The Play's the Thing

The Play's the Thing

The Play's the Thing is the ultimate podcast resource for lovers of Shakespeare. Dedicating six episodes to each play (one per act, plus a Q&A episode), this podcast explores the themes, scenes, characters, and lines that make Shakespeare so memorable. In the end, we will cover every play The Bard wrote, thus permitting an ongoing contemplation and celebration of the most important writer of all time. Join us. The Play’s the Thing is presented by The CiRCE Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

June 17, 2025 88 mins
Join Tim, Heidi, and Andrew as they answer your questions about Hamlet!

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Join Tim, Heidi, and Andrew as they discuss the concluding act to Shakespeare's masterpiece, an act in which we get the famous graveyard scene and the stage littered with bodies.

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June 6, 2025 76 mins
Join Tim, Heidi, and Andrew as they dig into the crucial fourth act of Hamlet. They discuss Laertes coming the fore, Ophelia's tragic demise, Claudius devious behavior, and much more.

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May 30, 2025 82 mins
Join Tim, Heidi, and Andrew as they dive into the crucial, famous third act of Hamlet. In this episode they discuss the "to be or not to be" speech, Claudius' prayer, and Polonius death.

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May 23, 2025 94 mins
Join Tim, Heidi, and Andrew as they dive into the drama of Hamlet, Act II! They discuss the way everyone is watching everyone else in this act, Pelonius as parent, the appearance of Rosencrans and Guildenstern, and much more.

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May 16, 2025 65 mins
It's finally time to discuss the grandaddy of all of Shakespeare's plays! That's right, it's time for Hamlet and Tim, Heidi, and special guest Andrew Kern are ready to dig deep. In this episode they discuss why this play matters so much, the initial structure of the play, the themes and problems Act I introduces, and much more.

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May 9, 2025 64 mins

Join Heidi and David for the conclusion of their conversation about Shakespeare's classic history play, Henry V. Conversation explores King Henry's honesty (or lack thereof) in the final scene with Princess Katherine, the role of the commoners in the play, performing Henry, and (of course) more on teaching Shakespeare.


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May 2, 2025 72 mins

Welcome back to The Play's the Thing! Join David and Heidi as they continue their conversation about Shakespeare's legendary history play, Henry V. Conversation touches on the build-up to the battle, stage/film interpretation of Henry's famous speech, the historical context of the battle and Shakespeare's take on it, Henry finally showing some emotion, and much, much more.


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April 25, 2025 78 mins

Welcome back to The Play's the Thing! Join David and Heidi as they continue their conversation about Shakespeare's legendary history play, Henry V. Conversation explores the way Shakespeare brings the artifice of the play to the fore, the double meaning of the word "breach," Henry's obsession with duty (and chivalry), the way act three treats the horrors of war, and lots of thoughts on Shakespeare use of imagination for rhetor...

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April 18, 2025 85 mins

Welcome back to The Play's the Thing! Join David and Heidi as they continue their conversation about Shakespeare's legendary history play, Henry V. Conversation explores the role of the commoners in the play, The Falstaff-effect, Henry vs the French Prince, Henry's rejection of his passions, Shakespeare's enduring legacy, and much, much more.


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April 11, 2025 75 mins

Welcome back to The Play's the Thing! Join David and Heidi as they kick off a conversation about Shakespeare's legendary history play, Henry V. Conversation touches on the historical background behind the story, the role of the church in the play, the complicated nature of the character of King Henry, and much more.


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April 8, 2025 53 mins

In which David, Tim, and Heidi answer listener questions about Macbeth.


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April 4, 2025 83 mins

Welcome to the conclusion of this series on Macbeth. In this conversation David, Heidi, and Tim explore the madness of the play's primary characters, discuss the question of evil, and contemplate the collision of the natural and the supernatural in the play.


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March 28, 2025 75 mins

Topics of conversation include the return of the witches and the way the witch scenes in Act I.I and Act IV.I mirror each other, what the play would be without the witches, the question of whether this is a "Christian play," the terrible problem of fate, and much more.


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March 21, 2025 82 mins
Welcome back to this ongoing discussion of Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth. Topics of conversation include act III turning points, the presence fo supernatural forces, and the downward trajectory of the characters and action of the play.

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March 14, 2025 76 mins

Join David, Heidi, and Tim as they dive ever-deeper into the Macbeth family treachery. Conversation touches on Macbeth's mental state, Shakespeare's formal choices in Macbeth's monologues, the themes of repentance and time in the play, and much more.


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March 7, 2025 89 mins

Welcome back to The Play's the Thing, where we discuss Shakespeare's canon, one act at a time.


In this episode, David, Tim, and Heidi dive into one of the great tragedies, Macbeth. Topics of conversation include the play's reputation, the suspicions surrounding performance of the play, the weird sisters and their role, Macbeth's response to them, Lady Macbeth's desire to be evil, and much more.


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March 4, 2025 45 mins

In this bonus episode, Tim chats with four first-time student-actors about their experience performing scenes from As You Like It and other Shakespeare plays.


If you like this episode be sure to rate and review wherever you listen to podcasts.


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February 28, 2025 50 mins

Welcome back to this series on Shakespeare's classic comedy, As You Like It! In this series Tim and Heidi discuss love and disorder in Shakespearean comedy, the natural world versus the civilized world, Rosalind's delightfulness, and how Shakespeare can help us deal with the self-quarantine blues.


Remember to rate and review if you like this episode!


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

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February 21, 2025 43 mins

Welcome back to this series on Shakespeare's classic comedy, As You Like It! In this series Tim and Heidi discuss love and disorder in Shakespearean comedy, the natural world versus the civilized world, Rosalind's delightfulness, and how Shakespeare can help us deal with the self-quarantine blues.


Remember to rate and review if you like this episode!


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

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