Shakespeare Anyone?

Kourtney Smith & Elyse Sharp

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Shakespeare Anyone? is co-hosted by Elyse Sharp and Kourtney Smith, two professional actors and hobbyist Shakespeare scholars. Join us as we explore Shakepeare’s plays through as many lenses as we can by looking at the text and how the text is viewed through modern lenses of feminism, racism, classism, colonialism, nationalism... all the-isms. We will discuss how his plays shaped both the past and present, and look at how his work was performed throughout various periods of time–all while trying our best to approach his works without giving in to bardolatry. We examine one play at a time for an extended window of time, interspersed with mini-episodes about Shakespeare’s time for context. Episodes are released every other week.

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Top 10 Shakespeare Anyone? Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Shakespeare Anyone? episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Shakespeare Anyone? for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Shakespeare Anyone? episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

King Lear: Patriarchy, Patrilineage, and Sexist Representations

Shakespeare Anyone?

02/02/22 • 48 min

In this week's episode, we are taking a look at how the patriarchal society and patrilineal anxieties of early modern English society influenced the sexist representations of gender in Shakespeare's King Lear, and how much further more recent productions have comes in terms of representation...or not.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was using the stage name "Korey Leigh Smith".

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

You can support the podcast at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone

Works referenced:

Aughterson, Kate, and Ailsa Grant Ferguson. Shakespeare and Gender: Sex and Sexuality in Shakespeare's Drama. The Arden Shakespeare, 2020, pp. 153-171. Accessed 11 Jan. 2022.

Kelly, Philippa. “See What Breeds about Her Heart: ‘King Lear’, Feminism, and Performance.” Renaissance Drama, vol. 33, [University of Chicago Press, Northwestern University], 2004, pp. 137–57, Accessed 12 Jan. 2022 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41917389.

Rudnytsky, Peter L. “‘The Darke and Vicious Place’: The Dread of the Vagina in ‘King Lear.’” Modern Philology, vol. 96, no. 3, University of Chicago Press, 1999, pp. 291–311, http://www.jstor.org/stable/439219.

Schwarz, Kathryn. “‘Fallen Out With My More Headier Will’: Dislocation in King Lear.” What You Will: Gender, Contract, and Shakespearean Social Space, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011, pp. 181–208, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fh7rv.12.

Macbeth: Tyranny and Treason

Shakespeare Anyone?

04/14/21 • 51 min

In this week's episode, we'll be discussing the elements of tyranny and treason as they appear in Shakespeare's play Macbeth as well as modern parallels to the plot and character of Macbeth and the implications of tyranny and treason in the Early Modern Era.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created, written, produced, and hosted by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was "Korey Leigh Smith".

Our theme music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Works referenced:

Frye, Roland Mushat. “Hitler, Stalin, and Shakespeare's Macbeth: Modern Totalitarianism and Ancient Tyranny.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 142, no. 1, 1998, pp. 81–109. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3152266. Accessed 27 Jan. 2021.

Lemon, Rebecca. “Scaffolds of Treason in ‘Macbeth.’” Theatre Journal, vol. 54, no. 1, 2002, pp. 25–43. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25069019. Accessed 24 Jan. 2021.

Meron, Theodor. “Crimes and Accountability in Shakespeare.” The American Journal of International Law, vol. 92, no. 1, 1998, pp. 1–40. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2998059. Accessed 24 Jan. 2021.

Mullaney, Steven. “Lying Like Truth: Riddle, Representation and Treason in Renaissance England.” ELH, vol. 47, no. 1, 1980, pp. 32–47. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2872437. Accessed 31 Jan. 2021.

Paul, Richard. Shakespeare Unlimited Podcast, performance by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., episode 100, Folger Shakespeare Library, 12 June 2018. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.

“Sovereignty, Treason Law, and the Political Imagination in Early Modern England.” Treason by Words: Literature, Law, and Rebellion in Shakespeare's England, by Rebecca Lemon, 1st ed., Cornell University Press, ITHACA; LONDON, 2006, pp. 1–22. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt7zgxv.4. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.

“The Smell of Gunpowder: Macbeth and the Palimpsests of Olfaction.” Untimely Matter in the Time of Shakespeare, by Jonathan Gil Harris, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2009, pp. 119–140. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fj17b.10. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.

Macbeth: Synopsis

Shakespeare Anyone?

