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# Episode Title Description People Date
1 Creative Commons Love's Labour's Lost Emma Smith continues her Approaching Shakespeare series with a lecture on the play Love's Labour's Lost. Emma Smith 12 Feb 2024
2 Creative Commons TORCH Post-Show Conversations: Much Ado About Nothing Listen in as Judith Buchanan and Emma Smith discuss a March 2022 RSC production of Much Ado About Nothing Judith Buchanan, Emma Smith 10 Jul 2022
3 In Sleep a King This is a sleep-talk on the subject of waking up with Sonnet 87 (by Shakespeare) in the background. This talk was given by Alice Oswald on the 25th November 2021. Alice Oswald 03 Mar 2022
4 WillPlay: Chat, Play, Learn Shakespeare This podcast explores WillPlay, an AI-powered reimagining of Shakespeare's plays for school students. Abigail Williams, Felicity Brown, Rachael Hodge, Giles Lewin 17 Feb 2021
5 Live Event: This is Shakespeare - Prof Emma Smith in conversation with Erica Whyman OBE Part of the Humanities Cultural Programme, one of the founding stones for the future Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. Emma Smith, Erica Whyman 15 Sep 2020
6 Out of Silence 1: William Shakespeare From the Silence Hub Network. Professor Alexandra Harris discusses Shakespeare's sonnet 23, communication in lockdown, body language and masks with Professor Kate McLoughlin. Alexandra Harris, Kate McLoughlin 24 Apr 2020
7 Derek Attridge 'The Experience of Poetry' Book Launch Panel Discussion This event celebrates the publication of Professor Derek Attridge's work The Experience of Poetry with a book launch panel discussion. Derek Attridge, Helen Cooper, Cathy Shrank, Stephen Harrison 29 May 2019
8 Creative Commons The Two Gentlemen of Verona Professor Emma Smith gives the last of her 2017 Shakespeare lectures on his early comedy, Two Gentlemen of Verona. Emma Smith 15 Dec 2017
9 Creative Commons Henry VI, Part 2 Professor Emma Smith continues her Approaching Shakespeare series with a 2017 lecture on the early history play, Henry VI, Part 2. Emma Smith 09 Nov 2017
10 Creative Commons The Merry Wives of Windsor Professor Emma Smith lectures on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. Emma Smith 25 Oct 2017
11 Creative Commons All's Well That Ends Well Professor Emma Smith lectures on Shakespeare’s comedy All's Well That Ends Well. Emma Smith 25 Oct 2017
12 Creative Commons Cymbeline Professor Emma Smith continues her Approaching Shakespeare series with a lecture on one of Shakespeare’s later plays, Cymbeline. Emma Smith 25 Oct 2017
13 Extracts from Shakespeare, read by Roland Oliver (actor): Richard II Act V, Scene 5; Macbeth Act II, Scene 1; Henry IV Part 2, Act IV, Scene 3 Roland (an actor and alumnus of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford) concludes the ‘Shakespeare and the Brain’ event by reading relevant extracts from three of Shakespeare’s plays. Roland Oliver 12 Dec 2016
14 The Hunter Heartbeat Method – Kelly Hunter (actor, director and educator) Kelly gives an outline of some of her work using sensory drama games, using Shakespeare’s works, to interact and play with children with autism. Kelly Hunter 12 Dec 2016
15 Shakespeare’s Memory – Professor Rodrigo Quian Quiroga (Director of the Centre for Systems Neuroscience, University of Leicester) Rodrigo’s talk references the writing of Jorge Luis Borges, particularly his short stories 'Shakespeare’s Memory' and 'Funes the Memorious', which deal with memory. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga 12 Dec 2016
16 Shakespeare as Observer and Psychologist – Professor Paul Matthews (Fellow by Special Election, St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford; Edmond and Lily Safra Chair and Head of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London) Paul focuses on some of the questions that Shakespeare was asking about the mind, and how the same sorts of issues are approached now by neuroscientists. Paul Matthews 12 Dec 2016
17 Shakespeare, Mind and World – Dr Tom MacFaul (Lecturer in English, St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford) Tom discusses how Shakespeare’s age thought about thinking. In particular, he looks at the transformative power of thought and the idea in some of Shakespeare’s works that the mind is free to create its own world. Tom MacFaul 12 Dec 2016
18 Performing Shakespeare: then and now Jonathan Lloyd and Tiffany Stern, discuss performing Shakespeare in the past and now Jonathan Lloyd, Tiffany Stern 02 Nov 2016
19 Creative Commons Shakespeare and the Victorians Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Professor of English Literature, Oxford, gives a talk for Shakespeare Oxford 2016 series. Robert Douglas-Fairhurst 19 Oct 2016
