Shakespeare Unlimited

Excerpt - 'How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England' by Ruth Goodman
From rudeness to gross behavior, Ruth Goodman’s book “How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England” sheds some surprising light on what bad behavior really meant, including the reason that Shakespeare had Sampson threaten to “bite my thumb” at another character…

Shakespeare Uncovered debuts its third season
The TV series “Shakespeare Uncovered” returns this Friday, October 12, with richly visual episodes. Watch video previews of Helen Hunt on “Much Ado About Nothing” and F. Murray Abraham on “The Merchant of Venice.”

Excerpt - 'The Shakespeare Requirement' by Julie Schumacher
In her new novel “The Shakespeare Requirement,” Julie Schumacher continues her satirical commentary on the humanities in academia.

Mary Baker and the legacy of Anne Hathaway's Cottage
This excerpt from a new book by Katherine West Scheil explores the 19th-century transformation of the Anne Hathaway Cottage into a tourist destination.

Shakespeare Unlimited: Hearing the voices of discovery
In our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast, now celebrating its 100th episode, you can hear so many surprising and often first-person stories by scholars, musicians, authors, actors, and others on all manner of Shakespearean topics.
Celebrating 100 episodes of Shakespeare Unlimited
Today, we’re releasing the 100th episode of our podcast, Shakespeare Unlimited. Since 2015, when we kicked things off with an episode about Nelson Mandela and the Robben Island Shakespeare, we’ve met the people who answer letters to Juliet, chatted with rappers (on more…

Excerpt - Shakespeare in the Theatre: Peter Sellars
This excerpt from Ayanna Thompson’s book explores Peter Sellars’s “uniquely American take on William Shakespeare” and his 1980 production of King Lear.

Excerpt: 'Julius Caesar and Me: Exploring Shakespeare’s African Play'
Read an excerpt from actor Paterson Joseph’s book about playing the role of Brutus in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s acclaimed 2012 production of Julius Caesar.

Excerpt: 'Year of the Mad King' by Antony Sher
What’s it like to play the role of Lear onstage? In this excerpt from Year of the Mad King: The Lear Diaries, actor Antony Sher gives us a window into the rehearsal process for the Royal Shakespeare Company 2016 production of King Lear.

Laurence Olivier, Henry V, and Shakespeare on film
Laurence Olivier’s film adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry V” during World War II was only the third Shakespeare film ever to receive Oscar recognition.

Revisit the top five Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episodes of 2017
The most popular podcast episode was about attributing Christopher Marlowe as co-author for the “Henry VI” plays and how scholars make that decision.

How Shakespeare describes post-traumatic stress disorder
Shakespeare’s plays are full of battles dominated by men, but one of his most compelling speeches about the life of a soldier comes from a woman: Lady Percy in Henry IV, Part 1, speaking to her husband, Hotspur.