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.
Joe Papp and Shakespeare in the Park, with Kenneth Turan
Joe Papp was responsible for some of modern American theater’s most iconic institutions: New York City’s free Shakespeare in the Park. The Public Theater. The whole idea of “Off-Broadway.” We spoke with Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth…
Still Dreaming: Shakespeare with Seniors
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 102 In 2011, Ben Steinfeld and Noah Brody, co-directors of New York’s Fiasco Theater, were invited to an assisted living facility and nursing home just outside New York City to work with its residents on a production…
Elizabeth Norton on The Hidden Lives of Tudor Women
What was everyday life like for women throughout Tudor society? Elizabeth Norton’s social history The Hidden Lives of Tudor Women introduces us not only to the restrictions, but also to some of the surprising freedoms.
Stephen Greenblatt on Shakespeare's Tyrants
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 100 “How is it possible for a whole country to fall into the hands of a tyrant? That’s a deeply unsettling question that Shakespeare grappled with again and again.” Stephen Greenblatt’s new book Tyrant explores tyranny in Shakespeare’s…
Antioch Shakespeare Festival: John Lithgow, Robin Lithgow, and Tony Dallas
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 99 Over the course of three summers in the 1950s, Arthur Lithgow and a troupe of actors he’d gathered performed every single one of Shakespeare plays, in rep, at the Antioch Shakespeare Festival, also known as Shakespeare…
Paterson Joseph: Julius Caesar and Me
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 98 In 2012 the Royal Shakespeare Company staged the first-ever, high-profile, all-black British Shakespeare production, Julius Caesar, set in Africa. The actor who played Brutus, Paterson Joseph, recently wrote a book about the experience called Julius Caesar…
Stephen Alford: London's Triumph
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 97 London in the time of William Shakespeare was a city in the midst of a phenomenal metamorphosis. During the course of Shakespeare’s professional life, the city experienced a meteoric transition, rocketing from the capital of the…
The Astor Place Riot
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 96 May 10 is the anniversary of the Astor Place Riot: the night in 1849 when fans of American actor Edwin Forrest rioted inside and outside New York’s Astor Place Opera House during a performance of Macbeth…
How Shakespeare Changed My Life
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 95 Hear Sir Ben Kingsley, Earle Hyman, Liev Schreiber, James Earl Jones, Stacy Keach, Estelle Parsons, and others open up about their experiences with Shakespeare’s plays. Actor/director Melinda Hall interviewed these actors (and others), as well as…
Antony Sher
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 94 Sir Antony Sher, one the greatest Shakespearean actors of the 20th and 21st centuries, died in December, 2021, in Stratford-Upon-Avon. He was 72. In 2018, we were lucky enough to record an interview with Sir Antony and, to…
Dennis McCarthy and June Schlueter on the George North Manuscript
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 93 Scholars Dennis McCarthy and June Schlueter say they have discovered a major new source for Shakespeare’s Richard III, Henry V, Henry VI, Part II, and at least eight other plays. The scholarly world continues to investigate…
Derek Jacobi: Acting Shakespeare
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 92 Actor Derek Jacobi talks about his remarkable career, including the advice he received from Richard Burton, a disappointing rejection by the Royal Shakespeare Company, sharing the stage with Laurence Olivier, performing King Lear in 2010, his…