An image of the company standing center stage with a large, metal puppet looming over them, with the text “Carrick's intention of crafting a Hamlet that was "accessible and fun for all" was fully realized, cleverly interweaving fidelity to Shakespeare's language with modern language improvisation and song and dance interludes.” over a green background with the SB logo.

Isobel Strevens reviews the Red Rose Chain Theatre Company’s 2025 production of Hamlet, directed by Joanna Carrick

🎭: www.redrosechain.com/theatre-in-t...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/985852

📷: Bill Jackson

Sonance business cards: journal logo on the front and a QR code on the back. Text on the back reads: “Sonance is an open access, peer reviewed, multimedial journal published by ACMRS Press. It addresses historic sound in all its capacious forms, c. 1499-c. 1800. https://sonancejournal.com”

We’ve been pinching ideas off @shaxbull.bsky.social…

(Also, huge thanks generally to @drpetekirwan.bsky.social and @kevinkilleen.bsky.social for being sounding boards in the early days of our thinking about the policies & processes “Sonance” will follow)

Folks heading home after #shakes2026 might enjoy a podcast I did with @drpetekirwan.bsky.social in November 2025, now online, for the OSU Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. We chat #earlymodern drama, performance, and digital scholarship. cmrs.osu.edu/resources/no...

Had such a wonderful time sharing @pointslikeaman.bsky.social as part of this year’s SAA Digital Exhibits! ✨ It was so wonderful to meet everyone and share my project so widely, and to hear from folks who already are using it! Many thanks to SAA for hosting PLAM this year! 🎩 #Shax2026

Me (Nora, a white-presenting woman in her 30s with shoulder-length spiral wavy hair), holding a copy of my book, Canonical Misogyny. The book cover has a red background with an image of an actress playing Isabella from Measure for Measure

Thanks for the photo @saaupdates.bsky.social ! Btw, you can preorder the Canonical Misogyny paperback for 30% off with code PAPER30 😉

If you're at #shax2026 and you would like to write a performance review for @shaxbull.bsky.social, or you'd just like to find out more about it, then please come and say hello to me! I look like my profile picture (minus Paul Revere pointing at me) and I'd love to talk to you 🙂

I had the best time in Silence on Stage #Shax2026 — such a wide-ranging discussion of the connections between all of our papers! We covered the plays we wrote about, the plays we’ve been thinking about, & the plays that we would write about now (by way of Monty Python and Reduced Shakespeare, obvs).

My first experience of convening a seminar at @saaupdates.bsky.social could not have been better. Immense thanks to everyone who contributed to Baz Luhrmann's 'William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet' at Thirty seminar. Your papers, discussions and questions were all fantastic. #Shax2026

Visit Staunton on Instagram: "What’s the world’s first recreation of Shakespeare’s Blackfriars Theatre doing in a small Virginia city? 🎭✨ In Episode 3, we sit down with @vanessamorosco, Executive Dir... 442 likes, 2 comments - visitstaunton on March 26, 2025: "What’s the world’s first recreation of Shakespeare’s Blackfriars Theatre doing in a small Virginia city? 🎭✨ In Episode 3, we sit down with @v...

Take a look at Vanessa Morosco’s interview with the local Staunton podcast “The U is Silent; We Aren’t”, where she discusses how theatre is a radical act of community: www.instagram.com/reels/DHq0g-...

You can watch Aidan’s interview with the Utah Shakespeare Festival here: www.facebook.com/share/v/1E2V.... Aidan also performs as a singer-songwriter, and his most recent recordings can be streamed on Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/1JX0hP...

Staunton | Adoptable dogs share stage with actors at American Shakespeare Center The American Shakespeare Center and partners are bringing dog adoption from local shelters to center stage.

The Augusta Free Press reports on the ASC's dog adoption scheme, associated with the 2025 production of Two Gents: augustafreepress.com/news/staunto...

You can find audience reactions to the production on the ASC website americanshakespearecenter.com/2025/10/audi..., and take a look at Aidan’s website here: www.aidan-oreilly.com

Today’s Extra Credit focuses on Peter Kirwan’s interview with Aidan O'Reilly and Vanessa Morosco about Aidan's experience of being the first blind director to work at the American Shakespeare Center. Check out these open-access resources!

📰: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...

Ah thank you Stephen!

How many of us have benefited from Pete's generous, insightful, and fulsome reviews over the years, both in our teaching and research? Incredible stuff. 👏

The Bardathon Christmas at the (Snow)Globe, Shakespeare’s Globe, 2019 Featured Post The new home of The Bardathon This is the new home of The Bardathon, Peter Kirwan’s review blog of contemporary fil…

This weekend I posted my 796th, 797th, 798th, 799th, and 800th reviews on The BARDATHON, my blog which turns twenty years old next month, with the latest being Eddie Izzard’s Hamlet. I’m proud of my long work on the blog, and you can subscribe at this link: drpeterkirwan.com/the-bardathon/

Ah, because of course what structural issues can’t be resolved with a free chair massage and a reminder to get good sleep?

It’s also how you play it. I used to get tons of engagement on X, then took a long break from it, and when I came back and started posting again, no-one was seeing them - the algorithm only works if you keep up momentum. BlueSky is tricky because it’s purely chronological - you miss it, you miss it.

This and “Ian McKellan” are almost ubiquitous as misspellings in academic writing and it drives me nuts.

An image of Hamlet (Luke Thallon) center stage with his arms outstretched, with the text “Rupert Goold’s innovative production transferred the state of Denmark to an ocean-going cruise liner of the early twentieth century, akin to the Titanic. The familiar linguistic references to rot and decay were transformed into visual metaphors of a ship destined to sink amidst increasingly stormy seas.” over a purple background with the SB logo.

