Beyond Shakespeare

Exploring the Chester Mystery Cycle - Play 16a (The Crucifixion)

From our Exploring workshop, where we read through the text of this play for future use towards an audio/stage show. This is play 16a (preceded, to be confusing, by play 16) of the Crucifixion. Some violence and abusive language.
The Beyond Shakespeare Irregulars this episode were Liz Cole, Richard Fawcett, Mark Scanlon, and Alan Scott – with host, Robert Crighton.
There are more versions of the Chester plays than you can shake a stick at - (actually there are eight) - so any text you use to follow will probably be a bit different to ours (for the sticklers, our base text was H, except for play five, where it was just easier to go for a group text (D-or Hm, A, R, B) composite - though some readings may have been borrowed from all). However, you don't necessarily need to worry about such things, so here's a nice friendly modern spelling version we found online. http://groups.chass.utoronto.ca/plspls/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/index.html

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 follow us on Twitter @BeyondShakes or even go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org

The Cambridge Prologue (Fragment)
An initial look at the Cambridge Prologue, a 13th Century survival of a lost play, which comes in two flavours - French and English. We focused on the English, performed by Gillian Horgan, who recorded three takes of our version of the text, mixed in with our exploring session looking into the original. More to come on this fascinating survival.
The Beyond Shakespeare Irregulars this episode are Liz Cole and Alan Scott and your host Robert Crighton.

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 follow us on Twitter @BeyondShakes or even go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org

Spoilers: Gammer Gurton's Needle (Act 3)
Welcome to this spoilery introduction to the play Gammer Gurton's Needle by Mr S. We present a run down of the action, with commentary and clips, followed by a plain text recording of material in the edit for the final full cast audio adaptation (coming soon!)It's Act Three (feel free to go back to the prologue and act 1/2 if you want to work chronologically), in which Gammer and Dame Chat fight it out in a serious grudge match. The plain text version is performed by Heydn McCabe as Diccon the Bedlam, Geir Madland as Hodge, Pamela Flanagan as Dame Chat, and Sarah Golding as Gammer Gurton - with Simon Nader as Cock and Gillian Horgan as Tyb. The host is Robert Crighton.
BE WARNED - If you just want to listen to the play as a play, don't listen to the spoilers episodes. Come back later, or don't listen. However, if you find early drama hard to follow, then you will get a good grounding in the action here - especially as we may make changes or cuts for our final version! The plain text version is rough in hew, it will change and we produce it in part to hunt out errors. You can follow the text online - though some texts are better than others. Good editions of the play can also be found - not always in print, but still in circulation - and are worth the hunt.Online versions are various and with many variations in text (dialect does that to a play) - but here's one that can be found at project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/37503/37503-h/37503-h.htm

Other online versions can and should be searched for. Editions: There are lots out there, these are the three volumes that pop up a lot. Five Pre-Shakespearean Comedies - Oxford (1934), Four Tudor Comedies - Penguin (1984), Gammer Gurton's Needle - New Mermaids (2nd Edition 2007)

Support the podcast by going to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare and pledge something – or by leaving a review on itunes or whichever podcasting service you use. Or follow us on Twitter @BeyondShakes or check out our website at www.beyondshakespeare.org

Exploring: The Prodigal Son (Pater, Filius et Uxor) - A Fragment (printed c.1530)
From our Exploring workshop, where we read through the text of this fragmentary play for future use towards an audio/stage show. The Prodigal Son survives as 84 lines of text, showing a wife threatening her husband with being made a cuckold, a son failing to sell wood, and a comic servant character making his entrance. Introduced by host Robert Crighton.
The Beyond Shakespeare Irregulars this episode are Liz Cole as Uxor, Richard Fawcett as Pater, Mark Scanlon as Filius, and your host Robert Crighton, reading the part of the servant.
You can follow the text via this link - your thoughts and comments are welcome. https://archive.org/details/collections01malouoft/page/n41

