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Beyond Shakespeare

From the earliest drama in English, to the closing of the theatres in 1642, there was a hell of a lot of drama produced - and a lot of it wasn't by Shakespeare. Apart from a few noble exceptions these plays are often passed over, ignored or simply unknown. This podcast presents full audio productions of the plays, fragmentary and extant, that shaped the theatrical world that shaped our dramatic history.

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#453
Yesterday · 1 hr 35 min
453: Thyestes by Seneca (LIVE Full Cast Audio Recording)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts This week we continue our Thyestes journey, with a mix of the live show. Next week we will drop our post-show discussion. Thyestes by Seneca, translated by Jasper Heywood Recorded live on Thursday 23rd October 2025 at 7.30pm Brian Eastty - Chorus leader Pamela Flanagan - Megaera and Messenger Karim Kronfli - Atreus Sophie Lawlor – Philisthenes and Chorus Shamiso Mushambi - Atreus’ Servant and Chorus Simon Nader Mirza – Thyestes Valentina Vinci – Tantalus and Chorus Live show technical Manager – Valentina Vinci Continuity – Dennis Caouki Company Text Coach – Liza Graham Produced by Robert Crighton CW: torture, violence, references to sexual violence, injury detail, murder, infanticide, cannibalism. Our patrons received the rough mix of this episode in November 2025 - over 10 months early! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on social media @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#450
September 18 · 44 min
450: Discussing: Thyestes with Dr Harriet Archer
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts This is a chat about Thyestes with Dr Harriet Archer, who we had hoped would be with us on the recording day at the Wyrd Revels for the post-show discussion, but stuff happens, so we picked the thread up now for the final edit on the podcast. As a discussion of the play, content warnings for mentions of violence, sexual violence, and cannibalism. Though we keep our chat fairly PG. The full live recording and post show discussion will follow very soon. Audio editing by Dennis Caouki Our patrons received this episode a month early! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#450
September 11 · 5 min
450: Two Thieves and a Gullible Tapster (Fragment)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts This week we have a short fragment from the early 17th century - A play generally labelled as Two Thieves and a Gullible Tapster - but you can make up your own. A young tapster is hoodwinked by two reprobates into telling them of a traveller with gold worth nicking, and also talks him into giving them drinks on tick. They do this via pretty effective social ploys of making him feel like he’s one of them, peer pressures him into trying tobacco and generally making him feel like one of the in crowd. You can have a look at the text at the Lost Plays Database. With Liza Graham as the Tapster, Ailbhe Casey as Reprobate One and Roel Fox as Reprobate the other one. Our patrons received this episode in July 2026 - over a month early! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#452
September 8 · 2 min
452: Doctor John Faustus (Chapter 30)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus, is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. We continue the last section of the book - or: The third and last of Doctor Faustus his merry conceits, showing after what sort he practised Necromancy in the Courts of great Princes, and lastly of his fearful and pitiful end. Chapter Thirty: How Doctor Faustus in the sight of the Emperor, conjured a pair of Hart’s horns upon a Knights head that slept out at a casement. Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in detail at the text - join our chat here. Thunder sfx thanks to zapsplat.com Our patrons received this episode in February 2025 - 18 months early. They have also already received the next 19 chapters and exploring sessions! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#449
September 4 · 17 min
449: Discussing: Massacre at Paris by Christopher Marlowe
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts This week we have a chat with Stewart McGill about an upcoming production of The Massacre at Paris by Christopher Marlowe. Stewart is directing the play for Playbox Theatre in October, and we chat about what you might expect from this youth production. Running 15th to 17th October 2026 at The Dream Factory in Warwick - Tickets and show info here. Audio editing by Dennis Caouki Our patrons received this episode a few weeks early. Normally it's a bit more than that, but show chats are more time precious. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#448
August 28 · 2 hr 1 min
