Shakespeare Unlimited podcast
William Shakespeare and his works are woven throughout our global culture, from theater, music, and films to new scholarship, education, amazing discoveries, and more. In our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast, Shakespeare opens a window into topics ranging from the American West, to the real history of Elizabethan street fighting, to interviews with Shakespearean stars. As you’ll hear, he turns up in surprising places, too—including outer space. Join us for a “no limits” tour of the connections between Shakespeare, his works, and our world.
Shakespeare and Magic
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 43 In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the magician Prospero conjures up a storm, charms his daughter to sleep, and uses his power to control Ariel and other spirits. Is this magic for real, or is Prospero pulling off…
Shakespeare and World Cinema
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 42 Shakespeare, of course, is not just performed in English, and his work is not just acted on stage. Foreign-language adaptations of Shakespeare on film have a tradition that goes back as long as talking pictures have…
Pop Sonnets
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 41 There’s something that never ceases to astound when it comes to Shakespeare – the way this 400-year-old playwright continues to pop up in popular culture. Our guest on this podcast episode is Erik Didriksen, who takes…
Shakespeare in India
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 40 What impact has Shakespeare’s writing had on Indian theater? And, how has Indian theater shaped and altered Shakespeare’s work? Shakespeare’s interaction with India came, of course, in the context of India’s experience with British colonization and…
Auditioning for Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 39 Laura Wayth confesses that she’s never read any of Shakespeare’s plays. But she’s listened to the plays performed over and over, and it’s her keen ear that informs her advice to actors in this episode of…
Portraits of Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 38 There’s no doubt you’ve seen images of Shakespeare – maybe in a book, a museum or an ad on the wall of a bus stop. So it’s safe to say: You imagine that you have a…
William Shakespeare's Star Wars
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 37 Shakespeare adaptations are a proud tradition. Prokofiev turned Romeo and Juliet into a ballet. Verdi turned Macbeth and Othello into operas, and The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night have been converted by Hollywood into…
Andrea Mays on The Millionaire and the Bard
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 36 Henry Clay Folger paid a world record price for a book—not once, but twice—as he became the world’s leading collector of Shakespeare First Folios. The Folger Shakespeare Library celebrated its 90th birthday this past April. Did…
Shakespeare in the Caribbean
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 35 Shakespeare and his plays are woven deeply into the culture of the Caribbean, both white and black. Even after centuries of British colonial rule came to an end, Shakespeare endured. There’s a long tradition in the…
Stanley Wells on Great Shakespeare Actors
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 34 For the many of Shakespeare’s fans, his works are brought to life by the actors and actresses who speak the lines. What makes a Shakespearean actor truly great? That’s one of the questions scholar Sir Stanley…
Music for Shakespeare's Lyrics
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 33 The majority of Shakespeare’s plays call for singing — sometimes it’s part of the action, sometimes it seems to spring out of nowhere. And while the lyrics to the songs appear to have always been a…
James Shapiro: The Year of Lear
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 32 1606 was a critical year for Shakespeare’s creative career. It was the year in which he wrote King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra. It was also a time in which the king of England, James…