The Shakespeare Sessions

Apr 26 2020 15 ep. 1.8k

The Shakespeare Sessions Podcast artwork

Your one-stop shop for all things Shakespeare. Catch A-List casts in brand new audio versions of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, plus documentaries from the brightest minds on the bard’s life and work.

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

Who is Falstaff?

Apr 26 2020 2 mins

Toby Jones on playing the boisterous and fun-loving knight Falstaff. Toby Jones stars as Falstaff in our full-length version of Henry IV Part 1, which you can find in your podcast feed.

Full Length Play: Henry IV Part 1

Apr 26 2020 117 mins

Rebellion is brewing in Britain.King Henry must reunite his country but how when even his own family is divided?As Henry's rule is threatened his son Hal appears unconcerned, wasting his time in the company of the comically corrupt Falstaff and common thieves, apparently more interested in play than the politics of state. Yet what kind of leadership is needed to unite the country m

Full Length Play: Othello

Apr 21 2020 121 mins

Khalid Abdalla, Matthew Needham and Cassie Layton star in Shakespeare's tragedy. This version is staged in an imagined near future, in which a power-hungry Turkish president attempts an attack on Cyprus. The western forces rush to Cyprus' defence, under the command of the fearless General Othello. But can an Arab-born, Christian convert ever be truly accepted by the people he serve

Othello: What it means to be a Moor

Apr 21 2020 4 mins

Dr Islam Issa, Senior Lecturer at Birmingham City University, gives us a rundown of events in the 1600s that influenced the character of Othello.You can listen to our full-length version of Othello, set in an imagined near future, in your podcast feed.

Coriolanus: A tragic hero

May 09 2019 4 mins

A whistle-stop tour through Ancient Rome with writer and broadcaster Natalie Haynes.

Exit Burbage

Jul 22 2018 44 mins

Imagine where we'd be without Shakespeare's plays. It's difficult to contemplate now. But it was thanks to another man that many of them were brought to life. Today, Richard Burbage is a not a household name. But he should be. He's the man for whom many of the great Shakespearean roles were created. One of the founding members of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, playing at the newly bui

My Own Shakespeare: Gareth Malone and Margaret Drabble

Jul 10 2018 5 mins

Gareth Malone and Margaret Drabble on strength and nature

My Own Shakespeare: Zoe Wanamaker and Jim Al-Khalili

Jul 03 2018 6 mins

Zoe Wanamaker on the world of play and Jim Al-Khalili on staying rational.

Looking For The Moor

Jul 01 2018 45 mins

Hugh Quarshie on Othello’s blackness. Is the character coherent? Is the play racist?Hugh Quarshie is a Ghanaian-born British actor. He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and played Othello in Iqbal Khan's production on the main stage of the RSC in the summer of 2015. But not without some soul searching.He's not convinced that Shakespeare actually knew any black people a

My Own Shakespeare: David Hare and Martha Kearney

Jun 26 2018 5 mins

David Hare and Martha Kearney on deviant psychology and fancy dress