448: The Wise-woman of Hogston by Thomas Heywood (LIVE Full Cast Audio Recording)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts The Wise-woman of Hogston by Thomas Heywood Recorded live on Wednesday 22nd October 2025 at 7.30pm Aliki Chapple - Luce's Father Tobias Deacon – Taber Brian Eastty - Old Chartley Pamela Flanagan - Wise-woman Roel Fox – Haringfield Aisling Groves-McKeown - Luce / A Kitchen maid Liza Graham - Sir Boniface Keith Hill - Sir Harry Alex Kapila – A Woman / Gratiana Alexandra Kataigida – Chartley Emma Kemp - Second Luce (Jack) Nat Kennedy - Joseph Oliver Maynard - Senser Kit McGuire - Boyster Simon Nader Mirza – A Countryman / A Serving-man / Giles Music by Roel Fox Live show technical Manager – Valentina Vinci Continuity – Dennis Caouki Company Text Coach – Liza Graham Produced by Robert Crighton Our patrons received the rough mix of this episode in November 2025 - about 10 months early! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on social media @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#451
August 25 · 8 min
451: Live Streams/Live Shows this Autumn 2026
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts A quick update about our upcoming live stream recording sessions, plus our live in-person events for the Autumn up to Christmas! All of these events will be recorded and shared on the podcast in the future, but you can catch them now by becoming a patron, or buying tickets. Autumn Live-Stream Line Up - £3+tier patrons, https://www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare Maroccus extaticus or, Banks’ Bay Horse in a Trance – Monday 14th September 2026 - Whilst not technically a play (it's a pamphlet written in dialogue) it's a chance to exercise our favourite horse. Banks was a well known showman, and here he has a chat with his famous horse about the issues of the day… the day being 1595. Hick Scorner - Monday 28th September 2026 - A Tudor moral interlude from the early years of the reign of Henry the Eighth. The Interlude of Youth / Abraham and Isaac (Northampton/Dublin) – Monday 12th October 2026 - A double bill of a Tudor moral interlude (which we essayed last year), and a late medieval biblical play of Abraham and Isaac. Lusty Juventus – Monday 26th October 2026 - Unfinished business, as we had hoped to record this Tudor moral interlude at our Sir Thomas More event in April, but we ran out of time. So, here it is in full - well, the songs might be recorded separately... The Baptism & The Temptation by John Bale – Monday 9th November 2026 - A double bill of John Bale's evangelical mystery plays. We have essayed The Temptation last year, but here it is presented with its stablemate. Mankind – Monday 23rd November 2026 - A late medieval morality play, featuring a guest appearance by the demon of typos. In-person events - Lord Mayor's Show - Thursday 29th October - Tickets on sale NOW! The Beyond Christmas Revels 2026 - Sunday 6th December 2026 from 1pm at the White Bear in Kennington. Tickets on sale NOW! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#442
August 21 · 47 min
442: Discussing: Cue Scripts with Lizzie Conrad Hughes
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts This week we have a chat about Cue Scripts with Lizzie Conrad Hughes, founder of Shake-scene S*********e about the practice of using cues scripts to produce a show. Find out more about their work - https://www.shake-sceneshakespeare.co.uk/ Support their work - https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare Our patrons received this episode in April 2026 - a few months early! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#447
August 14 · 11 min
447: The Norwich Grocers' Play - Version A (Full Cast Adaptation)
Welcome to this full cast audio of The Norwich Grocers' Play - version A from the 1530's! Version B from thirty years later will follow anon. The Story of the Creation of Eve, with the Expelling of Adam and Eve out of Paradise by Stephen Prewett With Song Marshall as Eve, Benjamin Finch as Adam, Larissa Oates Serpent, and Alison Whismore as God The text coach for the production was Liza Graham The Norwich Grocers Play A was produced for the Beyond podcast by Robert Crighton. Our patrons received the rough mix of this episode in July 2026 - about 1 month early! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on social media @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#446
August 11 · 7 min
446: Doctor John Faustus (Chapter 29)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus, is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. We begin the last section of the book - or: The third and last of Doctor Faustus his merry conceits, showing after what sort he practised Necromancy in the Courts of great Princes, and lastly of his fearful and pitiful end. Chapter Twenty-Nine: How the Emperor Carolus Quintus requested of Faustus to see some of his cunning, whereunto he agreed. Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in detail at the text - join our chat here. Thunder sfx thanks to zapsplat.com Our patrons received this episode in January 2024 - 18 months early. They have also already received the next 19 chapters and exploring sessions! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#445
August 7 · 2 min
445: Unattached Fragments | Part 3 (Fragments)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts Part three of our an epic (yet dinky) series looking at some fragments found in The English Treasury of Wit and Language by John Cotgrave. This is a fairly chunky opening gambit, with the preface to the book, before our usual drive by at a short bit of text. You can find a version of the text at archive.org. This fragment comes from page 40 and the section of quotes on Chamber-maids. The text is performed by Aliki Chapple, the host is Robert Crighton. Our patrons received this episode in February 2025 - eighteen months early! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#444