20 Shakespeare and Music Alice Harberd, Michael Dobson, Fleur Smith, Adriana Stoiber, and Simon Smith discuss Shakespeare and Music. Alice Harberd, Michael Dobson, Fleur Smith, Adriana Stoiber 25 Jul 2016
21 Tales of the Bodleian's First Folio Pip Wilcox, Curator of Digital Special Collections, Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, gives a talk for the 2016 DHOXSS on Shakespeare's First Folio, held by the Bodleian. Pip Wilcox 08 Jul 2016
22 Life, death and astrology in Shakespeare's England Lauren Kassell (Reader in the History of Science and Medicine, Cambridge) gives a talk for the Bodleian libraries. Lauren Kassell 30 Jun 2016
23 Creative Commons The Death Masks of Macbeth Professor Simon Palfrey discusses the deaths and afterlives of Oliver Cromwell and Macbeth Simon Palfrey 07 Jun 2016
24 Memorialising Shakespeare: The First Folio and other elegies Emma Smith (Professor of English Literature, Oxford), gives a talk on Shakespeare memorials. Emma Smith 02 Jun 2016
25 Venus and Adonis Professor Katherine Duncan Jones, Senior Research Fellow, Somerville College, gives a talk on Shakespeare's poem, Venus and Adonis. Katherine Duncan-Jones 20 May 2016
26 Everyday death in Shakespeare's England This podcast talks about accidental deaths and the hazards of everyday life in Shakespeare's day Steven Gunn 05 May 2016
27 The Magic of Shakespeare This lecture will celebrate Shakespeare's immortality on the exact 400th anniversary of his burial. It will begin from Theseus' famous speech in A Midsummer Night's Dream about the magical, transformative power of poetry. Jonathan Bate 03 May 2016
28 1594: Shakespeare's most important year In the summer of 1594 William Shakespeare decided to invest around 50 Pounds to become a shareholder in a newly formed acting company: Lord Chamberlain's Men. This lecture examines the consequences of this decision, unique in English theatrical history. Bart van Es 02 Mar 2016
29 Creative Commons The Tamer Tam'd: John Fletcher A riposte to Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew Emma Smith 16 Nov 2015
30 Creative Commons Timon of Athens Emma Smith finishes her Approaching Shakespeare series with a lecture on the play Timon of Athens. Emma Smith 23 Jun 2015
31 Shakespeare's Animals Why animals are everywhere in Shakespeare's language. Tom MacFaul 11 Jun 2015
32 Creative Commons Love's Labour's Lost Emma Smith continues her Approaching Shakespeare series with a lecture on the play Love's Labour's Lost. Emma Smith 27 May 2015
33 Creative Commons Julius Caesar This lecture on Julius Caesar discusses structure, tone, and politics by focusing on the cameo scene with Cinna the Poet. Emma Smith 18 May 2015
34 Creative Commons Romeo and Juliet This lecture on Romeo and Juliet tackles the issue of the spoiler-chorus, in an already-too-familiar play. This podcast is suitable for school and college students. Emma Smith 05 May 2015
35 Creative Commons Coriolanus This lecture takes up a detail from Shakespeare’s late Roman tragedy Coriolanus to ask about the representation of character, the use of sources and the genre of tragedy. Emma Smith 05 May 2015
36 Creative Commons A Bardic Rite? Designing the Savoy Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream For a few nights in March 1914 if contemplating buying a theatre ticket in London, there was a brief chance when one could have seen Nijinsky dance at the Palace Theatre one night and the next the new Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Claire O'Mahony 05 Dec 2014
37 Shakespeare and the Lower Register of Constitutional Thought Professor Denis Galligan, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford will deliver this lecture as part of the new programme on Law, Film and Literature from the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society podcast series Denis Galligan 10 Mar 2014
38 Creative Commons Stephen Fry- "Put on Your Red Shoes: Performance and Destiny" Stephen Fry, the 23rd holder of the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professorship in Contemporary Theatre gives his first lecture at the University followed by Q&A with Roger Ainsworth. (Contains strong language). Stephen Fry, Roger Ainsworth 21 Feb 2014
39 Creative Commons Why should we study Elizabethan Theatre? Professor Tiffany Stern of University College, Oxford, discusses her current research and proposes why we should still study Elizabethan Theatre. Tiffany Stern, Ilana Lassman 19 Aug 2013
40 Creative Commons Why should we study Shakespeare? Dr Emma Smith of Hertford College, Oxford, discusses her current research and proposes why we should still study Shakespeare. Emma Smith, Ilana Lassman 31 Jul 2013
41 Creative Commons Acting Masterclass: "Lend me your ears" A second Masterclass on how Shakespeare spins rhetoric for the actor, with Sam Leith, journalist and writer, and author of 'You Talkin' to Me'. Students from Oxford University Drama Society will take part in the masterclass with an audience. Gregory Doran, Sam Leith 07 Jun 2013
