Comfortably Hungry

Food in Shakespeare: Sex, Sack and a Dish of Prunes


Listen Later

As the title of this podcast suggests much of the discussion around the following episode centres on SEX. So, if you are travelling in the car with young people or anyone who is easily offended you may want to wait until you have dropped them off!

Sex is, and always has been, a part of our lives. Without it none of us would be here. The very mention of the word can elicit titters, blushes, disgust and arousal. Shakespeare’s plays are teeming with sexual inuendo often with reference to food. Helping me unpick exactly what the Bard meant by these saucy references is Dr Will Tosh, Director of Education at Shakespeare’s Globe and author of Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare and several other books.

This is the last chance for listeners to claim their 25% off tickets for the Serve It Forth Festival on 18 October 2025! Enter SERVE25 at the checkout.

If you enjoyed the podcast you can become a paid subscriber to the Comfortably Hungry Substack (which means you’ll receive additional content) or show your appreciation by leaving a small, one off tip here.

Don’t forget that you can find links to the books discussed in today’s and other episodes on the Comfortably Hungry Bookshelf on Substack. Much Ado About Cooking is available to pre-order ahead of its release on 23 October 2025.

Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or Bluesky @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.

A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast.

Comfortably Hungry is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



Get full access to Comfortably Hungry at comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Comfortably HungryBy Sam Bilton

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

2 ratings


More shows like Comfortably Hungry

View all
History Extra podcast by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast

3,192 Listeners

The Food Programme by BBC Radio 4

The Food Programme

268 Listeners

The English Heritage Podcast by English Heritage

The English Heritage Podcast

229 Listeners

Shedunnit by Caroline Crampton

Shedunnit

699 Listeners

Historic Royal Palaces Podcast by Historic Royal Palaces

Historic Royal Palaces Podcast

450 Listeners

The Medieval Podcast by Medievalists.net

The Medieval Podcast

318 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,193 Listeners

Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith by Gilly Smith

Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith

12 Listeners

The Delicious Legacy by The Delicious Legacy

The Delicious Legacy

35 Listeners

Gone Medieval by History Hit

Gone Medieval

1,822 Listeners

Not Just the Tudors by History Hit

Not Just the Tudors

2,031 Listeners

The British Food History Podcast by Neil Buttery

The British Food History Podcast

36 Listeners

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society by History Hit

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

1,332 Listeners

The Country House Podcast by Hancock Productions

The Country House Podcast

127 Listeners

A is for Apple: An Encyclopaedia of Food & Drink by Sam Bilton, Neil Buttery & Alessandra Pino

A is for Apple: An Encyclopaedia of Food & Drink

3 Listeners