Shakespeare's Shadows

Shakespeare’s words from "As You Like It" and "Twelfth Night" get a catchy, folkish musical treatment on "The Shakespeare Tapes," a new EP by folk-pop-americana trio Bandits on the Run. The Brooklyn-based group’s three band members — Adrian Blake Enscoe (he/they), Sydney Shepherd (she/her), and Regina Stayhorn (she/her) — join Shakespeare’s Shadows for this bonus episode to talk about the forthcoming EP, which has one single, “Tiny Boy,” out now. Bandits on the Run originally composed the EP’s six songs for a 2022 production of "As You Like It" directed by Peter Andersen at Carnegie Mellon University. The band chatted with Shakespeare’s Shadows host Emily Rome about leaning into As You Like It’s themes of gender and self-discovery with this music, about performing the songs on tour, and why recording this in Nashville felt “actively defiant.” Currently Bandits on the Run are working on the stage musical adaptation of "What’s Eating Gilbert Grape," and they will be on tour across the U.S. this summer. Among the band members’ past work: Sydney has played such roles as Lizzie Borden in the musical Lizzie and Viola in the "Twelfth Night" musical adaptation "Illyria," Regina has performed Off-Broadway at the Secret Theatre and Lincoln Center, and Adrian starred in Broadway musical "Swept Away" and Apple TV+ series "Dickinson."

What does it take for a woman to survive in Elsinore? What would Ophelia and Gertrude tell us — if only they got anywhere close to the number of lines Shakespeare gives Hamlet? This and more is explored in new play "A Room in the Castle," which gives the women of Hamlet their time to shine. A co-production of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and the Folger Shakespeare Library, "A Room in the Castle" is in the midst of its world premiere, onstage at the Folger through April 6. "A Room in the Castle" director Kaja Dunn and playwright Lauren Gunderson join Shakespeare’s Shadows for a bonus episode delving into the origins of this satisfying new play, the significance of who gets to have soliloquies, and what happens when women are labeled “mad” — plus, we also take some time to discuss Lauren Gunderson’s new adaptation of "Little Women." Guests on this episode are: • Kaja Dunn (she/her), whose directing credits include previous productions at the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Old Globe, and Cape Fear Regional Theatre. Her work as an intimacy professional includes productions at the Folger and "A Strange Loop" on Broadway. She is an associate professor at Carnegie Melon University. • Lauren Gunderson (she/her) has repeatedly been among the most-produced playwrights in the U.S., topping the list (which excludes Shakespeare) thrice over the past decade. Her writing credits include the plays "I and You," "Silent Sky," the Pemberley trilogy, and "The Book of Will."

"As You Like It" is often remembered for being a rom-com, but it’s also a family drama. Duke Senior (Rosalind’s father) is usurped by his brother Duke Frederick. One brother rules at court while the exiled brother builds a new life in the Forest of Arden. In this episode — about not just one but two characters — we discuss why it is that Frederick banished his brother and then his niece, what makes As You Like It ripe for musical adaption, how to make sense of Duke Senior so eagerly returning to court after he was raving about life in the forest, and more. Guests on this episode are: • Jennifer Lines (she/her), who performed in multiple stagings (including at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.) of an "As You Like It" featuring Beatles music. This version of the play originated at Bard on the Beach in Vancouver, and Jennifer plays characters known in that version as Dame Senior and Dame Frances. • Darius de Haas (he/him), who played Duke Senior in the 2017 Public Works world premiere of Shaina Taub’s "As You Like It" musical adaptation at the Delacorte Theater in New York’s Central Park • Dr. Alys Daroy (she/her), a professor of English and Theatre at Murdoch University. Alys is also an actor and is co-artistic director of Shakespeare South, recognized as Australia’s first eco-Shakespeare company. She is co-author of the forthcoming book "Shakespeare, Ecology and Adaptation: A Practical Guide." To view video footage from Jennifer's and Darius's productions, visit shakespearesshadows.com/duke-senior-frederick-video

Hamlet’s best friend, Horatio, gets 7 percent of the lines in "Hamlet" next to the title character “who never shuts up” (as one guest on this episode puts it) with 37 percent. This episode gives Horatio his moment to be center stage, revealing how he doesn’t have to be a one-note or one-dimensional character, even as his role is in service of Hamlet’s story. We discuss Horatio’s journey being one of learned bravery, whether Hamlet and Horatio may be more than friends, and the significance of Horatio and other characters studying in Wittenberg.Guests on this episode are:Dr. Jonathan Gil Harris, a professor of English at Ashoka University in Sonipat, India. His publications include guest editing a 2011 special edition of Shakespeare Quarterly that was all about Horatio, titled “Surviving Hamlet”David Gow, who played Horatio in September 2023 staged reading at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts opposite Finn Wittrock as HamletThis episode contains discussion of grief, murder, and suicide.