01/20/21 • 53 min

Before diving into our discussions surrounding Macbeth, we wanted to give a synopsis of the events of the play as they are written for anyone who hasn't read the play at all, in a while, or found it confusing to try and read on their own.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was using the stage name "Korey Leigh Smith".

Episode written by Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

You can support the podcast at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone

Works referenced:

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Arden Shakespeare, 2015.

Stuff You Should Know Part 2: Elizabethan and Jacobean England & Theatre (Revised)

Shakespeare Anyone?

01/06/21 • 25 min

This is Part 2 of our intro series “Stuff You Should Know,” which covers some background and context into the life and times of Shakespeare, because art isn’t created in a vacuum. In this episode, we’ll be covering some basic information about early modern England during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. And when we say basic, we mean basic. This is a quick overview of early modern England, more importantly the England that influenced Shakespeare.

In this episode, we’ll be covering some basic information about the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, as well as the public theatres during those respective eras. We'll review how the transition from feudalism to mercantilism changed English society and discuss facets of early modern English society such as fashion, social mobility, religious freedom, and public health. We will give an overview the history of the public theatre in England and discuss some key features of what theatre-making was like for Shakespeare and his contemporaries.

Want more about the Elizabethan and Jacobean England & Theatre? Check out these episodes that go more in depth on topics we touch on in this episode:

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Episode written and researched by Kourtney Smith with contributions by Elyse Sharp. Revised September 2024.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.

Works referenced:

Brown, John Russell, and Peter Thomson, editor and author. “Chapter 6 English Renaissance and Restoration Theatre.” The Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre, pp. 173 - 200. Oxford University Press, 2001

Sherry, Joyce. “Elizabethan Theatre.” YouTube, 4 Jan. 2014, Accessed 6 Sept. 2020, from www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_cTCdkCAcc

Introducing Where There’s a Will: Finding Shakespeare

Shakespeare Anyone?

11/17/22 • 14 min

We’re changing things up a bit today and bringing you a preview of a new podcast we’re enjoying and think you will, too. Where There’s a Will searches for the surprising places Shakespeare shows up outside the theater. Host Barry Edelstein, artistic director at one of the country’s leading Shakespeare theaters, and co-host writer and director Em Weinstein, ask what is it about Shakespeare that’s given him a continuous afterlife in all sorts of unexpected ways? You’ll hear Shakespeare doing rehabilitative work in a maximum security prison, helping autistic kids to communicate, shaping religious observances, in the mouths of U.S. presidents, and even at the center of a deadly riot in New York City. Join Barry and Em as they uncover the ways Shakespeare endures in our modern society, and what that says about us. In this preview,

Barry and Em explore one of The Bard’s most popular works: Hamlet. Hamlet is everywhere right now. But this isn't the same play you read in high school English. We meet the minds behind a singing Hamlet, The Northman's Amleth, and Pulitzer prizewinner Fat Ham's Juicy – and ponder what makes this Shakespearean tragedy speak directly to our time. Hear the full episode, and more from Where There’s a Will, at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/wtaw?sid=anyone.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Shakespeare & Climate Change with Sydney Schwindt

Shakespeare Anyone?

04/26/23 • 78 min

In today's episode, we take a closer look at how climate change affected early modern England--especially during the Little Ice Age, a period of global cooling that occurred from the 16th to the 19th century. We explore how this environmental phenomenon influenced the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, and what it can teach us about our current global climate crisis.

To help us gain a deeper understanding of the issue, we are joined by Sydney Schwindt. Sydney Schwindt wears many hats in the theatre world; she is an actor, director, fight director, and educator. She is a resident artist and climate justice advocate on the engagement team with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. She is the program developer with the Society of American Fight Directors and is on the advisory board for the Same Boat Theatre Collective. She has taught movement and stage combat at the American Conservatory Theatre’s Graduate program and Indiana University.

Sydney shares her expertise on the intersection of climate change and the arts, and how theatre can be used as a tool to raise awareness and promote action on climate issues. We discuss the role that theatre can play in shaping our attitudes towards the environment and how they can inspire us to take action.

Finally, we provide listeners with resources to get involved in the fight against climate change, from simple actions that can be taken in our daily lives to organizations that are making a difference.