Eleanor Glasspool reviews the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2025 production of Hamlet, dir. Rupert Goold

🎭: www.rsc.org.uk/hamlet/reviews

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/981812

📷: Marc Brenner

An image of Rosencrantz (Philip Hays) and Guildenstern (Christy Watkins) on either side of Hamlet (Wesley Whitson), who is sitting in a chair and holding Polonius (Philip Lehl) bridal style in his arms, with the text “The deputizing of spectators to fill certain roles (Cornelius, Voltemand, Fortinbras) not only drew attention to the text’s emphasis on metatheatricality, but also deliberately highlighted the considerable challenge of performing a nearly full text of Hamlet with a cast of four actors.” over a purple background with the SB logo.

Elizabeth Klett reviews 4th Wall Theatre Company’s 2025 production of Bedlam’s Hamlet, dir. Kim Tobin-Lehl

🎭: www.4thwalltheatreco.com/hamlet

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/981810

📷: Gabriella Nissen

An image of Margaret 3 (Kathleen Akerley), King Edward IV (Kiana Johnson), Henry VI (Samuel Richie), The Chorus (Stephen Kime), Richard III (Devin Nikki Thomas), Margaret 1 (Alyssa Sanders), and Margaret 2 (Sara Barker) clumped together, with the text “In this instance, Séamus Miller placed Margaret center stage in an adaptation that merged scenes from the various plays she inhabits. Notably, however, Avant Bard split the role of Margaret in The Margriad between three powerful and adept performers: Alyssa Sanders, Sara Barker, and Kathleen Akerley [...] They each presented a formidable Margaret, who fairly seamlessly morphed into the Queen at various stages of her life.” over a purple background with the SB logo.

Sheila T. Cavanagh reviews Avant Bard Theatre’s 2025 production of The Magriad, or, The Tragedy of Queen Margaret, adapted and directed by Séamus Miller

🎭: avantbard.org/project/the-...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/981816

📷: DJ Corey Photography

An image of Pistol (James Udom), Doll Tearsheet (Cara Ricketts), Sir John Falstaff (Jay O. Sanders), Nym (Slate Holmgren), Bardolph (Elan Zafir), and Prince Hal (Elijah Jones) cheering with their glasses, with the text “What does Prince Hal learn in Henry IV? How to create and lead a band of brothers. Just as the director, Eric Tucker, creatively led a company that embodied and celebrated an exceptionally difficult story.” over a purple background with the SB logo.

Terri Bourus reviews Theatre for a New Audience’s 2025 production of Henry IV, adapted by Dakin Matthews and directed by Eric Tucker

🎭: tfana.org/events/henry...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/981813

📷: Gerry Goodstein

An image of Anne (Vitriolplays) and Richard (Jonathan Thomas) in the post-apocalyptic online world of Fallout 76, with the text “I saw [The Wasteland Theatre Company’s] take on Richard as a ghoul as being sympathetic to the disability conversations surrounding the play, and at the same time, a thought-provoking reading of Richard’s charismatic and ghoulish nature. Nevertheless, a video game Richard III production raises important questions surrounding performance ethics in virtual spaces.” over a purple background with the SB logo.

Remson DeJoseph reviews The Wasteland Theatre Company’s 2024 production of Richard the Ghoul, dir. Jonathan Thomas

🎭: www.wastelandtheatre.com/director-s-b...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/981814

📷: Jessica-Star Hussiere

An image of Mortimer (Enzo Cilenti) and Isabella (Ruta Gedmintas) sitting on the edge of a dark stage, with the text “Conflating the 1940s with the present day, Raggett’s vision explored not only the breakdown of power, but also the contemporary echoes of Edward’s plight, particularly through the play’s treatment of racial and gender politics.” over a purple background with the SB logo.

Connie Newstead reviews the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2025 production of Edward II, dir. Daniel Raggett

🎭: www.rsc.org.uk/edward-ii/

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/981811

📷: Helen Murray

Definitely wasn’t a film which experienced anxiety about historical accuracy…

As in, moody, committed to the bit, mildly dangerous, always the main character?

Number of plays attributed to 16th-century playwright Thomas Kyd double in new edition Exclusive: Canon now includes domestic tragedy Arden of Faversham, which is attributed solely to Kyd and ‘not at all’ to Shakespeare

Feel like the word “exclusive” risks losing its meaning somewhat in being attached to this piece. www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/f...

An image of Shylock (Richard Topol) in a cape, fedora, and disguise glasses, with the text “Golyak conceived his production of The Merchant of Venice as a play-within-a-television-show [...] That framework created an opportunity to depict Shylock as an object of scorn and derision, yet also challenge that hateful objectification, since it was never quite clear to what extent the story being told was that of the television show or the play-within-the-show.” over a purple background with the SB logo.

Justin B. Hopkins reviews Arlekin Player’s 2024 production of The Merchant of Venice, adapted and directed by Igor Golyak

🎭: www.merchantofveniceplay.com

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/981817

📷: Pavel Antonov (The Merchant of Venice)

The text “While Lloyd’s Tempest ventured to explore Shakespeare’s world among the stars, the storm of [Just Stop Oil’s] stage invasion brought the production crashing back to earth amidst the burning climate issues of our own planet. The events at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane ultimately raised the question: were Caliban and JSO working against each other, or are they fighting on the same side?” over a purple background with the SB logo.

Laurie Higgins reviews The Jamie Lloyd Company’s 2024-25 production of The Tempest, dir. Jamie Lloyd

🎭: thejamielloydcompany.com/productions/

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/981819