The History Of European Theatre

Episode 226:

Last time I took you through Macbeth, still one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays, but now we come to one that is rarely seen and vies with ‘King John’, ‘Two Noble Kinsman’ and ‘Timon of Athens’ as the least performed Shakespeare play. ‘Pericles’ is also a play that did not appear in the first folio and in fact did not make it into a folio edition until 1664 with the second printing of the third folio. More of that history in a moment, but it certainly raises interesting questions about why Hemmings and Condell did not include it in the first folio.

The dating and early performance history of the play
The printing history of the play
The source material for the play
‘Pericles’ as a collaboration
A short word about George Wilkins
A brief synopsis of the play
The riddle that reveals incest
The importance of a good name and family
Brides and fathers contrasted in the play
The Mediterranean locations of the play
How time is placed and passes in the play
The role of Gower in the play
The role of the gods in the play
The recognition scene
The narrative inconsistencies in the play
‘Pericles’ as a bitter-sweet comedy
Critical reception of the play
The later performance history of the play

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Episode 225:

Last time my guest Paul Fried and I discussed Biblical Allusion in Shakespeare with particular reference to Hamlet. This is the second part of our conversation, so please do make sure you have listened to part one before continuing here, things will make a lot more sense if you do.

I first came across Paul’s Blog, Hamlet’s Bible, when I was researching my episodes on King Lear and I was very pleased to find that not only was it useful for those episodes but was a series of very interesting posts relating to Biblical allusion in Shakespeare, so, of course, I asked Paul, if he would like to come onto the podcast to share some of his insights into this subject.

Paul is a retired college lecturer who has devoted years of study to Shakespeare and the bible and his blog, now in it’s tenth year, has become his way of sharing his research prior to what he hopes will be a published volume on Biblical allusion in Hamlet. He has also contributed several papers to Shakespeare conferences, most recently at the Shakespeare Association of America conference held in Denver in April 2026.

I spoke to Paul from his home in Minnesota over a zoom call.

Link to Paul’s blog ‘Hamlet’s Bible’: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/
Link to ‘Hamlet’s Bible’ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamletsbible/
Link to Paul’s account on ‘X’: https://x.com/padrianfried

Support the podcast at:
www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
www.patreon.com/thoetp
www.ko-fi.com/thoetp

You can find an advertisement free version of the latest podcast episodes by joining on Patreon at the lowest paid tier level – that’s for just £1 per month.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 224:

While I was looking into some details while I was preparing for the episodes on King Lear I came across an article that was part of a blog called ‘Hamlet’s Bible’, which is written by Paul Fried and was very pleased to find a series of very interesting posts relating to Biblical allusion in Shakespeare, so, of course, I asked the author of the blog, Paul Fried, if he would like to come onto the podcast to share some of his insights into this subject. Paul is a retired college lecturer who has devoted years of study to Shakespeare and the bible and his blog, now in it’s tenth year, has become his way of sharing his research prior to what he hopes will be a published volume on Biblical allusion in Hamlet. He has also contributed several papers to Shakespeare conferences, most recently at the Shakespeare Association of America conference held in Denver in April 2026.

I spoke to Paul from his home in Minnesota over a zoom call.

Link to Paul’s blog ‘Hamlet’s Bible’: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/
Link to ‘Hamlet’s Bible’ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamletsbible/
Link to Paul’s account on ‘X’: https://x.com/padrianfried

Support the podcast at:
www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
www.patreon.com/thoetp
www.ko-fi.com/thoetp

You can find an advertisement free version of the latest podcast episodes by joining on Patreon at the lowest paid tier level – that’s for just £1 per month.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 223:

Last time, in the first part of my look at ‘Macbeth’, I took you through the plot of the play and discussed the themes of ambition and guilt in it, with a focus on the character of Macbeth himself. I also looked at some of the language in the play and at the possibility that Thomas Middleton updated it for a revival in the 1610s or 1620s, and how he probably developed the scenes with the three witches at a time when devil plays and ideas about witches in the real world were very popular. This is the text that we most likely have in the First Folio, which is the first printed version of the play. Please do listen to that episode first before embarking on this one. Having spent some time on the character of Macbeth in the last episode I’m now going to pick up with a look at his wife.

The character and actions of Lady Macbeth
References to equivocation in the play
The trial of Henry Garnet and the use of equivocation
The witches and the Macbeths as equivocators
The impact of the Porter’s speech
The Porter’s scene as a throwback to medieval cycle plays
‘On The Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth’ by Thomas De Quincey
The critical history of the play
The later performance history of the play
The curse of ‘the Scottish play’
‘Macbeth’ as a very Jacobean play

Support the podcast at:
www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
www.patreon.com/thoetp
www.ko-fi.com/thoetp

You can find an advertisement free version of the latest podcast episodes by joining on Patreon at the lowest paid tier level – that’s for just £1 per month.
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Episode 222:

We can’t say for sure that ‘Macbeth’ was Shakespeare's next offering after 'Anthony and Cleopatra' as precise dating of these early 17th century plays is next to impossible, but whatever the case, it certainly has a very different feel and focus from it’s near contemporises. Although recounting historical events it is dominated by the presence and effect of the supernatural. This proved a mix that audiences have flocked to ever since and it remains one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays, for tragedy ranking only behind ‘Hamlet’.

The dating of the play
The text in the First Folio and adaptations by Thomas Middleton
The sources for the play
A brief Synopsis of the play
Macbeth and Julius Caesar
Macbeth’s ambition
The importance of the soliloquy in the play
Macbeth’s feelings of guilt
The reports of the play by Simon Foreman
Banquo’s ghost as a manifestation of Macbeth’s guilt
Blood as a symbol of guilt
The torment of sleeplessness
The tensions between destiny and free will
The three witches

Link to ‘That Shakespeare Life’ episode featuring Prof. Laurie Johnson on the ‘weird sisters’:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/that-shakespeare-life/id1372846116?i=1000751203466

Support the podcast at:
www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com
www.patreon.com/thoetp
www.ko-fi.com/thoetp

You can find an advertisement free version of the latest podcast episodes by joining on Patreon at the lowest paid tier level – that’s for just £1 per month.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.