Resources to learn more:

The EarthShakes Alliance
Follow on Instagram: @earthlyeducation | @blackgirlenvironmentalist | @seedingsovereignty
Cymbeline in the Anthropocene
BBC's Planet Earth and Planet Earth II

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

You can support the podcast at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone

Works referenced for this episode:

Landis, Tina. Climate Solutions Beyond Capitalism. Liberation Media, 2020.

PARKER, GEOFFREY. “The Little Ice Age.” Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century, Yale University Press, 2013, pp. 3–25. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt32bksk.8. Accessed 26 Apr. 2023.

Robinson, Mary, and Palmer Caitríona. Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.

Romeo and Juliet: Feuds, Vendettas, and Duels

Shakespeare Anyone?

04/24/24 • 42 min

In today's episode, we are exploring the historical context for the family feud and violence between the Capulets and Montagues in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. We'll briefly revisit the history of medieval bloodfeuds that we examined in our episodes on Macbeth, then we will dive into the pratices of vendettas and dueling in the Italian renaissance and how this form of violence was imported into England, Scotland, and Wales in the late 1500s and early 1600s.

We will examine the rise in popularity of dueling among young men of the English nobility and gentry, how the public theatres romanticized and dramatized dueling, and how Shakespeare wove this trend and reactions to it into the plot of Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

Works referenced:

Bowen, Lloyd. “The Duel in Elizabethan and Jacobean England and Wales.” Anatomy of a Duel in Jacobean England: Gentry Honour, Violence and the Law, NED-New edition, Boydell & Brewer, 2021, pp. 68–83. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv18x4j9z.11. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

Dean, Trevor. “Marriage and Mutilation: Vendetta in Late Medieval Italy.” Past & Present, no. 157, 1997, pp. 3–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/651079. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

Quint, David. “Duelling and Civility in Sixteenth Century Italy.” I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance, vol. 7, 1997, pp. 231–78. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/4603706. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

Mini: Romeo & Juliet Reimagined: THE HUNDRED LOVES OF JULIET by Evelyn Skye

Shakespeare Anyone?

08/02/23 • 27 min

In today's episode, we are joined by New York Times bestselling author Evelyn Skye to discuss her debut adult novel THE HUNDRED LOVES OF JULIET and her process for adapting one of Shakespeare's most famous stories into her own. THE HUNDRED LOVES OF JULIET is available now, wherever you get your books! Join us on our Patreon later this month as we dive deeper into the book (with spoilers!) with Evelyn.

THE HUNDRED LOVES OF JULIET is a modern reimagining of Romeo and Juliet, with a twist: Romeo has been cursed to live forever, Juliet to reincarnate and die soon after they meet. Sometimes they only have minutes together, sometimes they have years. But she always—no matter what they do to prevent it—perishes. Told in alternating dual perspectives, “this novel cleverly imagines the epilogue the lovers didn’t get to have, and how curses can be blessings in disguise.” (Jodi Picoult)

A STORY ORIGINATING FROM THE AUTHOR’S POIGNANT PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: In 2018, just ten months after they were married, Evelyn’s husband Tom underwent an emergency double lung transplant—and since the moment he woke, they have lived with the knowledge that any day could be his last. In the years following Tom’s surgery, Evelyn turned to her own writing to grapple with the uncertainty and anxiety of their future. She was drawn to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet—but instead of immersing herself in the themes of desperation and senseless loss that mark Shakespeare’s best-known play, she was inspired to reimagine the eponymous characters as two regular people fighting against the heartbreaking fate that bound them together... and instead for the unshakeable, transcendent love that fate dealt them.

EVELYN SKYE is the New York Times best selling author of eight novels, including The Crown's Game. A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Skye lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and daughter. For more, follow her on Instagram at @evelyn_skye or visit evelynskye.com

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

You can support the podcast at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone

Works referenced:

Skye, Evelyn. The Hundred Loves of Juliet. Del Rey Books, 2023.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Shakespeare's Political Satire in a Pastoral Comedy

Shakespeare Anyone?

03/29/23 • 57 min

In this episode, we explore Shakespeare's use of political satire within the pastoral comedy genre, focusing on A Midsummer Night's Dream. The pastoral genre, which originated in ancient Greek literature, involves stories set in a rustic, rural world that idealizes the simplicity and harmony of nature. During the Renaissance through Elizabethan and Stuart England, writers continued to use the pastoral setting to explore social and political issues of their time, and Shakespeare was no exception.

