Libsyn Directory

Bonus: Revisiting Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing

Release Date: 12/04/2024

Shakespeare Anyone?

Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. To kick off our series on Shakespeare's The Tempest, we are (as always) starting with an overview of basic facts and history about the play and an introduction to the major themes and motifs of the play. Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp. Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander. For updates: , follow us on Instagram at or visit our website at You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at , , or by shopping our...

The Tempest: Synopsis

Shakespeare Anyone?

Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. We are now on to our tenth play series! Today we are starting our series on Shakespeare's The Tempest with a synopsis episode. In this episode, we will provide a detailed summary of the plot, breaking down the action of the play scene by scene. Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp. Special thanks to Nat Yonce for editing this episode. Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander. For updates: , follow us on Instagram at or...

Bonus Episode: Interview with Kent Lehnhof on Voice and Ethics in Shakespeare’s Late Plays

Shakespeare Anyone?

Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this bonus episode, we’re joined by Dr. Kent Lehnhoff to talk about his new book, Voice and Ethics in Shakespeare’s Late Plays. Together, we explore how Shakespeare uses the concept and qualities of human voice in The Tempest, Cymbeline, King Lear, Pericles, and The Winter’s Tale, how he writes for and about the voice, and beyond that, how embracing the unique voice of each character (and actor) can create a more ethical, inclusive theatre. About Kent Lehnhof...

King Henry V: Wrap Up

Shakespeare Anyone?

Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this wrap-up episode, we reflect on our journey through Shakespeare's King Henry V by examining three distinct productions that bring the play to life in unique ways. We begin with Kenneth Branagh's 1989 Oscar-nominated film adaptation, renowned for its realism and cinematic approach. Next, we delve into the 2022 Donmar Warehouse production starring Kit Harington, which frames Henry’s leadership through a modern lens. Finally, we discuss the 2012 Shakespeare's...

Mini: Interview with Julie Hammonds on Blue Mountain Rose—A Shakespearean Tale of Theater, Family, and Resilience

Shakespeare Anyone?

Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this mini-episode, we sit down with author Julie Hammonds to discuss her debut novel, Blue Mountain Rose: A Novel in Five Acts. Set against the backdrop of a fictional Shakespeare festival in the Arizona mountains during the 2009 financial crisis, the story follows theater director Richard Keane, company manager Kate Morales, and enigmatic actor Peter Dunmore as they strive to save their beloved open-air stage. Julie shares insights into how Shakespeare's works inspired...

King Henry V: European Foreigners and Immigrants in Shakespeare's Time

Shakespeare Anyone?

Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In today's episode, we are exploring the English relationships with foreigners and immigrants from other European countries. First, we'll discuss what the experience of immigrant communities was like in England during the Tudor and early Stuart periods--were the English people xenophobic or welcoming to others? We'll look specifically at experiences of Dutch and French immigrants, who made up the majority of immigrants to England in the mid-late 1500s. Then, we'll take a...

Mini: Shakespeare in Love [Unlocked from the Patreon Vault]

Shakespeare Anyone?

Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. This week, we are bringing you something a little different and unlocking our Patreon bonus episode on the 1998 film, Shakespeare in Love. Over on our Patreon, we regularly watch/read and discuss Shakespeare-adjacent media. Shakespeare in Love, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard and directed by John Madden, follows a fictional love affair between William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and a noblewoman, Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), during the writing of Romeo...

King Henry V: The Common and Working People of Shakespeare's Time

Shakespeare Anyone?

Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In today's episode, we will be exploring the lives of common and working people of Shakespeare's time. While Shakespeare's plays tend to feature nobles, monarchs, and other people of higher status as their main characters, they also feature a variety of characters from lower ranks of society. We will discuss the overall representation of common people in Shakespeare's plays, dive into the specific occupations represented within Shakespeare's play, King Henry V, and then...

Mini: Henry and Emily Folger and the Search for Shakespeare's First Folio

Shakespeare Anyone?

Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. Have you ever wondered where those colorful Folger paperback editions of Shakespeare plays got their name? Or how the Folger Shakespeare Library came to have the largest collection of First Folios in the world? Or if there was any relation to the coffee brand? In today’s episode, we are going to be exploring the life of Henry Folger, his wife Emily Jordan Folger, their quest for copies of the First Folio, and how their collection forever changed our modern understanding...

King Henry V: Military Life in Shakespeare's England

Shakespeare Anyone?

Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In today's episode, we are exploring the realities of military life in early modern and medieval England and how those realities are reflected (or not!) in Shakespeare's King Henry V. We will discuss historical misrepresentations of the English military during Shakespeare's lifetime and how recent scholarship has discovered a wealth of narratives that prove those previous understandings to be incorrect. We will also discuss the rules of war that existed historically during...

More Episodes

It's time for our annual bonus episode! Join us as we revisit the Shakespeare plays we covered this year. We've gone back and re-read both Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing, and we will discuss what has changed in our readings of these plays after completing our research as well as what we would like to see more (or less) of in future productions or research relating to these two plays.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.

Works referenced:

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing: Revised Edition. Edited by Claire McEachern, 2nd ed., Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.

Shakespeare, William, and René Weis. Romeo and Juliet: Revised Edition. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2012.

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