Shakespeare's Shadows

Emily Rome
  • 5.0 (21)
  • PERFORMING ARTS
Shakespeare's Shadows

Featuring interviews with both actors and academics, Shakespeare’s Shadows delves into a single Shakespeare character in each episode. Perspectives from the worlds of academia, theater, and film together shape explorations of the Bard’s shadows, his imitations of life — pretty good imitations, ones that reveal enough of ourselves that we’re still talking about them four centuries later.

  1. MAY 2

    BONUS: Bandits on the Run’s ‘The Shakespeare Tapes’

    Shakespeare’s words from "As You Like It" and "Twelfth Night" get a catchy, folkish musical treatment on "The Shakespeare Tapes," a new EP by folk-pop-americana trio Bandits on the Run. The Brooklyn-based group’s three band members — Adrian Blake Enscoe (he/they), Sydney Shepherd (she/her), and Regina Stayhorn (she/her) — join Shakespeare’s Shadows for this bonus episode to talk about the forthcoming EP, which has one single, “Tiny Boy,” out now. Bandits on the Run originally composed the EP’s six songs for a 2022 production of "As You Like It" directed by Peter Andersen at Carnegie Mellon University. The band chatted with Shakespeare’s Shadows host Emily Rome about leaning into As You Like It’s themes of gender and self-discovery with this music, about performing the songs on tour, and why recording this in Nashville felt “actively defiant.” Currently Bandits on the Run are working on the stage musical adaptation of "What’s Eating Gilbert Grape," and they will be on tour across the U.S. this summer. Among the band members’ past work: Sydney has played such roles as Lizzie Borden in the musical Lizzie and Viola in the "Twelfth Night" musical adaptation "Illyria," Regina has performed Off-Broadway at the Secret Theatre and Lincoln Center, and Adrian starred in Broadway musical "Swept Away" and Apple TV+ series "Dickinson."

    32 min

  2. MAR 29

    BONUS: Lauren Gunderson & Kaja Dunn on ‘A Room in the Castle’

    What does it take for a woman to survive in Elsinore? What would Ophelia and Gertrude tell us — if only they got anywhere close to the number of lines Shakespeare gives Hamlet? This and more is explored in new play "A Room in the Castle," which gives the women of Hamlet their time to shine. A co-production of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and the Folger Shakespeare Library, "A Room in the Castle" is in the midst of its world premiere, onstage at the Folger through April 6. "A Room in the Castle" director Kaja Dunn and playwright Lauren Gunderson join Shakespeare’s Shadows for a bonus episode delving into the origins of this satisfying new play, the significance of who gets to have soliloquies, and what happens when women are labeled “mad” — plus, we also take some time to discuss Lauren Gunderson’s new adaptation of "Little Women." Guests on this episode are: • Kaja Dunn (she/her), whose directing credits include previous productions at the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Old Globe, and Cape Fear Regional Theatre. Her work as an intimacy professional includes productions at the Folger and "A Strange Loop" on Broadway. She is an associate professor at Carnegie Melon University. • Lauren Gunderson (she/her) has repeatedly been among the most-produced playwrights in the U.S., topping the list (which excludes Shakespeare) thrice over the past decade. Her writing credits include the plays "I and You," "Silent Sky," the Pemberley trilogy, and "The Book of Will."

    48 min

  3. 09/27/2024

    Duke Senior & Duke Frederick

    "As You Like It" is often remembered for being a rom-com, but it’s also a family drama. Duke Senior (Rosalind’s father) is usurped by his brother Duke Frederick. One brother rules at court while the exiled brother builds a new life in the Forest of Arden. In this episode — about not just one but two characters — we discuss why it is that Frederick banished his brother and then his niece, what makes As You Like It ripe for musical adaption, how to make sense of Duke Senior so eagerly returning to court after he was raving about life in the forest, and more. Guests on this episode are: • Jennifer Lines (she/her), who performed in multiple stagings (including at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.) of an "As You Like It" featuring Beatles music. This version of the play originated at Bard on the Beach in Vancouver, and Jennifer plays characters known in that version as Dame Senior and Dame Frances. • Darius de Haas (he/him), who played Duke Senior in the 2017 Public Works world premiere of Shaina Taub’s "As You Like It" musical adaptation at the Delacorte Theater in New York’s Central Park • Dr. Alys Daroy (she/her), a professor of English and Theatre at Murdoch University. Alys is also an actor and is co-artistic director of Shakespeare South, recognized as Australia’s first eco-Shakespeare company. She is co-author of the forthcoming book "Shakespeare, Ecology and Adaptation: A Practical Guide." To view video footage from Jennifer's and Darius's productions, visit shakespearesshadows.com/duke-senior-frederick-video

