Shakespeare's Shadows

Hamlet’s best friend, Horatio, gets 7 percent of the lines in "Hamlet" next to the title character “who never shuts up” (as one guest on this episode puts it) with 37 percent. This episode gives Horatio his moment to be center stage, revealing how he doesn’t have to be a one-note or one-dimensional character, even as his role is in service of Hamlet’s story. We discuss Horatio’s journey being one of learned bravery, whether Hamlet ...

In "The Merchant of Venice," Portia is remarkable for her cleverness and the power she holds, and she’s ostensibly a hero of this story. But her journey is entwined with that of Shylock, the Jewish moneylender whose mistreatment makes "Merchant of Venice" a deeply troubling play. In this episode, we discuss just how extremely wealthy Portia is, whether or not Portia is likable (and how her likability is often approached differently...

In “Henry V,” King Henry gets a new foil: the French Dauphin, the heir apparent in France, England’s rival. In the conflict that culminates in the Battle of Agincourt, Shakespeare depicts the English with layers and complexity and ultimately with a great deal of nobility. Meanwhile, the French (in the text and sometimes even more so in performance) come off as arrogant, foppish, and often q...

featuring interviews with actor Michael Blake, Pilobolus choreographers Matt Kent and Renée Jaworski, and SUNY New Paltz professor Matthieu Chapman

A Shakespeare play that can be at turns heartwarming and troubling, “The Tempest” features two major characters who don’t look like the humans around them: Caliban and Ariel. Caliban, repeatedly described...

featuring interviews with actors Patrice Jean-Baptiste and Simon Paisley Day and Gonzaga University professor Heather Easterling

One of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays, “The Taming of the Shrew,” gets put under the microscope in this episode as we examine the character Petruchio, the man who supposedly tames the play’s titular shrew. Discussed...