In "The Merchant of Venice," Portia is remarkable for her cleverness and the power she holds, and she’s ostensibly a hero of this story. But her journey is entwined with that of Shylock, the Jewish moneylender whose mistreatment makes "Merchant of Venice" a deeply troubling play. In this episode, we discuss just how extremely wealthy Portia is, whether or not Portia is likable (and how her likability is often approached differently in scholarship versus in performance), and how an actress may grapple with Portia’s role in Shylock’s ultimate fate.Guests on this episode are:Lynn Collins, who played Portia in the 2004 Merchant of Venice film directed by Michael Radford, starring alongside Joseph Fiennes, Jeremy Irons, and Al PacinoDr. Peter Holland, a professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Notre Dame teaching in both the English department and the Department of Film, Television, and TheatreThis episode contains explicit language and discussion of racism and religious intolerance.

Roberto Williams is one of five actors together playing the title character in Long Beach Playhouse’s current production of "Hamlet". One actor plays what’s called the core Hamlet, and the others play four parts of Hamlet’s psyche: wisdom, innocence, justice, and vengeance — Roberto plays the latter. In this bonus episode, Roberto discusses this unique staging of what’s often referred to as Shakespeare’s best play. He also shares some details about another adaptation of "Hamlet" inspired by Deaf culture that he’s developing, and he chats about his popular Instagram and TikTok reels that connect Shakespeare’s characters to modern pop culture.

"Sleep No More," the immersive, one-of-a-kind adaptation of "Macbeth," is in the spotlight in the first-ever bonus episode of Shakespeare’s Shadows. Co-produced by Punchdrunk and Emursive Productions, "Sleep No More" is a promenade-style performance that invites the audience members to freely explore the eerie spaces of its 5-story set. Its iconic run in New York is currently set to close in mid-June. Though this episode doesn’t delve into a single Shakespeare character like a regular-format episode of Shakespeare’s Shadows does, you’ll still find the captivating character-focused discussion that you get in any episode of the podcast. Emursive Chief Storyteller Ilana Gilovich chats with podcast host Emily Rome about the impact and legacy of "Sleep No More," including how it weaves in elements of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, what the production’s props and imagery reveal about the characters, and her advice on how to get the most out of the show as an audience member.

In “Henry V,” King Henry gets a new foil: the French Dauphin, the heir apparent in France, England’s rival. In the conflict that culminates in the Battle of Agincourt, Shakespeare depicts the English with layers and complexity and ultimately with a great deal of nobility. Meanwhile, the French (in the text and sometimes even more so in performance) come off as arrogant, foppish, and often quite silly. This episode delves into discussion of the Dauphin’s relationship with his father the king, where Shakespeare diverges from real history, and how — even in a history play set at wartime — this character can be mined for a lot of comedy.Guests on this episode are Stephen Michael Spencer, who played the Dauphin at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in 2023, and Dr. Elizabeth Pentland, a professor at York University in Toronto who specializes in Renaissance literature, including research on literary exchanges between England and France during the period of the French civil wars.

featuring interviews with actor Michael Blake, Pilobolus choreographers Matt Kent and Renée Jaworski, and SUNY New Paltz professor Matthieu ChapmanA Shakespeare play that can be at turns heartwarming and troubling, “The Tempest” features two major characters who don’t look like the humans around them: Caliban and Ariel. Caliban, repeatedly described as “monstrous” by other characters, is enslaved by Prospero, the play’s protagonist. This episode delves into discussion about post-colonial interpretations of this play written in the early 17th century, about the significance of Caliban’s mother being a witch from Algiers, and about varying approaches to “The Tempest” theme of choosing forgiveness over revenge and the question of whether Caliban’s ending is one with reconciliation.Guests on this episode are:• Matt Kent (he/him) and Renée Jaworski (she/her), artistic directors of the acclaimed modern dance company Pilobolus. They crafted the choreography for “The Tempest” directed by Aaron Posner and Teller (of Penn and Teller), a stage production that depicts Caliban as a two-headed creature played by two performers• Michael Blake (he/him), who played Caliban for the Stratford Festival in 2018, among his nine seasons at the Stratford, Ontario festival. Michael is currently portraying the Player in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” opposite Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan.• Dr. Matthieu Chapman (he/him), a theatre studies professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz whose publications include the books “Anti-Black Racism in Early Modern English Drama” and “Shattered: Fragments of a Black Life.”This episode contains discussion of slavery, racial violence, involuntary intoxication, and an accusation of rape.To view photos and video footage of the performances crafted by Pilobolus and by Michael Blake, visit shakespearesshadows.com/caliban-video

