Any specifics there or do you find that everything suggested in the discussion is 'discredited'?

@@thehistoryofeuropeantheatr3204 E.G. the so-called "Ur-Hamlet". The existence of a "Hamlet before Hamlet" is pure speculation, introduced because the accepted Shakespeare timeline is violated by Nashe's mention of "whole Hamlets" well before Shakespeare of Stratford could have written anything (if he ever actually did write anything). In order to maintain their timeline, Nashe's Hamlet cannot be the Hamlet that we know, because that would mean that someone other than William of Straford wrote it, so they assert that there must have been an UR- Hamlet despite the fact that no such work has ever been unearthed, or even mentioned by anyone but Nashe. The "Ur-Hamlet" is now accepted by the so-called academic community, who as a whole are discredited for propagating such speculative nonsense and obvious circular logic.

@@vetstadiumastroturf5756 The various theories about the ur-Hamlet would fill a podcast episode (and more probably). Perhaps I should tackle that one day. Given we don't know the content of the play, and that Nashe's comment is subject to interpretation (How I wish that these Elizabethans had been a little less cryptic) I'm not going to extrapolate too much from it. If pressed I would say Kyd seems a far more likely candidate than Shakespeare, but then why would Shakespeare revisit the play, unless the ur-Hamlet was quite different from his version (perhaps it was)? I don't know the answer, but much of the fun of studying the period is the speculation.

@@thehistoryofeuropeantheatr3204 Kyd, Nashe, Greene and Shakespeare were all the same person.

Well, that’s a new theory to me

On reflection I think I should have said more about Marlowe's potential involvement - That final scene before Joan is carted off is certainly a good pointer toward's it as a possability. Thanks for your input.

Thanks You - glad you are enjoying the podcast

They kept the same actors which was a tremendous help. Ron Cook who played Richard the third was particularly brilliant. He also played in the movie "Will Shakespeare" with Tim Curry in the leading role. These are the highlights of his career I think.

Yes it was a good plan that worked well. Trevor Peacock (Talbot and Jack Cade) also takes on Titus Andronicus in the same series

@thehistoryofeuropeantheatr3204 l love Trevor Peacock, he did an excellent job as Titus Andronicus. He also played the Fool in Twelfth Night, his singing was unparalleled, I always go back to that play just to hear him sing; the character of the pimp le played in Pericles is memorable.

Glad you like them!

Yes that's a good thought. It is so interesting to learn about the people and places around Shakespeare.

That's true. I mentioned this in Episode 22 when I discussed both plays

Hi John - thanks for that information and the recommendations. Also I think you qualify for the quickest response I've ever had to the release of an episode! Very please to hear that you enjoy listening - lots more on Shakespeare to come.

Hi John - I would be interested in speaking with you further. Could you drop me an email to [email protected] Thanks

You are most welcome. Enjoy the journey!

That sounds like quite a challenge - good luck!

Thanks - glad to hear you are enjoying them

I think there are (at least) two possibilities. Burial was performed quickly, especially in Summer and I suspect that taking a body to a special burial place was not common. Without a friend or relative on site the express any wishes the body would have been buried locally. The other possibility is that the authorities were only too happy to dispose of the body as quickly as possible and start the process of makig an awkward problem go away. W e'll never know for sure.....

I hope I kept out of the realms of pure speculation but despite some evidence the means, manner and reasons for Marlowe's death will remain, I fear, something of a mystery. I hope across other episodes I showed my belief that Marlowe, Kidd and the other early public house and university playwrights did map out a path that allowed Shakespeare to become the genius that he undoubtedly was.

@@philiprowe10 , i think you avoided the speculation very well. But i dont agree that Marlowe and the others set the stage for the man from Stratford. There were few people who had the background and experiences to write as Shakespeare, playwright and Poet, wrote. One of those who di was Marlowe, and another was the Earl of Oxford. Marlowe had the proven literary ability. Oxford wrote some pretty poems.

