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.

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The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton.