Slices of Shakespeare

Professor Andy Lawrence
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Join Professor Andy Lawrence to explore famous lines and phrases from Shakespeare. Each episode Andy will take a quote, get some acting chums together, and perform the scene that the quote comes from. Before the scene, he will explain the context so we understand what we are listening to, and afterwards he will bring along a friendly pundit or actor to talk about the scene, the play, and Shakespeare more generally. In his day job, Andy is the Regius Professor of Astronomy, but he has always loved Shakespeare. He is keen to share the love, but also to get some help decoding the sometimes mysterious Elizabethan English. The music used is an extract from "Suite de Voltes", part of "Dances from Terpsichore" by Michael Praetorius, 1612. The arrangement is by Jon Sayles, who also performs the parts. Many wonderful pieces played by Jon Sayles are available at http://www.jsayles.com/familypages/EarlyMusic.htm

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    Sleep, that knits up the ravell'd sleeve of care

    This tense scene is the pivot point of the famous story of Macbeth. The awful deed - the murder of Duncan - has been done and from here on everything descends further into horror and paranoia. Macbeth is filled with guilt, confusion, and dread, and feels he will never sleep again. For other people, sleep is the great restorative - but not for him. His sleeve will be forever ravell'd. Why "sleeve"? It seems an unnusual metaphor to pick - one of the several things we will follow up in the discussion. In our scene performance today we have Eric Brennan as Macbeth, and Rachel Bhandari as Lady Macbeth. Following this, our conversation guest is Pippa Goldschmidt. Pippa is a novelist, but she started her career as an astrophysicist. She is interested in the differences between modern and early modern writing. The artwork is a print made from an engraving by Charles Rolls, which in turn is based on a painting by Henry Corbould, depicting our scene today - Macbeth about to stab Duncan, the sleeping grooms, and Lady Macbeth worried whether it's being done right. The print is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The scene that contains the quote is Act II Scene 2 of Macbeth. You can find the text at Open Source Shakespeare: https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=macbeth&Act=2&Scene=2&Scope=scene The book referred to in the discussion is "The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street" by Charles Nicholl.

    Sleep, that knits up the ravell'd sleeve of care

  2. Oct 24

    Nothing can come of Nothing

    In this famous opening scene from King Lear, the ageing King is trying to get his three daughters to flatter him in order to gain favour as he divides up his kingdom. The youngest, Cordelia, doesn't play the game and says nothing. Then we have the famous line - "nothing can come of nothing" - and Cordelia is banished with no inheritance. The rest of the play shows us Lear's world falling part and his descent into madness. Lear is one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, but as our guest Eoin Price explains, for years after Shakespeare's death it was thought too grim to perform. Today however we value Lear for its emotional depth and honesty. Performing the scene we have Karen Rydings as Goneril, Rachel Bhandari as Regan, Janet West as Cordelia, Michael Flett as a merged Gloucester and Kent, and myself as King Lear. Our conversation guest Eoin Price is a Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. He specialises in early modern Theatre. The artwork is a cropped version of "Three Daughters of King Lear" by Gustav Pope, c. 1875-1876. As usual, this has been sourced from wikimedia, but the painting itself is held in the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico. The scene that contains the quote is from Act I Scene 1 of King Lear. You can find the text at Open Source Shakespeare: https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=kinglear&Act=1&Scene=1&Scope=scene

    Nothing can come of Nothing

  3. Oct 16

    The Fault, dear Brutus, is not in our Stars

    In this episode we explore one of Andy's favourite quotes. It sounds like it's about Astronomy - but its not. Its about seizing control of your own destiny. The quote is from Julius Caesar, and is spoken by Cassius, who is scornful of Caesar, and is trying to persuade Brutus to join the conspirators who will assassinate him. It's gripping stuff and full of themes that resonate today. To explore these themes, Andy is joined by Director and playwright Justin Greene. Performing the scene we have Eric Brennan as Brutus, and Andy as Cassius. Justin Greene is perhaps best known for the hit musical "Spend Spend Spend", but early in his career he wrote an eerily prescient play called "Trump". The classic book he refers to near the end of the duscussion is "Shakespeare our Contemporary", by Jan Kott, published by W.W.Norton and Company, 1974. The scene that contains the quote is from Act I Scene 2 of Julius Caesar. You can find the text at Open Source Shakespeare: https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=juliuscaesar&Act=1&Scene=2&Scope=scene

    The Fault, dear Brutus, is not in our Stars

  4. Oct 16

    The World's Mine Oyster

    In this opening episode we look at a familiar everyday phrase. We think we know what it means today - but it's not what Shakespeare meant when he wrote it! The quote is from The Merry Wives of Windsor, a play about the infamous rogue Falstaff getting his come-uppance. Joining Andy to chat about about the play, and how this quote reversed its meaning, is the well known Shakespeare scholar Dr Emma Smith, from the University of Oxford. The performers today are Michael Flett, Rachel Bhandari, and Andy himself. Emma Smith's most popular book is "This is Shakespeare: How to Read the World's Most Famous Playwright", published by Pelican. The artwork shows Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, from the cover of a Victorian magazine called The Sketch, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 489, June 11, 1902. Sourced from wikimedia, provided by the London Stereoscopic Company. You can read the scene our quote comes from - Act II Scene 2 of the Merry Wives of Windsor - at https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=merrywives&Act=2&Scene=2&Scope=scene

    The World's Mine Oyster

  5. Oct 14

    Welcome to Slices of Shakespeare

    In this short introduction Andy explains his love of Shakespeare, and his plan for this podcast - half hour episodes introducing a famous quote, performing a short scene, and exploring the quote, the scene and the play with a guest. Less than a whole play, but more than just fragment - a slice of Shakespeare. The artwork shows the portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout, from the title page of the First Folio, 1623. Image from wikimedia, courtesy of the Elizabethan Club and the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University. First proper episode due in a couple of days - "The World is Mine Oyster"

    Welcome to Slices of Shakespeare

  6. Season 1 Trailer

    Trailer: Slices of Shakespeare

    A very short trailer for the podcast. Andy explains that his day job is exploring the Universe but his passion is for Shakespeare. He will bring together other lovers of Shakespeare and explore famous quotes, with performance, explanation, and conversation. Background image: Andromeda Nebula, by Mark Phillips Shakespeare image: Chandos Portrait, Wikimedia Commons Andy image: portrait by Max Alexander

    Trailer: Slices of Shakespeare
  • 1 Trailer
    5 Episodes

Trailer

About

Join Professor Andy Lawrence to explore famous lines and phrases from Shakespeare. Each episode Andy will take a quote, get some acting chums together, and perform the scene that the quote comes from. Before the scene, he will explain the context so we understand what we are listening to, and afterwards he will bring along a friendly pundit or actor to talk about the scene, the play, and Shakespeare more generally. In his day job, Andy is the Regius Professor of Astronomy, but he has always loved Shakespeare. He is keen to share the love, but also to get some help decoding the sometimes mysterious Elizabethan English. The music used is an extract from "Suite de Voltes", part of "Dances from Terpsichore" by Michael Praetorius, 1612. The arrangement is by Jon Sayles, who also performs the parts. Many wonderful pieces played by Jon Sayles are available at http://www.jsayles.com/familypages/EarlyMusic.htm

Information

  • Creator
    Professor Andy Lawrence
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Andy Lawrence
  • Show Website
    Slices of Shakespeare