Not Another Shakespeare Podcast!

Bohemian sea coasts, bad disguises, and offstage deaths, oh my! It’s THE WINTER’S TALE! In yet another case of James feeling betrayed by a play title, The Winter’s Tale is a magical story with ghosts, bears, and long-lost princesses — but it’s not set in winter. Featuring Gerard Butler and 300, and precisely how many biscuits we’d serve the Queen if she came to tea.

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Step aside, Billy Shakes — it’s your buddy J. Fletch’s day to shine! This week we’re washing out the bad taste the Taming left in our mouths with John Fletcher’s semi-sequel THE WOMAN’S PRIZE aka THE TAMER TAMED. We detour to 80s British children’s TV stars, Bill & Ted, and Chumbawumba. Did Fletcher really do it better? Listen to find out!   

Content Note: Be aware that this play (and this episode) contains discussion of rape, sexual violence, and intimate partner violence.

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On today’s episode, we’re drinking wine to help us get through Shakespeare’s domestic violence comedy, The Taming of the Shrew! We detour to water voles and garden pests, James loses track of who’s who, and we test the limits of the misogynometer.   

Content note: Be aware that this episode (and this play) touches on domestic / intimate partner violence, gaslighting and coercive control.

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“Let not the world witches or devils condemn / They follow us, and then we follow them.” Along with witches, devils, murders and Morris dancing, our spooky Halloween special features a list of James’s favourite witches, the only Dog Nora doesn’t love, a woman disguised as a boy (of course), and some casual bigamy.

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What do Mean Girls, James Bond, and baguettes all have to do with Richard II? Join James, Nora, and special guest Dr Ambereen Dadabhoy to find out! We’ve got scheming uncles, familiar castles, and improbable timelines galore in our first foray into Shakespeare’s history plays.   

Ambereen is an Associate Professor of Literature at Harvey Mudd College. Her research focuses on racial and religious "otherness," in early modern English drama, particularly on plays set in the Mediterranean. She's currently working on a book on Shakespeare and Islamicate cultures, which dovetails with her interest in early modern forms of the "War on Terror." Ambereen's favourite Shakespeare play is Richard II.   

Check out Ambereen’s most recent publication in the excellent Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Race, edited by Ayanna Thompson. Her chapter is on ‘Barbarian Moors: Documenting Racial Formation in Early Modern England’ https://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/literature/renaissance-and-early-modern-literature/cambridge-companion-shakespeare-and-race?format=PB

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We’re back for Measure for Measure, Part 2!! Join us for the epic conclusion to this deeply messed up play as we call Shakespeare out for his blatant pirate erasure, speculate on whether for fornication can occur in a garden, and invent a new superhero   

Content note: Be aware that this episode (and this play) deals with sexual violence and wrongful imprisonment.

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We’re back! Season 2 kicks off with a two-part Measure for Measure episode. We’ll explore the play that Nora’s been researching for years, with a detour to the Mr Men (again), and a pitch to get Fiat to sponsor us. Is Angelo’s dick actually made of ice? Will we finally crank the misogynometer up to 11? Tune in to find out!   

Content note: Be aware that this episode (and this play) deals with sexual violence and wrongful imprisonment.

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In our last Summer Bonus Episode, we answer the important lingering questions from Season 1 and discuss alternate endings for the plays we’ve covered so far. Special guests include Mr Bump and Jigglypuff. We always earn our “E” tag, but this one’s explicit even for us. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

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Join James, Nora, and special guest Kristen Zaza on a journey to answer life’s most essential question: what if the Muppets did Shakespeare? That’s right! We’re playing the timeless game of casting a classic work of literature with Muppets and one human actor. Daniel Day Lewis bonds with Beaker, Ernie and Bert find true love, and Sam the Eagle steps into the role he was born to play.   

Kristen Zaza is a writer, composer, performer and podcaster based in Toronto, Canada.   Her award-winning solo audiodrama podcast, On a Dark, Cold Night, is currently in its second season, which Kristen writes, performs, produces, and composes music for on a weekly basis.   You can listen to On a Dark, Cold Night at kristenzaza.com/podcast, or your favourite podcast app.

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In the first of our three summer Bonus Episodes, Nora assigns James the same Shakespeare quiz she gives her students. We cover King Charles II's feminist credentials (questionable) and Shakespeare's lifelong quest to achieve ad sponsorship from Italy. Special appearances from Boyz II Men, Will.i.am, and Celine Dion. Will we have a feminine ending? You'll have to listen to find out... 

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