Best English Touring Theatre Podcasts (2024)

1
The Brief Life and Big Impact of the Federal Theatre Project, with James Shapiro 36:36

32m ago36:36

36:36

Imagine: a fiercely idealistic, politically progressive artist takes the stand at a hearing of the House Un-American Activities Committee. The chair of the committee is a hard-right demagogue with a gift for sound bites and a fixation with Communism. If you’re picturing Joseph McCarthy’s anti-Communist crusade in the 1950s… think two decades earlie…

1
Pop Up Parisian brasseries and dinner theatre: How Paris 2024 hopes to attract visitors with food 4:02

6d ago4:02

4:02

PRESS REVIEW - Tuesday, July 16: As the flame makes its way through the streets of Paris and its surrounding suburbs, we look at how the press gear up for the Olympic Games. Meanwhile, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo is set to jump into the Seine as part of her promise on cleaning up the river. And: find out how Paris 2024 aims to set a gold medal standar…

1
Scenes of joy in Asmara after Biniam Girmay's third Tour de France stage win 5:52

10d ago5:52

5:52

PRESS REVIEW - Friday, July 12: We look at reactions to President Joe Biden NATO press conference after embarrassing new slip ups that will do little quell the doubts around his capacity to be re-elected. Also: Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay wins a third stage at the Tour de France amid scenes of jubilation back home. And: Tennis player Jasmine Paoli…

1
‘Miss Merkel’: German TV show reimagining ex-chancellor as crime-fighting detective goes viral 7:43

11d ago7:43

7:43

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, July 11: Calls for Joe Biden to stand aside are mounting as questions about his performance overshadow his presidential campaign, including for the first time, from a Democratic Senator. Also: Saudi Arabia sentences a TV producer from a hit Netflix series to 13 years in prison for terrorism and reactions from the sports pag…

1
Deadlocked: French coalition government is more unclear than ever 5:50

4d ago5:50

5:50

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, July 9: The political deadlock in France in the wake of the legislative elections continues to dominate the French papers. The international press is also focusing heavily on the political future of the country and that of President Emmanuel Macron. Also: a once-picturesque lake in Sicily, crucial for migrating birds, has al…

1
Surprise defeat of far right dominates French front pages 6:54

6d ago6:54

6:54

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, July 8: The surprise defeat of the far right in the second round of French legislative elections is all over the front pages, with analysis of just how the leftist and centrist blocs managed to hold up. But there are also divisions, as far-right voters feel cheated by the result. We bring you all the reaction in this special …

1
Labour Party landslide win splash UK front pages 6:26

10d ago6:26

6:26

PRESS REVIEW - Friday 5 July: The press reacts to the end of 14 years of conservative rule as new UK PM Keir Starmer heads to Downing Street. The left-wing national press is jubilant while right-wing papers report on a likely Conservative leadership race after the Tories suffered a historic defeat in Thursday’s general elections. Meanwhile the fore…

1
Shock after revelations of vitriolic racism from French far-right candidate 7:21

9d ago7:21

7:21

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday 4 July: Overtly racist comments dug up from the social media history of a far-right National Rally candidate for MP shock France. Also, the first African-born German MP announces a plan to step back from politics, just weeks after sharing screenshots of a graphically violent and racist email he received. In other news, scie…

1
Right-wing UK tabloid warns of 'Starmergeddon' ahead of Thursday's general election 7:08

19d ago7:08

7:08

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday July 3: The UK press anticipates a landslide win for Labour in Thursday's general election. Also, more than 200 candidates stand down in French constituencies in a bid to hold back the tide of the far right. In other news, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni has responded to an investigation that exposed Nazi salutes and racist sloga…

1
A Tour of the Newly-Reopened Folger | Part 2: Research at the Folger 31:13

11d ago31:13

31:13

After a four-year renovation, the Folger Shakespeare Library is now open with 12,000 square feet of new public spaces. But behind the scenes, in our original building, we’ve also revamped the way we serve researchers working with the world’s largest Shakespeare collection. On this episode, host Barbara Bogaev talks with Director of Collections Greg…

