In an unprecedented second episode on a play, Sheldrake examines the linguistic DNA of Hamlet and finds three rhetorical techniques that perform what Shakespeare is also doing with the big ideas in this play: Hendiadys, Metonymy and Synecdoche.

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In an episode dedicated to a great Shakespearean, Mr John Branston, Sheldrake drifts slightly from the one-play-one-idea tagline to focus on one character in this play: Queen Margaret. After her long march through the Henry VI plays, how does she wrest some control of the audience’s perspective from Richard and, in the end, does it make any difference?

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Few people in the world will have spent as many hours working on the delivery and performance of Shakespeare as Robert Price. After a career as an actor, he was the Senior Voice Tutor at RADA 2007-15 and a voice tutor at LAMDA for many years. He therefore has huge experience with and a rare perspective on how to ‘speak the speech’. A few weeks ago I managed to convince him that what he really wanted to be doing with a chunk of his busy schedule was talking to me about Shakespeare and the voice. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation.

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In the first of two episodes on this mightiest of plays, Sheldrake compares the plot of Shakespeare’s Hamlet with its sources, uncovering a tremendous amount of ‘literary upcycling’ but also a profound and imaginative tribute to the power of theatre at the play’s core.

First preview of Sheldrake on Shakespeare: Live! THIS FRIDAY 2nd June, 7pm at the Etcetera Theatre, Camden.

Oxford preview on Thursday 8th June, 7.30pm at the Old Fire Station, Oxford.

All previews and the Edinburgh run listed here: https://sheldrakeonshakespeare.com/

Listen again to my interview on BBC Radio Oxford here at 1:10:00: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fl3f14

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In his return to the airwaves, Sheldrake considers the extraordinary popularity of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and concludes that it is the dark matter in the middle of this festive comedy sandwich that makes the play such a satisfying experience overall.

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Sheldrake on Shakespeare Live! London previews:

Etcetera Theatre 2nd June

Rosemary Branch Theatre 14th July

Barons Court Theatre 23rd July

Link to FringeMakers crowdfunder

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Further reading for this episode:

Anatomy of Criticism, Northrop Frye, 1957

Shakespeare’s Festive Comedy, CL Barber, 1959

https://sheldrakeonshakespeare.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/henry-v-the-play-the-myth-the-legend.mp3

Henry V: one of the most patriotic characters and plays in all of literature, surely? Not so, says Sheldrake. Henry V and his world are thoroughly morally ambiguous.

Also available on iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/ndhzfxm

https://sheldrakeonshakespeare.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/henry-iv-part-2-learning-to-play.mp3

How did people learn to act in the Renaissance? Did the texts themselves co-operate in teaching newish actors how to do certain things? Sheldrake thinks so.

https://sheldrakeonshakespeare.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/henry-iv-part-1-history-and-personality.mp3

What to say about Henry IV Part 1? In the first of three main episodes, each of which will tackle one play in this Henriad, Sheldrake explores a play about history and personality, focussing on Prince Henry and his rival for glory Harry Hotspur.

Also available on iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/ndhzfxm