s ‘pick of the Fringe season’ in October 2023. Dr King has also recently collaborated with composer George Parris on an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Shadow’ which premiered at the Royal Academy of Music in January 2024.
Substack: https://rebekahkingwriter.substack.com/
Bluesky: @rebekahking.bsky.social
Website: https://www.rebekahkingwriter.com/
Our patrons received this episode in March 2025 - over four 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.
It's time for some !Spoilers! for Act Three 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
Lynsey Beauchamp - Ilioneus
Sarah Blake - Venus
Keith Hill - Achates
Alexandra Kataigida - Cloanthus
Emma Kemp - Cupid
Liza Graham - Juno
Simon Nader - Sergestus
Valentina Vinci – Technical Operator
The host was Robert Crighton.
CW: Discussion of war trauma, deaths, and issues of consent.
Our patrons received this episode in April 2025 - over two 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.



