1
Eritrean Biniam Girmay becomes first Black African rider to win a Tour de France stage 6:18

14d ago6:18

6:18

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, July 2: The French and international papers make their plea for candidates to block the far right from winning seats in parliament ahead of Sunday's second round of French legislative elections, evoking a "political responsibility". Also: Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay becomes the first Black African rider to win a Tour de F…

1
'National Rally at the gates of power': French papers react to snap election results 6:14

21d ago6:14

6:14

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, July 1: In this special edition, we bring you front pages, opinion pieces and cartoons from the French press and around the world after the far-right National Rally's victory in the first round of snap French legislative elections. Papers are expressing concern at the results, amid a consensus that Macron's gamble in calling …

1
Foggy, disjointed: Joe Biden's US debate performance bordered on 'elder abuse' 6:42

24d ago6:42

6:42

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, June 28: Foggy, stumbling and "elder abuse" are how the press described Joe Biden's performance against Donald Trump in their first head-to-head presidential debate on Thursday evening. The two men drew attention for their performance more than their policies. Has Biden tanked his campaign? Also, we look at Keir Starmer, the …

1
South African scientists inject radioactive matter into live rhino horns to fight poaching 6:47

25d ago6:47

6:47

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, June 27: We look at the Bolivian press after an attempted military coup against President Luis Arce. In France, the papers are concerned about women's rights, the environment and the economy ahead of the first round of legislative elections. Also, South African researchers begin an ambitious trial to inject rhino horns with…

1
Will Paris's River Seine be ready for the Olympics in one month's time? 7:43

26d ago7:43

7:43

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday 26 June: Papers react to an ill-humoured TV debate that saw French PM Gabriel Attal spar with left-wing and far-right challengers. Also, protests in Kenya leave Western allies almost tongue-tied. In other news, the state of the River Seine continues to make headlines in France, one month before the start of the Olympics. Wi…

1
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange finally free after 14 years of legal limbo 5:56

22d ago5:56

5:56

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, June 25: We look at reactions in the Australian press after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange strikes a plea deal that ends 14 years of legal limbo over his publication of classified military documents. He will arrive home in Australia as a free man. Also: French papers lambast the far-right National Rally's political program…

1
Countdown begins to French snap elections, with discouraging headlines for Macron 7:48

19d ago7:48

7:48

PRESS REVIEW, Monday June 24: French media anticipate a rough road ahead for French President Emmanuel Macron, as the country enters its final week of campaigning ahead of Sunday's first round of snap legislative elections. In other news, papers are putting the spotlight on the underground tourism industry that sent so many pilgrims to their deaths…

1
Holocaust survivor, 102, appears on cover of German Vogue 6:22

29d ago6:22

6:22

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, June 20: We look at reactions in the press after the brutal rape of a young Jewish girl in France and how it's become a hot-button political issue ahead of French legislative elections. Also: the Italian parliament votes in favour of a controversial regional authority bill that gives more powers to wealthy regions to manage…

1
AI-enhanced blood tests could detect Parkinson's disease seven years before onset 5:14

1M ago5:14

5:14

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, June 19: Ahead of next week's legislative elections in France, President Emmanuel Macron finds himself short on allies, while there is still uncertainty over what will happen if no party wins an absolute majority in parliament. In other news, papers hail a major breakthrough in treatment for Parkinson's disease. Finally, t…

1
A Tour of the Newly-Reopened Folger | Part 1 34:04

1M ago34:04

34:04

On June 21, the Folger reopens after a four-year renovation. The reimagined Folger has brand-new public exhibition spaces where we can introduce visitors to Shakespeare and his plays, as well as showcase some of the treasures of the Folger’s collection. Behind the scenes in the original building, we’ve also completely revamped the way we serve rese…

1
'No more shame or taboo': French rugby star Dupont speaks out against homophobia 6:15