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 follow us on Twitter @BeyondShakes or even go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org

Spoilers: Gammer Gurton's Needle (Act 2)
Welcome to this spoilery introduction to the play Gammer Gurton's Needle by Mr S. We present a run down of the action, with commentary and clips, followed by a plain text recording of material in the edit for the final full cast audio adaptation (coming soon!)It's Act Two (feel free to go back to the prologue and act one if you want to work chronologically), in which Diccon stirs some shit, Gammer and Dame Chat lose their shit, and Hodge does a shit. In his pants. More scatological fun from the early modern. The plain text version is performed by Heydn McCabe as Diccon the Bedlam, Geir Madland as Hodge, Pamela Flanagan as Dame Chat, and Sarah Golding as Gammer Gurton. The host is Robert Crighton.
BE WARNED - If you just want to listen to the play as a play, don't listen to the spoilers episodes. Come back later, or don't listen. However, if you find early drama hard to follow, then you will get a good grounding in the action here - especially as we may make changes or cuts for our final version! The plain text version is rough in hew, it will change and we produce it in part to hunt out errors. You can follow the text online - though some texts are better than others. Good editions of the play can also be found - not always in print, but still in circulation - and are worth the hunt.Online versions are various and with many variations in text (dialect does that to a play) - but here's one that can be found at project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/37503/37503-h/37503-h.htm

Other online versions can and should be searched for. Editions: There are lots out there, these are the three volumes that pop up a lot. Five Pre-Shakespearean Comedies - Oxford (1934), Four Tudor Comedies - Penguin (1984), Gammer Gurton's Needle - New Mermaids (2nd Edition 2007)

Support the podcast by going to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare and pledge something – or by leaving a review on itunes or whichever podcasting service you use. Or follow us on Twitter @BeyondShakes or check out our website at www.beyondshakespeare.org

Exploring the Chester Mystery Cycle - Play 16 (The Trial)

From our Exploring workshop, where we read through the text of this play for future use towards an audio/stage show. This is play 16 (to be followed by play 16a) of the Trial. Some violence and abusive language.

The Beyond Shakespeare Irregulars this episode were Liz Cole, Mark Scanlon, and Alan Scott as everyone else – with host, Robert Crighton.

There are more versions of the Chester plays than you can shake a stick at - (actually there are eight) - so any text you use to follow will probably be a bit different to ours (for the sticklers, our base text was H, except for play five, where it was just easier to go for a group text (D-or Hm, A, R, B) composite - though some readings may have been borrowed from all). However, you don't necessarily need to worry about such things, so here's a nice friendly modern spelling version we found online. http://groups.chass.utoronto.ca/plspls/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/index.html

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 follow us on Twitter @BeyondShakes or even go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org

Spoilers: Gammer Gurton's Needle (Act 1)
Welcome to this spoilery introduction to the play Gammer Gurton's Needle by Mr S. We present a run down of the action, with commentary and clips, followed by a plain text recording of material in the edit for the final full cast audio adaptation (coming soon!)Today it's Act One (feel free to go back to the prologue if you want to work chronologically), which sets up the primary thrust of the action of the play, the loss of Gammer Gurton's needle.  The plain text version is performed by Heydn McCabe as Diccon the Bedlam, Geir Madland as Hodge, Gillian Horgan as Tib, Sarah Golding as Gammer Gurton and Simon Nader as Cock.. The host is Robert Crighton.
BE WARNED - If you just want to listen to the play as a play, don't listen to the spoilers episodes. Come back later, or don't listen. However, if you find early drama hard to follow, then you will get a good grounding in the action here - especially as we may make changes or cuts for our final version! The plain text version is rough in hew, it will change and we produce it in part to hunt out errors. You can follow the text online - though some texts are better than others. Good editions of the play can also be found - not always in print, but still in circulation - and are worth the hunt.Online versions are various and with many variations in text (dialect does that to a play) - but here's one that can be found at project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/37503/37503-h/37503-h.htm

