Easy to laugh at Helena and the rest in Midsummer Night's Dream #MoonMad. But - on this day - here's Sinéad Morrissey's & Forgive us our trespasses (from Parallax, Carcanet, 2013), which I've long loved. (Partly prompted by finishing Sarah Perry's beautiful Enlightenment, SO good on the unrequited.)

🎧The EI Podcast: Hamlet Unravelled Emma Smith (@oldfortunatus.bsky.social), Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford University, explores Hamlet and its rich critical history with EI’s @alastairbenn.bsky.social and @paullay.bsky.social audioboom.com/posts/886038...

The latest #ShaxEpitaphs project update is available now. Did you know that, thanks to Maggie O'Farrell, Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare now have memorials in the Stratford churchyard where they lie buried -- with, needless to say, Shakespearean epitaphs? shaxepitaphs.exeter.ac.uk/2026/02/03/j...

The cover of my book This Is Shakespeare - translated into Ukrainian and forthcoming. I am speechless, really. Thankyou, colleagues.

Tomorrow, a download button will appear on our webpage and that’s also when most In Our Time listeners outside the UK will get to hear Misha’s first programme via usual providers including bbc.com. (UK BBC Sounds listeners are always 28 days ahead.) We enjoy making these & hope you enjoy listening

Puck is a MENACE and he thinks he's HILARIOUS #MoonMad #SlowShakespeare www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/slo... It's a grey old day so here is Puck (Gladys Hulette, aged 13; child Pucks v common in the C19) doing INCREDIBLE MAGIC in the 1909 silent film, plus a still. www.youtube.com/watch?v=307t...

Oooh! So pleased to see Ellie Collins’ book out in our series!! Such wonderful repertory work! manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719090868/ CC @shakesinstitute.bsky.social

After seeing the Edinburgh exhibition last year, this is superb www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In which @oldfortunatus.bsky.social, Laurence Publicover and I did a thing... www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Wow: thank you!

Since Emilia Bassano was busy writing the works attributed to the Stratford man, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum must be the work of Edward DeVere, 17th Earl of Oxford.

This 👇

Quince: it's called PYRAMUS & THISBE; Bottom: I'm PYRAMUS yes? #MoonMad #SlowShakespeare www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/slo... The 2025-6 Headlong Dream had Quince (Jack Humphrey) a sommelier, Flute (Priya Kalsi) a waitress & Bottom (Danny Kirrane) the EXECUTIVE chef, which worked very well.

Join us this Monday to explore #Shakespeare's 'Richard II' with Emma Smith @oldfortunatus.bsky.social and special guest Hailey Bachrach. The event will take place online via Zoom at 6pm on Monday, 2 February. All welcome! The event is free but registration is required. #RichardII

Why did Shakespeare write 'Troilus and Cressida'? On today's new episode returning guest Rachel Aanstad helps us to get to the bottom of that knotty question #theatre #theatrehistory #shakespeare #troilusandcressida #podcast

Hermia: so long, best friend! #MoonMad #SlowShakespeare www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/slo... Lysander (Christopher Gable) and Hermia (Mary Rutherford) in the Peter Brook Dream @the-rsc.bsky.social 1970, des. Sally Jacobs

Calling all English teachers. Do these two things. 1. Go to www.nate.org.uk. 2. Tap to share and add to home screen. You can now explore some of the best long-form writing about English teaching, optimised for seamless reading on your phone. #NATE

My (admiring) review of this should shortly be appearing in Shakespeare (www.tandfonline.com/journals/rsh... ) - I've just done the proofs.

'Shakespeare’s Violence and the Early Modern Spectator' by @beckyyearling.bsky.social explores how Shakespeare’s original audience might have responded to his scenes of violence, and the complex web of factors that shape our present-day responses too. Out today! https://bit.ly/4pSWjvb

Desperately sad news about Deborah Cameron today. She was such a brilliant, incisive presence in the world of linguistics and particularly language and gender. Don't know what else to say but I'm sure there will be many tributes paid to her and her work in the days to come.

Lysander has a plan: ELOPEMENT! #MoonMad #SlowShakespeare www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/slo... Hermia (Sinead Keenan) and Lysander (Trystan Gravelle) in the 2005 @the-rsc.bsky.social Dream, dir. Gregory Doran

CFP: Tyranny, Resistance, and the Performance of Early Modern Drama #medieval #earlymodern anzamems.org/cfp-tyr...

