William Shakespeare
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Shakespeare’s life
From Stratford to London (and back again), from ‘upstart crow’ to 'wonder of our stage', Andrew Dickson recounts some of the details of William Shakespeare’s life.
Shakespeare’s London
Early modern London was an expanding metropolis filled with diverse life, from courtiers, merchants and artisans to prostitutes, beggars and cutpurses. Here Professor Eric Rasmussen and Ian DeJong describe the city that shaped Shakespeare's imagination.
Setting Shakespeare’s music – and the music of Shakespeare settings
Oliver Soden explores the challenges of creating operas based on Shakespeare’s plays.
The violence of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is not only a love story. Andrew Dickson describes how the play reflects the violence and chaos of Shakespearean London – and how, more recently, directors have used it to explore conflicts of their own time.
Juliet’s eloquence
Over the course of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet goes from being a sheltered child to a young woman passionately in love. Penny Gay considers how this transformation, and its tragic consequences, are accompanied by Juliet's development as a poet.
The Play’s The Thing
Penguin author Nancy Pellegrini discusses China's challenges in translating Shakespeare for performance, and the Royal Shakespeare Company's goal to create stage-friendly Shakespeare for Chinese theatre.