1M ago6:15

6:15

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, June 18: Reform UK launch their manifesto ahead of the general election, with leader Nigel Farage promising massive tax cuts and spending commitments. In other news, the National Rally have laid out their plans ahead of the French legislative elections. Also, French rugby superstar Antoine Dupont takes a stance against homop…

1
'Rish, I didn't have a dish': Sunak blasted as Conservative Party launches manifesto 6:03

1M ago6:03

6:03

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, June 12: France's Les Républicains party leader Eric Ciotti has backed an alliance with the far-right National Rally. The move is causing outrage within his party, with many calling for his resignation. Also, the UK's Conservative Party has launched its manifesto ahead of the general election. In other news, we look at a h…

1
French left forms anti-far right alliance, but will it be enough for snap elections? 7:05

1M ago7:05

7:05

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, June 11: We take a look through the French and foreign papers as the French left unites to block the far right in the upcoming snap parliamentary elections. How will French citizens vote? Also: we look at the media coverage of Caitlin Clark, a star US women's basketball player, who has been omitted from the Olympic team. Fin…

1
'Extreme gamble': France's Macron shocks nation by dissolving parliament 5:29

1M ago5:29

5:29

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, June 10: French President Emmanuel Macron stuns the country by announcing the dissolution of parliament, after his party is trounced by the far-right National Rally in the European elections. The papers in France are calling it an extraordinary gamble. The news also makes a splash internationally, with one German paper callin…

1
Paolini, Sinner, Bolelli and Vavassori: Italian papers hail golden era in tennis 7:04

1M ago7:04

7:04

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, June 7: We begin by looking at how Lebanon could get caught up in Israel's war against Hamas. The Italian dailies hail a golden era for Italian tennis, with players reaching the women's final (Jasmine Paolini) and men's doubles final (Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori), as well as Jannik Sinner becoming world number one. Pl…

1
D-Day, 80 years on: How the papers covered the Normandy landings in June 1944 6:02

2M ago6:02

6:02

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, June 6: World leaders gather in Normandy to mark 80 years since the D-Day landings. The geopolitical context today is very different: Russia's Vladimir Putin was not invited to the commemorations, despite the significant role Russia played in World War II. We look at front pages and take a deep dive into how the papers cove…

1
Scientists struggle to bring life back to desertified salt lake 6:55

2M ago6:55

6:55

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, June 5: A dried-up salt lake in Uzbekistan is unable to support local farmers. Also, US President Joe Biden's executive order to cut migration on the Mexican border leads to backlash on the left and fails to impress on the right. In other news, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak seemed in fighting form for the first time i…

1
Fred Wilson on his New, Othello-Inspired Work for the Folger 33:45

1M ago33:45

33:45

Fred Wilson’s artistic output includes painting, sculpture, photography, and collage, among other media. But his 1992 work “Mining the Museum” at the Maryland Historical Society used the museum’s own collection as its material, radically reframing how American institutions present their art. Wilson went on to represent the United States at the 2003…

1
Second Chances, Shakespeare, and Freud, with Adam Phillips and Stephen Greenblatt 35:45

2M ago35:45

35:45

The desire for a second chance provides the engine for many of Shakespeare’s plays. In their new book, Second Chances: Shakespeare and Freud, Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt and psychologist Adam Phillips argue that this fascination with the second chance links Shakespeare with one of his biggest 20th century fans: Sigmund Freud. Shakespeare…

1
Mary Zimmerman on Adapting Ovid and Directing Shakespeare 32:21

2M ago32:21

32:21

When Mary Zimmerman's adaptation of Ovid's Metamorphoses was on Broadway in 2002, it won a host of awards, including the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel awards for best play. Zimmerman took home the Tony award for best director. This spring, director Psalmayene 24 and an all-Black cast stage a new production of the play interpreted thr…

1
Judi Dench On Seven Decades of Shakespeare, with Brendan O’Hea 40:56

3M ago40:56

40:56

In her new book, Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent, Dame Judi Dench and actor/director Brendan O'Hea chat about her long history with the Bard. On this episode, Dench and O'Hea join host Barbara Bogaev to talk about Dench's experiences playing Ophelia, Gertrude, Lady Macbeth and Titania. Plus, parrots, Polonius, dirty words, Ian McKellen, why …