July 31 · 2 hr 26 min
444: The Witch of Edmonton by Dekker, Ford and Rowley (LIVE Full Cast Audio Recording)
The Witch of Edmonton by Thomas Dekker, John Ford & William Rowley Recorded live at the White Bear Theatre on Tuesday 21st October at 7.30pm CW: Below the cast list Cast: Aliki Chapple - Old Banks Robert Crighton – Justice Tobias Deacon - Sir Arthur Brian Eastty - Old Thorney Pamela Flanagan - Third Clown / Constable / First Countryman Alex Kapila - Winifred / Sawgut Emma Kemp – Susan Susan Kyd – Mother Sawyer Nat Kennedy – Cuddy Banks Roel Fox – Warbeck Liza Graham - Second Morris / Second Morris Aisling Groves-McKeown - Prologue / First Morris / Third Countryman / Ann Keith Hill - Old Carter Alexandra Kataigida - Katherine / Spirit / Hamluc Oliver Maynard - Somerton / Fourth Morris / Ratcliffe Kit McGuire – Dog Simon Nader Mirza – Frank Thorney Music by Roel Fox Live Show Technical Manager – Valentina Vinci Company Text Coach – Liza Graham Continuity – Dennis Caouki Produced by Robert Crighton CW: Violence, misogyny, murder, stabbing, injustice, demonic creatures. Our patrons received the rough mix of this episode in November 2025 - about 9 months early! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on social media @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#443
July 24 · 38 min
443: Discussing: Music and Emotion on the Caroline Stage
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts This week it's a discussing episode where I chat with Dr Shirley Bell about her book Music and Emotion on the Caroline Stage - available now! The book examines the relationship between music and emotion in the Caroline theatre. Music could be ravishing, it could be unsettling, it could be used as a way of depicting madness itself or of treating that madness. This book explores the many ways in which emotions were provoked, controlled and directed through music and its impact on the theatre audience in a range of Caroline drama. Music allows characters to express their emotions in ways that speech does not; it can be ironic, it can undermine the characters’ dialogue, and it can affect the audience in many ways. This book brings together major recent work on emotions and synthesises this work with scholarship on music to demonstrate how music and emotions are intimately linked on the Caroline stage. Shirley Bell is an associate lecturer and researcher in English at Sheffield Hallam University, UK, specialising in early modern literature, drama, and culture. Her doctoral thesis explored the use of instrumental music and song in the works of Richard Brome, James Shirley, and Ben Jonson’s ‘late plays’ to determine how much of an impact the music had on a holistic understanding of the plays in performance. @drshirleybell on Bluesky, Instagram and TikTok. The book can be bought here. There is a 20% discount with this code: PALAUT Our patrons received a mix of this episode in June 2026 - 1 month in advance. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#441
July 17 · 12 min
441: Gown, Hood, and Cap (Full Cast Audio Adaptation)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts Welcome to more university silliness! It's Gown, Hood and Cap – which survives in a manuscript at the Folger library. Like our recently released Band, Cuff and Ruff, this is a short skit written by students at Cambridge. Gown, Hood and Cap is less conflict driven that Work for Cutlers, or Band, Cuff and Gown, and is more about bants between different students and the things they get up to – the elements of clothing indicators of different levels of academic achievement. An academic hood, trimmed with fox fur, which hangs behind – the academic Gown open – and the academic cap. These are, of course, merely a delivery system for puns on hoodwinking, different cap puns, and the state of ones gown. If you are unsure what the punchline means, assume it’s a pun. In Gown, Hood and Cap by the Unknown Hood was played by Robert Crighton, Gown by Benjamin Finch and Cap by Song Marshall. The text coach for the production was Liza Graham. Technical presentation by Robert Crighton. Our patrons received this episode in June 2026 - about a month early! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#424
July 14 · 2 min
424: Doctor John Faustus (Chapter 28)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus, is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. Chapter Twenty-Eight: Faustus was asked a question concerning thunder. Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in detail at the text - join our chat here. Thunder sfx thanks to zapsplat.com Our patrons received this episode in December 2024 - approx. 18 months early. They have also already received the next 19 chapters and exploring sessions! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#440
July 10 · 3 min