42 Creative Commons Acting Masterclass: "Lend me your ears" A practical Masterclass with Greg Doran from the Royal Shakespeare Company on how Shakespeare spins rhetoric for the actor, with Sam Leith, journalist and writer, and author of 'You Talkin' to Me'. Students from Oxford University Drama Society take part. Gregory Doran, Sam Leith 07 Jun 2013
43 Creative Commons Acting Masterclass: 'Pyramus, you begin' A practical Masterclass with Greg Doran from the Royal Shakespeare Company looking at what clues Shakespeare puts into the verse for the actor. Students from Oxford University Drama Society rehearse Romeo and Juliet in front of an audience. Gregory Doran 07 Jun 2013
44 Creative Commons Acting Masterclass: 'Pyramus, you begin' A practical Masterclass looking at what clues Shakespeare puts into the verse for the actor. Students from Oxford University Drama Society will take part in the masterclass with an audience. Gregory Doran 07 Jun 2013
45 Shakespeare's Fools Professor of English, Katherine Duncan-Jones, discusses the real life characters and contemporaries of Shakespeare that inspired, shaped, and on occasion performed the various roles of the 'fool' in much of his work. Katherine Duncan-Jones 11 Dec 2012
46 Creative Commons The Merchant of Venice. ePub version of text The Merchant of Venice. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 20 Nov 2012
47 Creative Commons The Merchant of Venice This lecture on The Merchant of Venice discusses the ways the play's personal relationships are shaped by models of financial transaction, using the casket scenes as a central example. Emma Smith 20 Nov 2012
48 Creative Commons The Taming of the Shrew. ePub version of text THE Taming of the Shrew. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 09 Nov 2012
49 Creative Commons Taming of the Shrew Emma Smith uses evidence of early reception and from more recent productions to discuss the question of whether Katherine is tamed at the end of the play. Emma Smith 09 Nov 2012
50 Creative Commons A Midsommer Nights Dreame. ePub version of text A MIDSOMMER Nights Dreame. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 05 Nov 2012
51 Creative Commons A Midsummer Night's Dream This lecture on A Midsummer Night's Dream uses modern and early modern understandings of dreams to uncover a play less concerned with marriage and more with sexual desire. Emma Smith 05 Nov 2012
52 Creative Commons Much adoe about Nothing. ePub version of text Much adoe about Nothing. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 30 Oct 2012
53 Creative Commons Much Ado About Nothing Emma Smith asks why the characters are so quick to believe the self-proclaimed villain Don John, drawing on gender and performance criticism to think about male bonding, the genre of comedy, and the impulses of modern performance. Emma Smith 30 Oct 2012
54 Creative Commons The tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke. ePub version of text The tragedie of HAMLET, Prince of Denmarke. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 23 Oct 2012
55 Creative Commons Hamlet The fact that father and son share the same name in Hamlet is used to investigate the play's nostalgia, drawing on biographical criticism and the religious and political history of early modern England. Emma Smith 23 Oct 2012
56 Creative Commons As you Like it. ePub version of text As you Like it. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 23 Oct 2012
57 Creative Commons As You Like It Asking 'what happens in As You Like It', this lecture considers the play's dramatic structure and its ambiguous use of pastoral, drawing on performance history, genre theory, and eco-critical approaches. Emma Smith 23 Oct 2012
58 Creative Commons The language of Shakespeare Actors and the director talk about how they have approached and worked with their student production of the Shakespeare play - Two Gentlemen of Verona. They discuss some of the challenges of the text and what they have done to overcome these. Kate O'Connor 23 Aug 2012
59 Creative Commons Understanding Shakespeare The actor Nick Lyons talks about the challenge of the language barrier and how he dealt with it for his role in the student production of the Shakespeare play Two Gentlemen of Verona. Nick Lyons 23 Aug 2012
60 Creative Commons Two Gentlemen of Verona: The view from the Director The director talks about how she adapted the script and directed the student Shakespeare production of Two Gentlemen of Verona. She describes what makes the play great, and discusses issues related to editing and direction. Kate O'Connor 23 Aug 2012
61 Creative Commons The Tempest: For you am I this patient log-man The director and actors talk about the log-scene in The Tempest and how they interpret and perform it. Includes scenes from rehearsals and performance. Archie Cornish, Dylan Townley 23 Aug 2012
