Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited20 Sep 2016

Anecdotal Shakespeare

The curses associated with the Scottish play. Using a real skull for the Yorick scene in "Hamlet." Over the centuries, these and other fascinating theatrical anecdotes have attached themselves to the plays of William Shakespeare. Many of these stories have been told and re-told, over and over, century after century – with each new generation inserting the names of new actors into the story and telling the story as if it just occurred. So “One night David Garrick was backstage” becomes, “So one night Edmund Kean was backstage” which then becomes, “So one night Richard Burton was backstage.” And so on. Our guest, Paul Menzer, is a professor and the director of the Shakespeare and Performance graduate program at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. His book "Anecdotal Shakespeare: A New Performance History" was published by Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare in 2015 He was interviewed by Neva Grant. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series. Published September 20, 2016. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. “Truths Would Be Tales, Where Now Half Tales Be Truths” was produced by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster and Esther Ferington. Esther French is the web producer. We had technical help from the News Operations Staff at NPR in Washington, DC. http://www.folger.edu/shakespeare-unlimited/actor-anecdotes

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Episoder(304)

Shakespeare's Margaret, with Charles O'Malley and Scott W. Stern

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14 Jul 35min

Scholars in Shakespeare, with Sean Keilen

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30 Jun 35min

The Six Loves of James I, with Gareth Russell

“Elizabeth was king, now James is queen.” So went the joke circulating around London in the 17th century. While Elizabeth I became an icon for transgressing traditional gender roles, her successor is ...

16 Jun 40min

Shakespeare and the Red Scare, with Marjorie Garber

“Is he a Communist?” During a House Un-American Activities Committee hearing in 1938, Congressman Joe Starnes probed into the politics of a writer produced by the Federal Theatre Project. The playwrig...

2 Jun 32min

Jacob Ming-Trent on How Shakespeare Saved My Life

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19 Mai 31min

The Shakespeare Ladies Club

A century after Shakespeare’s death, his words were in danger of being forgotten. While plays like King Lear and Othello still played to packed houses across England, audiences saw only the bowdlerize...

5 Mai 27min

The Translator's Art and Shakespeare, with Daniel Hahn

Is Shakespeare still Shakespeare even if every word is changed? While Shakespeare’s work is often hailed for its universality, its meter, metaphor, and wordplay pose special challenges for translators...

21 Apr 33min

The Improvised Shakespeare Company

What is it like to create a Shakespeare play that’s never been written—and will never be performed again? The Improvised Shakespeare Company is a long-running ensemble that performs entirely unscripte...

7 Apr 39min