Other online versions can and should be searched for. Editions: There are lots out there, these are the three volumes that pop up a lot. Five Pre-Shakespearean Comedies - Oxford (1934), Four Tudor Comedies - Penguin (1984), Gammer Gurton's Needle - New Mermaids (2nd Edition 2007)

Support the podcast by going to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare and pledge something – or by leaving a review on itunes or whichever podcasting service you use. Or follow us on Twitter @BeyondShakes or check out our website at www.beyondshakespeare.org

The Poetaster by Ben Jonson (Prologue) - What's Past Is Prologue
A performance of the pre-show material to The Poetaster by Ben Jonson. It's a fun start which is very much caught up in attacking Jonson's rivals. We;'re only slightly joking when we suggest you watch this video at the same time as the introduction to the podcast - https://youtu.be/3tmd-ClpJxA
- because there is a relationship between what this prologue is trying to do, and the public feuds that we see in modern media. And they both have snakes.
If you'd like to make us to do a full audio production of this play, join us on patreon and choose this play at the next vote. www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare or you can follow us on Twitter @BeyondShakes - or go to our website beyondshakespeare.org
Envy is performed by Sarah Golding, the Prologue by Rob Myson and the episode is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 
Additional sound effects from the wonderful people at http://www.freesfx.co.uk

Spoilers: Gammer Gurton's Needle (The Prologue)
Welcome to this spoilery introduction to the play Gammer Gurton's Needle by Mr S. We present a run down of the action, with commentary and clips, followed by a plain text recording of material in the edit for the final full cast audio adaptation (coming soon!)Today it's the prologue, which lays out (almost) the entire plot of the play, including the biggest spoiler of them all - the location of Gammer Gurton's Needle. Tension in this play, there is none. The prologue is performed by Adam Thurkettle. The host is Robert Crighton.
BE WARNED - If you just want to listen to the play as a play, don't listen to the spoilers episodes. Come back later, or don't listen. However, if you find early drama hard to follow, then you will get a good grounding in the action here - especially as we may make changes or cuts for our final version! The plain text version is rough in hew, it will change and we produce it in part to hunt out errors. You can follow the text online - though some texts are better than others. Good editions of the play can also be found - not always in print, but still in circulation - and are worth the hunt.Online versions are various and with many variations in text (dialect does that to a play) - but here's one that can be found at project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/37503/37503-h/37503-h.htm

Other online versions can and should be searched for. Editions: There are lots out there, these are the three volumes that pop up a lot. Five Pre-Shakespearean Comedies - Oxford (1934), Four Tudor Comedies - Penguin (1984), Gammer Gurton's Needle - New Mermaids (2nd Edition 2007)

Support the podcast by going to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare and pledge something – or by leaving a review on itunes or whichever podcasting service you use. Or follow us on Twitter @BeyondShakes or check out our website at www.beyondshakespeare.org

Discussing: The York Corpus Christi PlayHost Robert Crighton discusses with Dr Christina M. Fitzgerald the York Corpus Christi Play and her Broadview edition of 27 selected pageants – which can be found in all good bookshops or via this link - https://broadviewpress.com/product/the-york-corpus-christi-play-selected-pageants/?ph=9aca224f1207703b2563bc35#tab-description

Dr Christina M. Fitzgerald (Ph.D. UCLA) teaches English literature, specializing in the medieval period at the University of Toledo. The Drama of Masculinity and Medieval English Guild Culture, Palgrave Macmillan (2007), co-editor of The Broadview Anthology of Medieval Drama (2012), with John T. Sebastian and editor of The York Corpus Christi Play: Selected Pageants (Broadview, 2018). 
Also briefly mentioned in the podcast is Impossible Plays by Keith Dewhurst and Jack Shepherd - which is a great read.Support this podcast by going to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare, or follow us @BeyondShakes on Twitter, or visit our website www.beyondshakespeare.org