62 Creative Commons The Tempest: Our revels now are ended The famous Shakespeare scene from The Tempest, performed by actors from an Oxford student drama society. Dylan Townley 23 Aug 2012
63 Creative Commons The Tempest - Our revels now are ended: Conveying Shakespeare's meaning The actor Dylan Townley talks about the language of Shakespeare. He describes how understanding and using the meter can help an actor or reader to bring out the poetry in a text. Includes a scene from The Tempest. Dylan Townley 23 Aug 2012
64 Creative Commons The Tempest: Prospero Actor Dylan Townley talks with director Archie Cornish about the character Prospero. They describe how they have chosen to portray him in this Oxford student performance of The Tempest, and discuss on what they base their interpretation. Archie Cornish, Dylan Townley 23 Aug 2012
65 Creative Commons The Tempest: Direction and interpretation Director Archie Cornish and actor Dylan Townley - Prospero - talk about adapting, directing and performing a student Shakespeare production of The Tempest. Archie Cornish, Dylan Townley 23 Aug 2012
66 Creative Commons Teaching Shakespeare in Schools A teacher talks about how she teaches Shakespeare in school, using video clips and references from contemporary culture to get the students to understand, relate to, and engage with the text. Joyti Chandegra 23 Aug 2012
67 Creative Commons The Tempest - Our revels now are ended: Bringing a scene to Life The director Archie Cornish, and actor Dylan Townley, introduce the Revel speech in The Tempest. They also discuss the context in which it appears. Archie Cornish, Dylan Townley 22 Aug 2012
68 Creative Commons Shakespeare and the Stage Professor Tiffany Stern gives a short talk on William Shakespeare and how his plays were performed in Elizabethan England. Tiffany Stern 22 Aug 2012
69 Creative Commons Shakespeare and Voice Linda Gates, Professor of Voice at Northwestern University (USA) discusses how Shakespeare's poetry and plays lend themselves to vocal performance by discussing how breath can be used to 'punctuate the thought'. Linda Gates 01 Aug 2012
70 Creative Commons Shakespeare and Voice Linda Gates, Professor of Voice at Northwestern University (USA) discusses how Shakespeare's poetry and plays lend themselves to vocal performance by discussing how breath can be used to 'punctuate the thought'. Linda Gates 01 Aug 2012
71 Creative Commons 'Some exquisitely-dressed stage favourite': Shakespeare and the suffragettes In this talk, Sophie Duncan examines suffragists' interactions with Shakespeare and his works, as performers, directors, consumers and critics. Sophie Duncan 17 Jul 2012
72 Creative Commons A Discussion of Emily Dickinson's 'I started early, took my dog'. Dr Sally Bayley presents an illuminating reading of Emily Dickinson's 'I started early, took my dog'. In her reading, she seeks out allusions to Shakespearean plays including Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice. She then answers questions about the poem. Sally Bayley 16 Jul 2012
73 Creative Commons Great Writers Inspire- An Introduction to the Project A short introductory video to the "Great Writers Inspire project. Joshua Carr 23 May 2012
74 Creative Commons Literature and Form 3: Multiple Plotting Dr Catherine Brown gives the third lecture in the Literature and Form lecture series. Including the differing ways writers plot their work; from multi-plotted works like Ulysses (Joyce) to double plotted works like Daniel Deronda (George Eliot). Catherine Brown 21 May 2012
75 Creative Commons Shakespeare and Medieval Romance Professor Helen Cooper, University of Cambridge, speaks about the continuities between the Romance of the middle ages and Shakespeare's plays. She looks at textual features from his plays (including King Lear) which may indicate his influences. Helen Cooper 12 Apr 2012
76 Creative Commons The Tragedie Of King Lear. ePub version of text THE TRAGEDIE OF KING LEAR. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 22 Feb 2012
77 Creative Commons King Lear Showing how generations of critics - and Shakespeare himself - have rewritten the ending of King Lear, this sixteenth Approaching Shakespeare lecture engages with the question of tragedy and why it gives pleasure. Emma Smith 22 Feb 2012
78 Creative Commons The life and death of King Iohn. ePub version of text The life and death of King Iohn. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 10 Feb 2012
79 Creative Commons King John At the heart of King John is the death of his rival Arthur: this fifteenth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series looks at the ways history and legitimacy are complicated in this plotline. Emma Smith 10 Feb 2012