440: Unattached Fragments | Part 2 (Fragments)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts Part two of our an epic (yet dinky) series looking at some fragments found in The English Treasury of Wit and Language by John Cotgrave. This is a fairly chunky opening gambit, with the preface to the book, before our usual drive by at a short bit of text. You can find a version of the text at archive.org. It's found under the section "Of Atheism, Blasphemy, Impiety, Prophaxes etc." on page 18/19. The text is performed by Aliki Chapple, the host is Robert Crighton. Our patrons received this episode in January 2025 - well over a year early! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#439
July 3 · 15 min
439: Band, Cuff, and Ruff (Full Cast Audio Adaptation)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts This week you're getting another university comedy! It's A Merry Dialogue between Band, Cuff and Ruff by the Unknown. It was printed in 1615 and probably performed a year or so earlier by students at Cambridge. More of this kind of thing is on the way! Band, Cuff and Ruff is about different detailing in clothing, and which is better. Ruffs being favoured by some (usually the more respectable end of the spectrum) and Bands by the more louche. Cuff stands between as arbiter, presumably as the more standard utilitarian element common to all. This is, of course, merely a delivery system for puns on fabric, clothing manufacturing and washing. If you are unsure what the punchline means, assume it’s one of those three. Band was played by Liza Graham, Cuff by Alison Whismore, and Ruff by Larissa Oates. The text coach for the production was Liza Graham Technical presentation by Robert Crighton For more of this type of thing, go to Preist the Barber. Our patrons received a mix of this episode in May 2026 - over a month in advance. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#438
June 26 · 43 min
438: Discussing: Predramatic Theatre
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts This month we've discussing a new book by Eleanor Rycroft and Greg Walker - Predramatic Theatre: The Radicalism of Early British Performance. It's a book that connects strongly with our practical work on early theatre, as well as engagements with ideas of the postdramatic in some of our performances. If that sounds scary, it's not really, come in and join the chat. The book is available from Palgrave Macmillan now. Eleanor Rycroft is Associate Professor in Early Modern Performance at the University of Bristol, UK, and author of Facial Hair and the Performance of Early Modern Masculinity (2019). Her work centres on embodiment and gender in premodern performance. She has written articles for journals such as Shakespeare, Shakespeare Bulletin, and English Literary Renaissance, and is currently writing a British Academy-funded monograph on the early modern staging of walking. Greg Walker is Regius Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He has published widely in the fields of late medieval and early-modern literature and theatre history. He has also been involved, with Thomas Betteridge and Eleanor Rycroft, in performance-as-research productions of Heywood’s Play of the Weather (Hampton Court Palace), Lyndsay’s Satire of the Three Estates (Linlithgow Palace and Stirling Castle) and Jonson’s Masque of Augurs (Banqueting House, Westminster). About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#437
June 19 · 36 min
437: The Pardoner and the Friar by John Heywood (LIVE Archive Recording)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts Welcome to our live stage recording of The Pardoner and the Friar by John Heywood. It's not designed as an audio adaptation, this is simply recorded from a distance on stage. However, it is hopefully of some use. It was recorded as part of our Entertaining Henry season on Sunday 22nd June 2025 at the Quay Theatre, Sudbury. With Simon Nader Mirza as The Friar, Robert Crighton as The Pardoner, Alexandra Kataigida as Neighbour Prat, and Roel Fox as The Parson. The Backstage Technical Manager was Valentina Vinci. Introductory sermon for the Parson by Robert Crighton Many thanks to Joe Fawcett, Tom Lagden, and everyone behind the scenes at the Quay. We have done so much on John Heywood and this play - full playlist here. The entire Entertaining Henry season was recorded, including most of the rehearsal period - all of this material can be found on our patreon feed. Our patrons received a mix of this episode in November 2025 - 6 months in advance. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.
#423
June 16 · 2 min
423: Doctor John Faustus (Chapter 27)
Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus, is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. Chapter Twenty-Seven: How Doctor Faustus was asked a question concerning the Stars that fall from heaven. Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in detail at the text - join our chat here. Thunder sfx thanks to zapsplat.com Our patrons received this episode in November 2024 - approx. 18 months early. They have also already received the next 19 chapters and exploring sessions! The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices. In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia. The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.

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