    1h 4m

  4. 07/30/2024

    Horatio

    Hamlet’s best friend, Horatio, gets 7 percent of the lines in "Hamlet" next to the title character “who never shuts up” (as one guest on this episode puts it) with 37 percent. This episode gives Horatio his moment to be center stage, revealing how he doesn’t have to be a one-note or one-dimensional character, even as his role is in service of Hamlet’s story. We discuss Horatio’s journey being one of learned bravery, whether Hamlet and Horatio may be more than friends, and the significance of Horatio and other characters studying in Wittenberg. Guests on this episode are: Dr. Jonathan Gil Harris, a professor of English at Ashoka University in Sonipat, India. His publications include guest editing a 2011 special edition of Shakespeare Quarterly that was all about Horatio, titled “Surviving Hamlet” David Gow, who played Horatio in September 2023 staged reading at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts opposite Finn Wittrock as Hamlet This episode contains discussion of grief, murder, and suicide.

    1h 6m

  5. 06/20/2024

    Portia

    In "The Merchant of Venice," Portia is remarkable for her cleverness and the power she holds, and she’s ostensibly a hero of this story. But her journey is entwined with that of Shylock, the Jewish moneylender whose mistreatment makes "Merchant of Venice" a deeply troubling play. In this episode, we discuss just how extremely wealthy Portia is, whether or not Portia is likable (and how her likability is often approached differently in scholarship versus in performance), and how an actress may grapple with Portia’s role in Shylock’s ultimate fate. Guests on this episode are: Lynn Collins, who played Portia in the 2004 Merchant of Venice film directed by Michael Radford, starring alongside Joseph Fiennes, Jeremy Irons, and Al Pacino Dr. Peter Holland, a professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Notre Dame teaching in both the English department and the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre This episode contains explicit language and discussion of racism and religious intolerance.

    1h 14m

  6. 05/04/2024

    BONUS: Long Beach Playhouse’s ‘Hamlet’

    Roberto Williams is one of five actors together playing the title character in Long Beach Playhouse’s current production of "Hamlet". One actor plays what’s called the core Hamlet, and the others play four parts of Hamlet’s psyche: wisdom, innocence, justice, and vengeance — Roberto plays the latter. In this bonus episode, Roberto discusses this unique staging of what’s often referred to as Shakespeare’s best play. He also shares some details about another adaptation of "Hamlet" inspired by Deaf culture that he’s developing, and he chats about his popular Instagram and TikTok reels that connect Shakespeare’s characters to modern pop culture.

  7. 05/02/2024

    BONUS: Punchdrunk & Emursive’s ‘Sleep No More’

    "Sleep No More," the immersive, one-of-a-kind adaptation of "Macbeth," is in the spotlight in the first-ever bonus episode of Shakespeare’s Shadows. Co-produced by Punchdrunk and Emursive Productions, "Sleep No More" is a promenade-style performance that invites the audience members to freely explore the eerie spaces of its 5-story set. Its iconic run in New York is currently set to close in mid-June. Though this episode doesn’t delve into a single Shakespeare character like a regular-format episode of Shakespeare’s Shadows does, you’ll still find the captivating character-focused discussion that you get in any episode of the podcast. Emursive Chief Storyteller Ilana Gilovich chats with podcast host Emily Rome about the impact and legacy of "Sleep No More," including how it weaves in elements of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, what the production’s props and imagery reveal about the characters, and her advice on how to get the most out of the show as an audience member.

  8. 04/18/2024

    The Dauphin

    In “Henry V,” King Henry gets a new foil: the French Dauphin, the heir apparent in France, England’s rival. In the conflict that culminates in the Battle of Agincourt, Shakespeare depicts the English with layers and complexity and ultimately with a great deal of nobility. Meanwhile, the French (in the text and sometimes even more so in performance) come off as arrogant, foppish, and often quite silly. This episode delves into discussion of the Dauphin’s relationship with his father the king, where Shakespeare diverges from real history, and how — even in a history play set at wartime — this character can be mined for a lot of comedy. Guests on this episode are Stephen Michael Spencer, who played the Dauphin at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in 2023, and Dr. Elizabeth Pentland, a professor at York University in Toronto who specializes in Renaissance literature, including research on literary exchanges between England and France during the period of the French civil wars.

    57 min
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5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Featuring interviews with both actors and academics, Shakespeare’s Shadows delves into a single Shakespeare character in each episode. Perspectives from the worlds of academia, theater, and film together shape explorations of the Bard’s shadows, his imitations of life — pretty good imitations, ones that reveal enough of ourselves that we’re still talking about them four centuries later.

Information

  • Creator
    Emily Rome
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2025
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Emily Rome 2017
  • Show Website
    Shakespeare's Shadows

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