31.12.24

My year in books

›
Happy new year to all but particularly to the Alzabo Soup podcast  for running a mammoth Shakespeare / Renaissance English plays readalong i...
29.12.24

Favourite music of 2024

›
Guitars Hovvdy -  Hovvdy Macseal -  Permanent Repeat Gulfer -  Third Wind  +  Lights Out Johnny Foreigner -  How To Be Hopeful Cindy Lee -  ...
15.12.24

The Wheel of Fire

›
The Wheel of Fire by George Wilson Knight My rating: 3 of 5 stars Extremely idiosyncratic takes on Shakespeare, written with such whirlin...
8.12.24

The Alchemist

›
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson My rating: 3 of 5 stars Despite Jonson’s interest in seeing this play printed and read, it still belongs best...
3.12.24

Philaster: Or, Love Lies A-Bleeding

›
Philaster: Or, Love Lies A-Bleeding by Francis Beaumont My rating: 3 of 5 stars The dramatic trick this keeps playing is to bring charact...
27.11.24

The Tempest

›
The Tempest by William Shakespeare My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a strange one. Prospero starts the play as a revenger, and his authori...
21.11.24

The Changeling

›
The Changeling: Full Text and Introduction by Thomas Middleton My rating: 3 of 5 stars Bit of an odd one. There are thematic connections ...
15.11.24

The Witch of Edmonton

›
The Witch of Edmonton by Thomas Dekker My rating: 4 of 5 stars A play full of ambiguities. To what extent is the titular witch created by...
6.11.24

The Knight of the Burning Pestle

›
The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont My rating: 4 of 5 stars It is a testament to the rapid evolution of the theatre in R...