Shakespeare Unlimited podcast
William Shakespeare and his works are woven throughout our global culture, from theater, music, and films to new scholarship, education, amazing discoveries, and more. In our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast, Shakespeare opens a window into topics ranging from the American West, to the real history of Elizabethan street fighting, to interviews with Shakespearean stars. As you’ll hear, he turns up in surprising places, too—including outer space. Join us for a “no limits” tour of the connections between Shakespeare, his works, and our world.
Tana Wojczuk on Charlotte Cushman's Radical Life
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 152 Charlotte Cushman was one of the most famous American theater artists of the mid-19th century. And while she was known for her Lady Macbeth and Oliver Twist’s Nancy, she was acclaimed for her performances as Romeo…
Richard II on the Radio
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 151 The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to theater in the United States. Broadway and regional theaters are dark, and Shakespeare festivals across the country have cancelled their seasons. So it wasn’t a surprise when The Public…
Maggie O'Farrell on Hamnet
Anne and William Shakespeare’s son Hamnet died in 1596, when he was 11 years old. We don’t know too much more about him. But author Maggie O’Farrell’s new novel, Hamnet, delves into his story and comes away with…
Directing Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 149 No two theater directors approach Shakespeare’s plays in the same way. When it comes to setting, blocking, costuming, casting, and cutting, there are countless ways directors can shape Shakespeare to make his works their own. With this…
The Booksellers
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 148 The Folger Shakespeare Library started with Henry and Emily Folger, two collectors who loved books and Shakespeare and had the means to pursue what they loved. They were supported by booksellers, who make their livelihoods poring…
Lucy Munro on The King's Men
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 147 Who were the actors who first performed Shakespeare’s plays? Shakespeare was a member and shareholder of a company called the King’s Men. You might know the names of some of his fellow members, like Richard Burbage,…
Jonathan Bate on the Classics and Shakespeare
Every artist needs inspiration. In this podcast episode, we talk to Sir Jonathan Bate. His book, How the Classics Made Shakespeare, explores the Greek and Roman authors, narratives, and ideas that suffuse Shakespeare’s works.
Sandra Newman on The Heavens
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 145 A young woman falls asleep in the 21st century and slowly finds herself slipping into 16th-century England, where she falls in love with an obscure young poet named Will. Sandra Newman’s new novel The Heavens crosses…
Kathryn Harkup on Death by Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 144 It’s quite a list: Hanged. Prison fever. Stabbed. Stabbed. Poisoned. Beheaded. Beheaded. “Malady of France.” Cannonball. Burnt. Bitten. Eaten. Mauled. Shakespeare wrote about a lot of things, but he really wrote a lot about death. Chemist…
Shakespeare and Solace
Folger Director Michael Witmore and his predecessor, Director Emerita Gail Kern Paster, talk about the bits of Shakespeare that bring them comfort.
The Long Life of Shakespeare's Sonnets (18th century – today)
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 142 Today, we think of Shakespeare’s Sonnets as a triumph. We read them, puzzle over them, and recite them. We compare our significant others to summers’ days, beweep our outcast states, and never admit impediments to the…
Emma Smith on This Is Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 141 Is there a right way to interpret the plays? No, says Emma Smith, and there’s a good reason for that. In her book This Is Shakespeare, she writes that they are characterized by gaps, including unknowable elements.