Definitely more on that subject to come in season 6!

Hi Carol, you will be pleased to know that I have changed the method of loading the audio to KZbin so from December 23 onwards there is no longer an audio line on the image.

That isn a subject for next season - if I'm brave enough to tackle it!

@@thehistoryofeuropeantheatr3204 i've been watching alexander waugh's videos and I gotta say - his arguments for him being Edward de Vere are pretty convincing..

Yes of course!

Thanks - happy to hear that you enjoy the podcast

You will find episodes 103 & 104 interesting where I dig into the histories of the London playhouses and what we do and don’t know about them.

Thanks - happy to hear that you are enjoying it.

@@thehistoryofeuropeantheatr3204 i've never really had a full picture of the history of theater, even though I read a lot of Shakespeare plays, Voltaire, etc. I've even dabbled in reading ancient greek plays in greek (I have a hobby of reading things in the original language).. small portions only of course. But this will definitely help me know where to aim :)

Thank You. Theatre History is a bit of a niche subject, but the podcast has had over 100K downloads so far, and the audience grows slowly but steadily, which is gratifying.

@@thehistoryofeuropeantheatr3204 You are welcome. My own area is Shakespeare biography, in particular, friends and associations in Stratford and environs. However, I admire your detailed work on the theatre and playwrights of the period.

I hope you enjoy the journey

Thanks - I’m glad you enjoyed the episode, it’s one of my personal favourites. Such an intriguing story.

Here are my thoughts on this story which, like all good short stories, leaves you thinking long after the reading has finished. It has the typical Chekhovian tool of a struggling peasant family being contrasted with city life, they are contrasted with the daughter and son in law who have escaped to the city. However, it’s not a very satisfying escape and neither generation are going to have a very happy Christmas. The story divides cleanly into two parts - they are two chapters in the printed text - which underlines the main theme of lack of communication, between husband and wife and parents and children. The parents’ attempt to communicate is thwarted by the third party writing the letter and then by the refusal by the son-in-law to return a message. Efemia is trapped, just as Andri is trapped in his lowly job where he has little to do besides open the door and ponder his regrets. Familial love should not be sacrificed for society, says Chekhov, but not all is good with the county life. And what to make of the old general coming for his healing bath? He is forgetful and somehow seedy, but he is the sort of man who owns farms and keeps the serfs in their place. He is the kind of man who is running Russia. It’s a damning portrayal of the country and perhaps particularly poignant when we were expecting a sweet and cheerful Christmas tale. The ending is bittersweet rather than hopeful, but we have to remember that this story was written only a few years before Chekhov died and close to the writing of The Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.

I was not able to find the reason for this, but I think the most likely explanation is that the document was always in the official archives, but was undocumented in indexes, so needed to be 'discovered' by a researcher at a time when there was interest in trying to unpick the events around Marlowe's death. At the time of the events and for many years after there was not any interest in this and I suppose it isn't impossible that the Elizabethan authorities quite deliberately made sure the document was 'lost' once the matter was, as far as they were concerned, closed. Safe to say, I think, that no one involved wanted the matter dug into too much.

Yes there are many fascinating questions there. I start to get into them with the next two episodes on Thomas Dekker, who was a great collaborator and I'm sure they will come up again when I get to Shakespeare , Johnson, Webster and others too.

@@thehistoryofeuropeantheatr3204 Your fine level of detail whets my appetite for more. I do not have a clue about who wrote Shakespeare but it looks like an outsize job, I would venture to guess all of them, maybe? Thank you.

Yes he was quite a scoundrel - worthy of an episode in his own right at some point, think. Happily there is a consensus on what he forged and what is genuine, so we can still have confidence in much that is in the 'diary'

​@@thehistoryofeuropeantheatr3204Precisely.

Definitely one of my favourites - I have read The Empty Space several times and find new things in it to think on every time

Thank-you. I'm happy to hear you are enjoying the podcast - I hope you continue to do so as you work your way through the episodes.