featuring interviews with actor Bally Gill and University of the Pacific professor Courtney Lehmann One half of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers is in the spotlight in this episode, which explores how this character goes from bad poet to good poet, what it takes to deliver an authentic and naturalistic Romeo, and how the introduction of the rapier to England shortly before Shakespeare wrote "Romeo and Juliet" was a deadly game-changer in street brawls. Guests on this episode are Dr. Courtney Lehmann, professor of English and Film Studies at the University of the Pacific and writer of the book "Screen Adaptations: Romeo and Juliet: A close study of the relationship between text and film," and Bally Gill, who played Romeo at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2018, winning the prestigious Ian Charleston Award for the role. He has just made his return to the RSC, currently playing Oberon and Theseus in their "Midsummer Night’s Dream."

featuring interviews with actors Patrice Jean-Baptiste and Simon Paisley Day and Gonzaga University professor Heather EasterlingOne of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays, “The Taming of the Shrew,” gets put under the microscope in this episode as we examine the character Petruchio, the man who supposedly tames the play’s titular shrew. Discussed in this episode is what impact the play’s induction scene has on our perception of the play’s characters, Petruchio’s “taming” methods, and the ongoing debate about whether “Taming of the Shrew” should be retired from performance.Guests on this episode are Patrice Jean-Baptiste (she/her), who spoke with Shakespeare’s Shadows in the midst of playing Petruchio in September 2023 in Boston with the Actors’ Shakespeare Project; Simon Paisley Day (he/him), who reflected back on taking on the role at Shakespeare’s Globe in London in 2012, and Dr. Heather Easterling (she/her), professor of English and of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Gonzaga University.This episode contains explicit language and discussion of domestic abuse and domestic violence.

A spirit of mischief, transformation, and imagination, Puck aka Robin Goodfellow darts around "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" provoking chaos and confusion when a couple groups of humans wander into a forest populated by magical beings. Discussed in this episode is Puck’s relationship to Oberon, looking at "Midsummer" with an ecological lens, how Puck’s meter sets him apart, and why this play is such a popular choice for young audiences and young performers. This episode is a special one for a couple reasons — among them: Ray Porter played Puck in the first professional production of Shakespeare that podcast creator Emily Rome ever saw, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s 1998 "Midsummer’s Night’s Dream." He reflects back on that production, as Katie Brokaw lends her expertise as both a professor and practitioner of Shakespeare at UC Merced and in Yosemite National Park.

One of Shakespeare’s most notorious and chilling villains, "Othello" character Iago, is in the spotlight in the second episode of season 2. This character has inspired debate for centuries, and this episodes’ guests — who, at times, have totally different takes on Iago — suggest that the debate will continue. Discussed in this episode is whether “motiveless malignity” is a helpful phrase for understanding Iago, whether or not Iago is a psychopath, and why villain characters continue to captivate. Guests on this episode are Tony Award-nominated actor Patrick Page ("Hadestown"), who played Iago at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. in 2005 and is in the midst of performing his solo show "All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain" Off-Broadway; Conor Andrew Hall, who played Iago for New Place Players in Manhattan earlier this year; and Miles Grier, professor at Queens College CUNY and writer of the new book "Inkface: Othello and White Authority in the Era of Atlantic Slavery."

