“She-Wolves” on the Stage
There’s a new show for medieval-lovers to look forward to at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year: “She-Wolves”, created by and starring Laura Careless.
Complicity with the Vice: Spectatorship of Crime in Late Medieval and Early Modern English Drama
My paper today draws upon research into money-gathering, as an early form of funding performances at medieval festive events such as church ales, summer fairs and Christmas plays.
New resources from Records of Early English Drama project now online
The Records of Early English Drama (REED) research collaboration has pulled back the curtain on two new online resources that bring a vibrant period of historical theatre performance, including the time of Shakespeare, to life.
A Quick Guide to Medieval Literature
In medieval Europe one can find many examples of literature – from tales of knights and chivalry to plays performed in the middle of towns.
Medieval Drama
This week, Danièle gets dramatic with a look at medieval drama, how it changed and evolved, and how it influenced later forms of theatre.
The Origin of the European Mediaeval Drama
The starting point of drama is religion. The root of the modern drama is based on the ritualistic resources of primitive religions.
Medieval Special Effects
A good dramatic play in the Middle Ages might need a blazing hellmouth or a few rockets firing about.
Quiz: Ancient and Medieval Theatre
Can you answer these 43 questions about the history of the theatre, from the ancient Greeks to the end of the Middle Ages?
Exhibit: Shakespeare In Ten Acts at the British Library
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare (1564-1616). The British Library has honoured his contribution to English literature and the stage in a celebratory exhibition that runs until September 6th. British Library curators, Julian Harrison and Zoë Wilcox, have crafted an impressive exhibit that covers Shakespeare’s importance in ten acts.
‘Now Is the Winter of Our Discontent’: “Good” King Richard Takes the Stage
The Golden Age Theatre Company, who put on this reboot of Richard’s life, tried to portray a different side of the story
REVIEW: The Ballad of Robin Hood
Over the holiday season, Southwark Playhouse is presenting their reinterpretation of The Ballad of Robin Hood.
Festival of Early Drama takes place in Toronto from June 5th to 7th
Poculi Ludique Societas (PLS) continues its year-long celebration of fifty years of performance research practice at the University of Toronto with the Festival of Early Drama.
Imagining Islam: The Role of Images in Medieval Depictions of Muslims
Instead, one finds accurate, even rather compassionate accounts of Islamic theology side by side with bizarre, antagonistic, and even hateful depictions of Muslims and their belief.
An actress’ approach to the role of Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion In Winter by James Goldman
The story of her struggle with her husband, Henry II, at the time of the death of their eldest son, Henry the Young King, in 1183, has been made into a play by James Goldman, called The Lion in Winter, which was produced successfully on Broadway in March, 1966.
The Saint’s Play in Medieval England
Plays about saints—their lives, martyrdoms, and miracles—flourished in England for more than three centuries side-by-side with the Corpus Christi cycles.
Religious Education as the Basis of Medieval Literature
The medieval literature was written with a purpose to teach Christian dogmas to the masses. The prose and poetry of the time meant to show men the ugliness of sin and the beauty of goodness.
THINGS TO SEE: Murder in the Cathedral
This is my review of the T.S. Eliot’s play, “Murder in the Cathedral”, on at St. Bartholomew in Smithfield, London.
Staging Medievalisms: Touching the Middle Ages through Contemporary Performance
Examining the Middle Ages through modern eyes: movies, TV, stage, tourism and books. How do we perform the Middle Ages?
Substitution: Theatrical Sleight of Hand in Medieval Plays
Substitution is concerned with replacing one thing with another. This is straight forward enough. But to what extent is the replacement indistinguishable from the original in order to qualify as substitution?
‘The Best Paper Assignment Ever!’ Teaching Medieval Drama Through Writing
I still want students to move from the page to the stage, and to think of the cultural contexts of performance in the past and in our present, especially since so much of medieval drama’s richness is only apparent in the fullness of its cultural and historical contexts.
Let the Drama Begin
Unlike in many of today’s performances, audiences were encouraged to participate in the action, heckling the ‘bad guys’ and cheering for the ‘good guys.’
And The Angel Spake unto Harunobu: A Japanese Christian miracle story of 1591
The early-modern, Portuguese-sponsored Jesuit mission to Japan left behind a body of Christian literature in Japanese whose alphabetic texts have been a treasure trove for linguists, its existence a point of pride for Christian sectarians, and its content rich material for historians.
Sal ich von den Ioden liten große pin? – Integration and Isolation in the Medieval German Christmas Play
I would like to start with two responses to the performance of Christmas plays that provide some insight into their effect on the socialization of the Christian communities in which they were performed.
A Medieval Christmas: Such Splendid Sight Was Never Seen
Take in this medieval play in Toronto on Friday December 13th and Saturday, December 14th
Sound, body and space: audience experience in late medieval English drama
This thesis offers a new approach to the study of actor-audience relations in late medieval English drama and endeavours not only to emphasise the performative elements of medieval plays, but also the effects that they may have produced in performance.