Shakesqueer

Rubie Butler and Kirsten Vanderspek
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Shakespeare—from boring to brilliant, everyone has their thoughts. For us, those thoughts just happen to be about how gay everyone is. Join Rubie and Kirsten—two queer drama students—on their journey to uncover the inherent LGBTQ+ themes in Shakespeare’s work. Enjoy scene performances, character analysis, and a little more on thou/thine pronouns than you ever thought you needed.

Episodes

  1. FEB 5

    "A Green Carnation" Twelfth Night's Antonio and Sebastian

    Our Twelfth Night series continues with one of Shakespeare’s most famous gays of all time—Antonio—and his relationship with Sebastian.  Chapters: (1:08): 2.1 Scene Context  (1:50): Act 2 Scene 1 Read (4:05): 2.1 Commentary: Prose & Pronouns (follow along with the notes below!) (9:48): 2.1 Commentary: Plot & Performance  (15:30): 3.3 Scene Context  (16:17): Act 3 Scene 3 Read (18:30): 3.3 Commentary (see our notes for extra comments [what Kirsten forgot to say]) (29:00): 5.1 Scene Context  (30:00): Act 5 Scene 1 (31:15): 5.1 Commentary: Prose & Pronouns (36:00): 5.1 Commentary: Plot & Performance (38:30): Overall Commentary (45:24): Rubie’s Poem (also in our notes—check the link below!) Our Notes! (a.k.a. what’s on the table in front of us) https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Pns9vK_nVQd3RObykf82CwexUcb-kj1G?usp=sharing Read Along: Twelfth Night: Act 2 Scene 1 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/twelfth-night/read/2/1/ Twelfth Night: Act 3 Scene 3 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/twelfth-night/read/3/3/ Twelfth Night: Act 5 Scene 1 (starting at line 69) https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/twelfth-night/read/5/1/#line-5.1.69 “We’ll put this in the description.” Elam, Keir (ed.) (2008) Twelfth Night. The Arden Shakespeare. Twelfth Night (2017) Christopher Luscombe [Film]. Royal Shakespeare Company.

    48 min

  2. 11/21/2025

    “Do you listen to Girl in Red?” Twelfth Night’s Olivia and Viola

    Let’s go lesbians!  Our debut kicks off with Olivia and Viola from Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night (Or What You Will).  Chapters: (0:45): Introduction (1:50): Scene Context (2:50): Act 3 Scene 1 Read (7:24): Analysis (9:10): Kirsten’s Thou/Thine Breakdown (23:28): Act 3 Scene 4 Cold Read (26:58): Rubie’s Directorial Concepts Read Along: Twelfth Night: Act 3 Scene 1 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/twelfth-night/read/3/1/#line-3.1.97 Twelfth Night: Act 3 Scene 4 https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/twelfth-night/read/3/4/#line-3.4.209 "We'll put this in the description:" Shakespeare, W. (2017) Twelfth Night. Royal Shakespeare Company.

    32 min
  • 2 Episodes

About

Shakespeare—from boring to brilliant, everyone has their thoughts. For us, those thoughts just happen to be about how gay everyone is. Join Rubie and Kirsten—two queer drama students—on their journey to uncover the inherent LGBTQ+ themes in Shakespeare’s work. Enjoy scene performances, character analysis, and a little more on thou/thine pronouns than you ever thought you needed.

Information

  • Creator
    Rubie Butler and Kirsten Vanderspek
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Rubie Butler and Kirsten Vanderspek
  • Show Website
    Shakesqueer