Beyond Shakespeare

Beyond Shakespeare
  • 4.3 (6)
  • Performing Arts
  • Updated weekly

From the earliest drama in English, to the closing of the theatres in 1642, there was a hell of a lot of drama produced - and a lot of it wasn't by Shakespeare. Apart from a few noble exceptions these plays are often passed over, ignored or simply unknown. This podcast presents full audio productions of the plays, fragmentary and extant, that shaped the theatrical world that shaped our dramatic history.

  1. 3 days ago

    Discussing: Music and Emotion on the Caroline Stage

    Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts This week it's a discussing episode where I chat with Dr Shirley Bell about her book Music and Emotion on the Caroline Stage - available now!The book examines the relationship between music and emotion in the Caroline theatre. Music could be ravishing, it could be unsettling, it could be used as a way of depicting madness itself or of treating that madness. This book explores the many ways in which emotions were provoked, controlled and directed through music and its impact on the theatre audience in a range of Caroline drama. Music allows characters to express their emotions in ways that speech does not; it can be ironic, it can undermine the characters’ dialogue, and it can affect the audience in many ways. This book brings together major recent work on emotions and synthesises this work with scholarship on music to demonstrate how music and emotions are intimately linked on the Caroline stage. Shirley Bell is an associate lecturer and researcher in English at Sheffield Hallam University, UK, specialising in early modern literature, drama, and culture. Her doctoral thesis explored the use of instrumental music and song in the works of Richard Brome, James Shirley, and Ben Jonson’s ‘late plays’ to determine how much of an impact the music had on a holistic understanding of the plays in performance. @drshirleybell on Bluesky, Instagram and TikTok. The book can be bought here. There is a 20% discount with this code: PALAUT Our patrons received a mix of this episode in June 2026 - 1 month in advance.The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.orgYou can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQThe Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam.Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices.In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia.The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.

    Discussing: Music and Emotion on the Caroline Stage

  2. 17 Jul

    Gown, Hood, and Cap (Full Cast Audio Adaptation)

    Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original textsWelcome to more university silliness! It's Gown, Hood and Cap – which survives in a manuscript at the Folger library. Like our recently released Band, Cuff and Ruff, this is a short skit written by students at Cambridge. Gown, Hood and Cap is less conflict driven that Work for Cutlers, or Band, Cuff and Gown, and is more about bants between different students and the things they get up to – the elements of clothing indicators of different levels of academic achievement. An academic hood, trimmed with fox fur, which hangs behind – the academic Gown open – and the academic cap. These are, of course, merely a delivery system for puns on hoodwinking, different cap puns, and the state of ones gown. If you are unsure what the punchline means, assume it’s a pun. In Gown, Hood and Cap by the UnknownHood was played by Robert Crighton, Gown by Benjamin Finch and Cap by Song Marshall.The text coach for the production was Liza Graham.Technical presentation by Robert Crighton. Our patrons received this episode in June 2026 - about a month early!The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.orgYou can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQThe Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam.Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices.In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia.The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.

    Gown, Hood, and Cap (Full Cast Audio Adaptation)

  3. 14 Jul

    Doctor John Faustus (Chapter 28)

    Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus, is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. Chapter Twenty-Eight: Faustus was asked a question concerning thunder. Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in detail at the text - join our chat here.Thunder sfx thanks to zapsplat.comOur patrons received this episode in December 2024 - approx. 18 months early. They have also already received the next 19 chapters and exploring sessions!The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.orgYou can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQThe Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam.Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices.In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia.The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.

    Doctor John Faustus (Chapter 28)

  4. 10 Jul

    Unattached Fragments | Part 2 (Fragments)

    Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original textsPart two of our an epic (yet dinky) series looking at some fragments found in The English Treasury of Wit and Language by John Cotgrave. This is a fairly chunky opening gambit, with the preface to the book, before our usual drive by at a short bit of text. You can find a version of the text at archive.org. It's found under the section "Of Atheism, Blasphemy, Impiety, Prophaxes etc." on page 18/19. The text is performed by Aliki Chapple, the host is Robert Crighton. Our patrons received this episode in January 2025 - well over a year early!The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.orgYou can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQThe Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam.Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices.In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia.The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.

    Unattached Fragments | Part 2 (Fragments)

  5. 3 Jul

    Band, Cuff, and Ruff (Full Cast Audio Adaptation)

    Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts This week you're getting another university comedy! It's A Merry Dialogue between Band, Cuff and Ruff by the Unknown. It was printed in 1615 and probably performed a year or so earlier by students at Cambridge. More of this kind of thing is on the way! Band, Cuff and Ruff is about different detailing in clothing, and which is better. Ruffs being favoured by some (usually the more respectable end of the spectrum) and Bands by the more louche. Cuff stands between as arbiter, presumably as the more standard utilitarian element common to all. This is, of course, merely a delivery system for puns on fabric, clothing manufacturing and washing. If you are unsure what the punchline means, assume it’s one of those three. Band was played by Liza Graham, Cuff by Alison Whismore, and Ruff by Larissa Oates. The text coach for the production was Liza Graham Technical presentation by Robert Crighton For more of this type of thing, go to Preist the Barber. Our patrons received a mix of this episode in May 2026 - over a month in advance.The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.orgYou can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQThe Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam.Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices.In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia.The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.