We'll examine how Shakespeare drew on the political tensions and intrigues of the Elizabethan court to shape the plot and characters of A Midsummer Night's Dream, revealing the complex politics of the time. Through characters such as Titania and Oberon, we'll explore how Shakespeare used the dynamics of power and authority to comment on the political struggles of the Elizabethan court. We'll also examine how the character of Bottom can be read as a charicature of several Elizabethan political figures.

Through our analysis of A Midsummer Night's Dream, we'll gain new insights into the political and cultural context that shaped one of Shakespeare's most beloved plays. So join us for a fascinating discussion of Shakespeare's use of political satire in the pastoral comedy genre, and some piping hot tea about the Elizabethan court.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

You can support the podcast at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone

Works referenced:

Andrews, Richard. "A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Italian Pastoral." Transnational Exchange in Early Modern Theater. Routledge, 2016. 65-78. (if I have time)

Hunt, Maurice. "A Speculative Political Allegory in A Midsummer Night's Dream." Comparative Drama 34.4 (2000): 423-453.

Montrose, Louis Adrian. “Of Gentlemen and Shepherds: The Politics of Elizabethan Pastoral Form.” ELH, vol. 50, no. 3, 1983, pp. 415–59. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2872864. Accessed 4 Mar. 2023.

Rickert, Edith. “Political Propaganda and Satire in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ II.” Modern Philology, vol. 21, no. 2, 1923, pp. 133–54. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/433740. Accessed 29 Dec. 2022.

Swann, Marjorie. “The Politics of Fairylore in Early Modern English Literature.” Renaissance Quarterly, vol. 53, no. 2, 2000, pp. 449–73. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2901875. Accessed 4 Mar. 2023.

Macbeth: Stuff to Chew On

Shakespeare Anyone?

02/03/21 • 29 min

There's so much to talk about with each play that doesn't fit into the synopsis or into its own episode, so we've decided to cover several topics in this episode. In this episode, we discuss major thematic elements in Shakespeare's Macbeth as well as topics that are usually covered or talked about in reference to this play.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Note: When this episode was recorded, Kourtney Smith was using the stage name "Korey Leigh Smith".

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

Works Referenced:

“The Curse of the Scottish Play: Macbeth.” Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Company, 2020, www.rsc.org.uk/macbeth/about-the-play/the-scottish-play.

Lemon, Rebecca. “Scaffolds of Treason in ‘Macbeth.’” Theatre Journal, vol. 54, no. 1, 2002, pp. 25–43. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25069019. Accessed 21 Dec. 2020.

LiteraryDevices Editors. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020, from “Themes in Macbeth with Examples and Analysis” https://literarydevices.net/macbeth-themes/

“Macbeth - Themes.” BBC Bitesize, BBC, Accessed 24 Oct. 2020, from www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zgv7hyc/revision/1

Marchitello, Howard. “Speed and the Problem of Real Time in ‘Macbeth.’” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 64, no. 4, 2013, pp. 425–448., www.jstor.org/stable/24778493. Accessed 21 Dec. 2020.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Arden Shakespeare, 2015.

SparkNotes Editors. (2005). “SparkNotes: Macbeth.” SparkNotes.com, SparkNotes LLC, 2005. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020, from https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/macbeth/

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FAQ

How many episodes does Shakespeare Anyone? have?

Shakespeare Anyone? currently has 105 episodes available.

What topics does Shakespeare Anyone? cover?

The podcast is about Shakespeare, Podcasts, Education, Arts and Performing Arts.

What is the most popular episode on Shakespeare Anyone??

The episode title 'Mini: Shakespearean Woodcuts' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Shakespeare Anyone??

The average episode length on Shakespeare Anyone? is 42 minutes.

How often are episodes of Shakespeare Anyone? released?

Episodes of Shakespeare Anyone? are typically released every 14 days.

When was the first episode of Shakespeare Anyone??

The first episode of Shakespeare Anyone? was released on Dec 30, 2020.

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Shakespeare Anyone?

Kourtney Smith & Elyse Sharp

Top 10 Shakespeare Anyone? Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does Shakespeare Anyone? have?

What topics does Shakespeare Anyone? cover?

What is the most popular episode on Shakespeare Anyone??

What is the average episode length on Shakespeare Anyone??

How often are episodes of Shakespeare Anyone? released?

When was the first episode of Shakespeare Anyone??

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