1
Shakespeare and the Environment, with Todd Andrew Borlik 33:47

3M ago33:47

33:47

Land enclosure. Wildlife management. Erosion. Pollution. Mining practices. Today, we’d call these environmental issues. But, hundreds of years before the modern environmental movement coalesced, these issues also appeared in Shakespeare’s plays. We talk to Todd Andrew Borlik, a professor at the University of Huddersfield and author of Shakespeare B…

1
Ramie Targoff on Women Writers of the English Renaissance 37:32

4M ago37:32

37:32

In A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf famously imagined what might have happened if Shakespeare had a sister who was as gifted a writer as he was. She invents “Judith” Shakespeare, and concludes that this female genius would have been doomed.But that’s not the end of the story. If Woolf had read Mary Sidney, Aemelia Lanyer (nee Bassano), Anne Clif…

1
Green World: Michelle Ephraim on Discovering Shakespeare and Reevaluating The Merchant of Venice 33:22

4M ago33:22

33:22

In her new memoir, "Green World," Shakespeare scholar Michelle Ephraim tells the story of how she came to Shakespeare relatively late in her education. Although she didn’t grow up with Shakespeare, Ephraim became transfixed by "The Merchant of Venice" as a grad student. In particular, she found herself drawn to Jessica, Shylock’s daughter, and the …

1
Eddie Izzard on Performing Hamlet Solo 32:11

5M ago32:11

32:11

Eddie Izzard has a long record of dramatic roles. But it’s her decades of experience as a stand-up comedian that prepared Izzard for her recent solo shows—first Great Expectations, and now Hamlet at New York’s Greenwich House Theatre.From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series. Published February 27, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights…

1
Shakespeare and Disgust, with Bradley J. Irish 34:30

5M ago34:30

34:30

Maybe there really was something rotten in Denmark. On this episode, we talk with Bradley J. Irish about disgust in Shakespeare. In his new book, Irish identifies the emotion, which combines physical revulsion and moral outrage, as one of the central thematic emotions in Shakespeare’s plays. In his close readings across the canon, Irish finds disgu…

1
Rita Dove on Shakespeare and Her Poem of Welcome for the Folger 37:06

6M ago37:06

37:06

When the Folger reopens on June 21 and you come to take a walk in our new west garden, look down at the garden bed. There, you'll see a new poem, written for the Folger by US Poet Laureate emerita Rita Dove. This week, she joins us on the podcast to read that poem aloud for the first time. Plus, Dove reflects on how writing for marble is different …

1
John Guy And Julia Fox on Their New Biography of Anne Boleyn 33:44

6M ago33:44

33:44

Even after appearing in a Shakespeare play, historical romance novels, a Broadway musical, and prestige TV dramas, there's still more to learn about Anne Boleyn.A new biography by the team of husband-and-wife historians John Guy and Julia Fox takes a scholarly look at the evidence surrounding Anne’s rise and fall. They freshly examine well-known ac…

1
David and Ben Crystal Share Shakespeare Quotations for Your Everyday Life 35:13

7M ago35:13

35:13

Shakespeare has the perfect lines for riding into battle or stumbling around a stormy heath. But does he have the right stuff to take us on a daily commute or a trip to the grocery store? On this episode, David and Ben Crystal join us to talk about their new book, "Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life," which offers daily Shakespeare quotes you can…

1
What Happened to the Princes in the Tower, with Philippa Langley 33:25

7M ago33:25

33:25

The most unforgivable crime in Richard III has to be when the king orders the murder of his two young nephews, Edward and Richard. But what if Richard III was framed?Philippa Langley is the amateur historian whose commitment to righting a historical wrong led to the discovery of Richard III’s remains a decade ago. Langley wasn’t a scholar—she was a…