    Band, Cuff, and Ruff (Full Cast Audio Adaptation)

  6. 26 Jun

    Discussing: Predramatic Theatre

    Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts This month we've discussing a new book by Eleanor Rycroft and Greg Walker - Predramatic Theatre: The Radicalism of Early British Performance. It's a book that connects strongly with our practical work on early theatre, as well as engagements with ideas of the postdramatic in some of our performances. If that sounds scary, it's not really, come in and join the chat. The book is available from Palgrave Macmillan now. Eleanor Rycroft is Associate Professor in Early Modern Performance at the University of Bristol, UK, and author of Facial Hair and the Performance of Early Modern Masculinity (2019). Her work centres on embodiment and gender in premodern performance. She has written articles for journals such as Shakespeare, Shakespeare Bulletin, and English Literary Renaissance, and is currently writing a British Academy-funded monograph on the early modern staging of walking. Greg Walker is Regius Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He has published widely in the fields of late medieval and early-modern literature and theatre history. He has also been involved, with Thomas Betteridge and Eleanor Rycroft, in performance-as-research productions of Heywood’s Play of the Weather (Hampton Court Palace), Lyndsay’s Satire of the Three Estates (Linlithgow Palace and Stirling Castle) and Jonson’s Masque of Augurs (Banqueting House, Westminster). About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam.Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices.In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia.The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.

    Discussing: Predramatic Theatre

  7. 19 Jun

    The Pardoner and the Friar by John Heywood (LIVE Archive Recording)

    Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original textsWelcome to our live stage recording of The Pardoner and the Friar by John Heywood. It's not designed as an audio adaptation, this is simply recorded from a distance on stage. However, it is hopefully of some use. It was recorded as part of our Entertaining Henry season on Sunday 22nd June 2025 at the Quay Theatre, Sudbury.With Simon Nader Mirza as The Friar, Robert Crighton as The Pardoner, Alexandra Kataigida as Neighbour Prat, and Roel Fox as The Parson.The Backstage Technical Manager was Valentina Vinci.Introductory sermon for the Parson by Robert CrightonMany thanks to Joe Fawcett, Tom Lagden, and everyone behind the scenes at the Quay. We have done so much on John Heywood and this play - full playlist here. The entire Entertaining Henry season was recorded, including most of the rehearsal period - all of this material can be found on our patreon feed. Our patrons received a mix of this episode in November 2025 - 6 months in advance.The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.orgYou can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQThe Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam.Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices.In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia.The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.

    The Pardoner and the Friar by John Heywood (LIVE Archive Recording)

  8. 16 Jun

    Doctor John Faustus (Chapter 27)

    Beyond is sponsored by The Malone Society: The permanent utility of original texts  The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus, is the book that is the source for Christopher Marlowe's play. Chapter by chapter we will wander through the twists and turns of this story. Chapter Twenty-Seven: How Doctor Faustus was asked a question concerning the Stars that fall from heaven.Our patrons also get an exploring session looking in detail at the text - join our chat here.Thunder sfx thanks to zapsplat.comOur patrons received this episode in November 2024 - approx. 18 months early. They have also already received the next 19 chapters and exploring sessions!The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.orgYou can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQThe Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. About our sponsors - the Malone Society. The Society was founded in 1906 at the initiative of A.W. Pollard, and for over a century they have published (almost) every year edited volumes of early printed and manuscript texts of both well-known and neglected plays. They also publish collections of documentary material relating to the performance and reception of early drama. Their best-known publications include W.W. Greg’s edition of Sir Thomas More, a collaborative history play, and A.C. Dunstan’s edition of the earliest surviving original play in English to have been written by a woman, Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam.Their membership is international and open to anyone interested in early drama. Members receive their annual volumes and are able to buy books from their backlist at low prices.In addition to their publications, they support scholarship of early drama through fellowships and research grants, an annual prize for graduate students, and performances and symposia.The Society is named after Edmond Malone, born in Dublin in 1741, a great editor, textual scholar and theatre historian, whose work continues to shape studies in early drama.

    Doctor John Faustus (Chapter 27)
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4.3
out of 5
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About

From the earliest drama in English, to the closing of the theatres in 1642, there was a hell of a lot of drama produced - and a lot of it wasn't by Shakespeare. Apart from a few noble exceptions these plays are often passed over, ignored or simply unknown. This podcast presents full audio productions of the plays, fragmentary and extant, that shaped the theatrical world that shaped our dramatic history.

Information

  • Creator
    Beyond Shakespeare
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    500
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Beyond Shakespeare

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