80 Creative Commons Shakespeare and the Stage Professor Tiffany Stern gives a talk on William Shakespeare and how his plays were performed in Elizabethan England. Tiffany Stern 07 Feb 2012
81 Creative Commons Pericles, Prince of Tyre Pericles has been on the margins of the Shakespearean canon: this fourteenth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series shows some of its self-conscious artistry and contemporary popularity. Emma Smith 01 Feb 2012
82 Creative Commons The Tragedy of Richard the Third: with the Landing of Earle Richmond, and the Battell at Bosworth Field. ePub version of text The Tragedy of Richard the Third: with the Landing of Earle Richmond, and the Battell at Bosworth Field. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 25 Jan 2012
83 Creative Commons Richard III In this thirteenth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series the focus is on the inevitability of the ending of Richard III: does the play endorse Richmond's final victory? Emma Smith 25 Jan 2012
84 Creative Commons The Comedie of Errors. ePub version of text The Comedie of Errors. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 23 Jan 2012
85 Creative Commons The Comedy of Errors Lecture 12 in the Approaching Shakespeare series asks how seriously we can take the farcical exploits of Comedy of Errors, drawing out the play's serious concerns with identity and selfhood. Emma Smith 23 Jan 2012
86 Creative Commons The First Part of Henry the Fourth, with the Life and Death of Henry Sirnamed Hot-spvrre. ePub version of text The First Part of Henry the Fourth, with the Life and Death of HENRY Sirnamed HOT-SPVRRE. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 16 Nov 2011
87 Creative Commons Henry IV part 1 Like generations of theatre-goers, this lecture concentrates on the (large) figure of Sir John Falstaff and investigates his role in Henry IV part 1. Lecture 11 in the Approaching Shakespeare series. Emma Smith 16 Nov 2011
88 Creative Commons The Tempest. ePub version of text THE TEMPEST. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 14 Nov 2011
89 Creative Commons The Tempest That the character of Prospero is a Shakespearean self-portrait is a common reading of The Tempest: this tenth Approaching Shakespeare lecture asks whether that is a useful reading of the play. Emma Smith 14 Nov 2011
90 Creative Commons The Tragedie Of Anthonie, and Cleopatra. ePub version of text THE TRAGEDIE OF Anthonie, and Cleopatra. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 10 Nov 2011
91 Creative Commons Antony and Cleopatra What kind of tragedy is this play, with its two central figures rather than a singular hero? The ninth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series tries to find out. Emma Smith 10 Nov 2011
92 Creative Commons Shakespeare and the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Professor Charlotte Brewer introduces the methodology behind the creation of the OED and how current activity to update the Dictionary may reveal new evidence about Shakespeare's impact on the English Language. Charlotte Brewer 08 Nov 2011
93 Creative Commons The life and death of King Richard the Second. ePub version of text The life and death of King Richard the Second. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 01 Nov 2011
94 Creative Commons Richard II Lecture eight in the Approaching Shakespeare series asks the question that structures Richard II: does the play suggest Henry Bolingbroke's overthrow of the king was justified? Emma Smith 01 Nov 2011
95 Creative Commons Twelfe Night, Or what you will. ePub version of text Twelfe Night, Or what you will. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 20 Oct 2011
96 Creative Commons Twelfth Night The seventh Approaching Shakespeare lecture takes a minor character in Twelfth Night - Antonio - and uses his presence to open up questions of sexuality, desire and the nature of romantic comedy. Emma Smith 20 Oct 2011
97 Creative Commons The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus. ePub version of text The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 19 Oct 2011
98 Creative Commons Titus Andronicus Focusing in detail on one particular scene, and on critical responses to it, this sixth Approaching Shakespeare lecture on Titus Andronicus deals with violence, rhetoric, and the nature of dramatic sensationalism. Emma Smith 19 Oct 2011
99 Creative Commons The Winters Tale. ePub version of text The Winter's Tale. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. William Shakespeare 09 Nov 2010
100 Creative Commons The Winter's Tale How we can make sense of a play that veers from tragedy to comedy and stretches credulity in its conclusion? That's the topic for this fifth Approaching Shakespeare lecture on The Winter's Tale. Emma Smith 09 Nov 2010