1
Will Somer: Peter K. Andersson on Henry VIII's Court Fool 31:20

7M ago31:20

31:20

What comes to mind when you think about a "court jester?" What if we told you that fools in the Tudor court didn’t look or sound anything like the zany clowns you have in mind?Historians don’t know much about Will Somer. We know he was Henry VIII’s court fool, but the details of his biography—and, crucially, his comedy—were never recorded.By Shakes…

1
Isabelle Schuler on Lady Macbeth and Queen Hereafter 30:58

8M ago30:58

30:58

Isabelle Schuler’s debut novel Queen Hereafter attempts to fill in a backstory for Lady Macbeth. The book takes place in 11th century Scotland, where a king’s reign tended to be short and brutal. For her version of Lady M, Schuler didn’t rely on Shakespeare or his source material, Holinshed’s Chronicles. Instead, she looked to the annals and sagas …

1
400 Years of Shakespeare's First Folio, with Emma Smith 29:22

8M ago29:22

29:22

The First Folio—the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays—hit bookstores 400 years ago this November. Emma Smith of Oxford University tells us just what this famous book has been up to for the past four centuries. We explore notable collectors like Sir Edward Dering and our founders, Emily and Henry Folger; how the 18th-century slave trade…

1
The Bloomsbury Group and Shakespeare, with Marjorie Garber 31:05

9M ago31:05

31:05

We talk with Harvard Professor Marjorie Garber about how modernist writers of London’s Bloomsbury Group made Shakespeare their own. Garber’s most recent book—her twentieth—is Shakespeare in Bloomsbury. In it, she traces the influence of Shakespeare on the members of the Bloomsbury Group, that circle of early 20th-century intellectuals included nove…

1
Patrick Stewart on a Life Shaped by Shakespeare 31:34

9M ago31:34

31:34

Sir Patrick Stewart joins us on the podcast to talk about how Shakespeare has shaped his life. Stewart tells host Barbara Bogaev about his Yorkshire youth, his audition for the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing Starfleet Captain Jen-Luc Picard, and more.Stewart's memoir, "Making It So," is available now from Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Sc…

1
Michael Patrick Thornton on Learning to Breathe Again with Shakespeare 29:58

10M ago29:58

29:58

Sometimes, the beauty of Shakespeare’s poetry takes your breath away. In the case of today’s guest, Shakespeare gave him his breath back.You may recognize actor Michael Patrick Thornton from his roles on TV series like Private Practice and The Good Doctor. Twenty years ago, Thornton had just started out in his acting career when he suffered two spi…

1
The Many Lives of John Donne with Katherine Rundell 34:28

10M ago34:28

34:28

We talk with author Katherine Rundell about the extraordinary life —or should we say lives? — of John Donne, who wrote some of the 17th century’s most complex and intellectually dazzling poetry. Rundell, a fellow at All Souls College, Oxford and the author of Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne takes us through Donne’s evolution from …

1
Shakespeare and the Ocean, with Steve Mentz 33:18

11M ago33:18

33:18

Today, we sail the seven seas with Shakespeare. In addition to being a dedicated swimmer, Steve Mentz is a professor at St. John’s University. His books, including 2009’s At the Bottom of Shakespeare’s Ocean, connect literary criticism with marine ecology. Mentz talks with Barbara Bogaev about Shakespeare’s oceanic metaphors, how much Shakespeare r…

1
Farah Karim-Cooper on The Great White Bard 32:18

11M ago32:18

32:18

Can you love Shakespeare and be an antiracist?Farah Karim-Cooper's new book, The Great White Bard, explores the language of race and difference in plays such as Antony and Cleopatra, Titus Andronicus, and The Tempest. Karim-Cooper also looks at the ways Shakespeare’s work became integral to Britain’s imperial project, and its sense of cultural supe…

1
Isabella Hammad on Enter Ghost 32:39

12M ago32:39

32:39

A Palestinian production of Hamlet in the West Bank is the backdrop for Isabella Hammad’s new novel, Enter Ghost. Hammad’s first novel, the beautiful and sprawling The Parisian, won international acclaim in 2019. Granta included Hammad in its decennial “Best of Young British Novelists” list earlier this year. The narrator of Hammad’s new novel is S…

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