"And we now have María on the line who would like to swap a Nobel Peace Prize for the presidency of Venezuela..."

Lysander: THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH! It's TRUE! #MoonMad #SlowShakespeare www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/slo... Hermia (Francesca Mills, fabulously ferocious) and Lysander (Sam Crerar) in the 2023 Globe Dream, dir. Elle While.

Delighted to say that my book comes out in paperback shortly. Available to pre-order here: edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-epistol... 30% off discount code is PAPER30. 🙂

Delighted the new year brings (at last!) vol. 53 of Shakespeare Studies to the world, in all its purple-edged glory: Marlowe stars in the Forum, & the NGP, Articles & Reviews all full of wit & wisdom. Congratulations to Jim Siemon for 11 years of leadership, w/ huge gratitude for our collaboration!

Great project done recently about enslavement and Scottish rural history lamhan.scot/2025/05/06/l...

This spring, we've teamed up with Open University to examine feminism, gender and justice within law, theatre and the humanities at our inaugural Fanniversary conference. We want to hear your proposals for papers, lectures, performances, workshops and more. www.vaginamuseum.co.uk/fanniversary...

I’m really excited about this @the-rsc.bsky.social from late January: www.rsc.org.uk/all-is-but-f...: and delighted to be chatting with the brilliant Whitney White after the performance on 19 Feb. Do come!

Kazimir Malevich, redacted

Robert Fludd, redacted

What are they hiding?

2025 has been a very busy year here at EMC. We supported thousands of students and teachers through our courses, conferences and resources this year and hope for more of the same in 2026!!

Just catching up with @cjfaraday.bsky.social ‘s brilliant Story of Tudor Art. Highly recommended. www.hive.co.uk/Product/Chri...

I can't do a poll, but I can make an executive decision, so🥁🥁🥁 I'll be starting my EIGHTH #SlowShakespeare daily blog on 1 January: #MoonMad aka Midsummer Night's Dream. Because we could all do with some laughs & a bit more fairy-dust right now... (Gwendoline Christie as Titania at the Bridge, 2019)

Pascale Aebischer reviews Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2025 production of Titus Andronicus, dir. Max Webster. 🎭: www.rsc.org.uk/titus-andron... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974942 📷: Marc Brenner, (Titus Andronicus)

Folks - I am quoted in National Geographic on #Hamnet #Shakespeare!!! 🤩 It energises me to continue research on Shakespeare biofiction with @kscheil.bsky.social and editing our 50 chapter Shakespeare biofiction Handbook - out with Palgrave in 2026! www.nationalgeographic.com/history/arti...

Well hot damn. Progress. A temp manuscript catalog is back.

Happy Hanukkah!

Congratulations to the wonderful Medieval and Early Modern Orients @memorients.bsky.social team for a hugely successful inaugural conference and especially for making it accessible and fully hybrid. So grateful and humbled ❤️❤️

Looking again at Last Days - and a terrific Ariodante observer.co.uk/music/classi...

Last minute pre-Christmas self-promotion: The Haunted Wood has been named top non-fiction paperback of the year in The Times (and in the Guardian’s top 30). So feel free to buy a copy for a loved one…

God, I just want trans people to be fulfilled as people - not as totemic figures of left wing victory, not placeholders for liberal tolerance. Just as whatever we are. Whatever our vocations, our loves, our ambitions. We're political footballs for the right, but also for the left. I want more.

It's a real thing... when the first proofs arrive, a manuscript turns into a book. „The Traveller" comes out on 2 June 2026.

Here's the curtain call last night - we had a ball, with the brilliant Lee Mack, Miles Jupp, Richard Ayoade, Paterson Joseph, KCs and judge - and Professor Emma Smith @oldfortunatus.bsky.social who stole the show. A big thank you to Josie Rourke and all at CSSF.

Never thought I’d ever be a part of an Oscar campaign, however unlikely, but then again we do live in interesting times

Brilliant choice of Misha Glenny for In Our Time! He interviewed me at the Vienna Humanities festival a few weeks ago and he had the perfect wide-ranging interests and intelligence. As a fan of IOT I am cheering. www.bbc.com/mediacentre/...

Solidarity with every trans person struggling to keep their heads in the game today. Along with everything else, this is absolutely a war against our collective and individual mental and emotional health - against our very sense of self. It's expected to feel the blow. But we stay fighting.