The podcast relaunches with an episode all about Shakespeare’s first tragic heroine. This season 2 premiere explores what makes Juliet extraordinary: she’s brave, playful, confident, and resourceful — all at age 13. Also discussed: Romeo and Juliet’s popularity among Latinx theater-makers, Juliet’s relationship with her parents and the Nurse, whether Juliet is really a character who exhibits agency, and the Taylor Swift song “Love Story.” Guests on this episode are Naire Poole (she/they), who played Juliet for Shakespeare & Company’s Northeast Regional Tour earlier this year; Alejandra Escalante (she/her), who starred in an 1840s Alta California-set Romeo and Juliet at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2012; and Dr. Sophie Duncan (she/her), Research Fellow and Dean for Welfare at Magdalen College, University of Oxford and author of 2023 book Searching for Juliet: The Lives and Afterlives of Shakespeare’s First Tragic Heroine.

In "Romeo and Juliet," Mercutio becomes the tipping point that turns this tale of two star-crossed lovers from a romantic comedy to a tragedy. Episode 11 delves into what kind of friend Mercutio is to Romeo, various approaches to his famed Queen Mab speech, imaginings of Mercutio’s own romantic history, and why Mercutio — after speaking in only four scenes — remains one of the most memorable and beloved parts of this iconic play. Guests on this episode are André Martin, who played Mercutio with the Independent Shakespeare Company in Los Angeles in 2014; Brian Grey, who plays the role in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s current production; and Martine Kei Green-Rogers, assistant professor in the Theater Arts department at State University of New York at New Paltz and President-Elect of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.

Ariel, the sprite who serves Prospero in “The Tempest” is the first non-human character featured on Shakespeare’s Shadows. Dr. Brinda Charry — an English professor at Keene State College — and Mark Quartley — currently playing Ariel for the Royal Shakespeare Company — discuss Ariel’s complicated relationship with his master, varying interpretations of the moment he is set free, and how Ariel discovers what it is to be human. Quartley also talks about his unique experience playing Ariel via real-time motion-capture technology in this stage production running at the Barbican Theatre in London through August 18th. He co-stars opposite Simon Russell Beale, returning to the RSC as Prospero after having taken on the role of Ariel in 1993.

For a character that doesn’t appear onstage for much of the play, there is a lot to unpack with Cordelia, and she has a major impact on the journey of her father, the title character of “King Lear.” In this episode, UCSB professor Jim Kearney returns to the podcast, and Erika Soto shares her experience playing Cordelia earlier this year at A Noise Within in Pasadena, California. Discussed here are the changes Shakespeare made to his source material for “King Lear,” how an actress can bide her time while staying in the zone through Cordelia’s long stretch backstage waiting for her return in Act 4, and why it’s essential to remember that Cordelia leads an army into battle.

The most recognizable image of perhaps any Shakespeare heroine is Ophelia drowning — Gertrude’s description of Ophelia “mermaid-like” in the brook has inspired numerous painters. But her untimely death is not her full story. In this episode, we discuss the young woman tangled up in Hamlet’s drama with guests Deanne Williams, an English professor at York University in Toronto; Jennie Greenberry, who played Ophelia last year at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; and Mariah Gale, who took on the role in the Bard’s hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon, co-starring opposite David Tennant in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2008 “Hamlet” production. Their recollections of performing and teaching “Hamlet” reveal far more than the languid victim seen in those iconic paintings and illuminate a woman of courage, compassion, and perhaps more ingenuity than first meets the eye.

With more lines than any other female character in Shakespeare’s canon, Rosalind stands apart. Both a romantic and a cynic when it comes to love, she chooses her own husband and launches discourse with him negotiating their domestic life — near-unheard of for a noblewoman in her time of arranged marriages. Featuring interviews with Jessika D. Williams — currently starring in CalShakes’ “As You Like It” — and Cal State Dominguez Hills professor Kimberly Huth, this episode delves into how Rosalind’s gender exploration remains utterly relevant to modern audiences, whether her disguise as Ganymede is actually convincing, and that fourth wall-breaking epilogue. And we gab about a squee-filled moment when “As You Like It” basically embodies a certain catchy “Grease” song.

“Twelfth Night” is a comedy, so it calls for a happy ending — but not all of the play’s characters get a wedding and a ride off into the Illyrian sunset. Amid all the the farce and revelry of “Twelfth Night,” Malvolio’s story is a darker one. Featuring interviews with Amin El Gamal (“Prison Break,” “The Newsroom”) and UCLA English department chair Lowell Gallagher, this episode takes a closer look at why Malvolio fantasies about marrying Olivia, varying views on what Malvolio’s revenge might be, and how a problem we can see Shakespeare thinking through with Malvolio is ultimately solved in “Hamlet.” And, of course, what’s up with those cross-gartered yellow stockings.