Catch up on all things literature, awards, and recommendations in this first ever English Society feature!
Theatre At Home: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
This was a show of many levels, some literal and others more metaphorical. The set was composed of multiple raised platforms that moved through the audience, including them in this modern interpretation of Shakespeare. The […]
Do You Believe in Shakespeare?
Questions about Shakespeare’s authorship have been the subject of heated debate and controversy for the past three centuries. Most recently, computer algorithms have been used to compare the scenes from Henry VIII with other plays […]
Hamlet Review: Tessa Parr inspires in a re-gendered production
Hamlet can often seem like a play in danger of being over-done. With that said, through change and adaptation, this production achieves a fresh reinvigoration that is essential for a modern take on the classical […]
WILL we ever get enough of Shakespeare?
Imagine that you have left your wife and children in Stratford-upon-Avon and moved to Elizabethan London to focus on your career. There, you become one of the most successful playwrights that will ever live, outmatching […]
Ophelia: Not Another Shakespeare Story
So the verdicts have started to pour in on the latest instalment in an innumerable line of Shakespearean cinematic adaptations. Claire McCarthy’s British historical romantic drama Ophelia, the damsel in question being depicted by Daisy […]
Juliet and Romeo: Is Parting such Sweet Sorrow or an Inevitability?
Ben Duke’s Juliet and Romeo is a contemporary, theatrical rewriting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Duke rewrites their history so that the ‘star-crossed lovers’ do not, in fact, die in a tragic misunderstanding. Instead, they […]
The RSC’s New Shakespeare Learning Zone: Another Tiresome Plight?
Investigating the RSC’s newly-launched Shakespeare Learning Zone, and I’m transported back to the days of using absolutely any website I can find in order to avoid actually having to read Romeo and Juliet. It’s the […]
“The Master-Mistress of my Passion: Shakespeare’s Work Through an LGBTQ+ Lens
Anaya Sriram examines to what extent Shakespeare represents LGBTQ+ characters within his plays. If you ask anyone to name an iconic straight love story, the first one that springs to mind is usually Romeo and […]
Shakespearean Royalty, Theatre Royalty: Ian McKellen
This summer, Sir Ian McKellen will be reprising his title role in Chichester Festival Theatre’s West End transfer of King Lear. After a sold-out run in 2017, this production will play in the Duke of […]
Theatre Group Offer a Fresh Take on Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’
Featuring a strong cast, excellent production and a modern interpretation of the Shakespeare classic, Theatre Group’s ‘Macbeth’ is a success. Ella Kennedy’s Macbeth warps the classic tragedy into a narrative of underground secrecy, forming a […]
To Be Or Not To Be? That Is The Mystery
Arts writer, Eleanor Smith, discusses the Shakespeare Authorial conspiracy theory and the playwright’s significance in today’s society. William Shakespeare is often regarded as Britain’s greatest playwright. Four centuries after the composition of his works, he […]