LAST CHANCE! Extended submission deadline expires 15 January. Get your abstracts in this week for AAS 2026 & please spread the word! Online participation is an option 💻

Emily Rowe reviews a Project 1961, Grasp the Nettle Films, and Park Pictures production Grand Theft Hamlet, dir. Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane 🎭: www.undiscoveredcountryfilm.com 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974953 📷: Production still courtesy of Sam Crane

Edel Semple reviews Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2025 production of The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel), written and directed by Austin Tichenor and Reed Martin 🎭: www.reducedshakespeare.com/productions/... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974952 📷: Meg Moore

Bernard Krumm reviews Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company, The Shed, and Fiery Angel’s 2024 production of King Lear, dir. Rob Ashford, Kenneth Branagh, and Lucy Skilbeck. 🎭: www.theshed.org/program/302-... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974951

Terri Bourus reviews Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s 2024 production of Pericles, dir. Tamara Harvey 🎭: www.chicagoshakes.com/productions/... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974950 📷: Johan Persson

Also taking place 24-26 June 2026, the 9th Biennial SAMEMES Conference at @unifr.bsky.social with a theme of "Tolerance and Dissent". The CFP can be found here, and also closes on Thursday 15 January. @samemes.bsky.social #SAMEMES2026 #Shakespeare #EarlyModern

Happy New Year and a pretty stupendous start to 2026 from my perspective as Predramatic Theatre -my co-authored book with @gregmw4.bsky.social - was published by Palgrave on Friday! link.springer.com/book/10.1007... Very kindly, our reader said of the book :-

Happy new year! Sharing a couple of CFPs for 2026 conferences that are closing soon. First up, the 2nd International CIRCE Conference taking place at @usaloficial.bsky.social and online 24-26 June. CFP closes Thursday 15 January. #CIRCE #Shakespeare #EarlyModern circe.uv.es/congress-4-cfp

Rachel L. Spencer reviews Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s 2024 production of As You Like It, dir. Carey Perloff 🎭: santacruzshakespeare.org 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974947

Zola P. Feasel and Joseph F. Stephenson reviews Wild Goose Theatre’s 2024 production of Twelfth Night, dir. Paul Alex Nicholls 🎭: www.oxfordcastleandprison.co.uk/events/event... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974949 📷: Phil Morton (Twelfth Night)

Frank Clarke reviews Graeae Theatre Company’s 2024 production of Romeo and Juliet, dir. Jenny Sealey 🎭: graeae.org/event/romeo-... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl... 📷: Patch Dolan

Che Floy reviews Folger Theatre’s 2024 production of Romeo and Juliet, dir. Raymond O. Caldwell 🎭: www.folger.edu/whats-on/rom... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl... 📷: Erika Nizborski

Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, or Alice In Chains.

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...

Laurie Maguire reviews Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2025 production of Edward II, dir. Daniel Raggett 🎭: www.rsc.org.uk/edward-ii/ 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974945 📷: Helen Murray

Adib Faiz reviews Randai Macbeth, a 2025 production by Traditional Performing Arts Centre (PuTRA), National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (ASWARA), adapted and directed by Norzizi Zulkafli 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974944 📷: Izzat Fazil

My annual festive resharing of this blog I wrote a few years ago about the potential King Lear echoes and parallels to be found in Home Alone. It's one I really enjoyed writing at the time, so I hope you enjoy reading it. Merry Christmas you poor, bare, forked animals! medium.com/action-is-el...

I'm way behind on blogging, but I've finally published my round-up of every film I watched for the first time in September and October. A link to my blog is in my bio, and the direct link to the article is here.

Lucy J. S. Clarke reviews National Theatre’s 2024 production of Coriolanus, dir. Lyndsey Turner 🎭: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974943 📷: Misan Harriman (Coriolanus)

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)

Today’s Extra Credit focuses on Pascale Aebischer’s article, ““Why dost not speak to me?”: An Interview with Letty Thomas on Performing Lavinia”. Check out these open-access resources to go along with this open-access article! 📰: muse.jhu.edu/issue/55948

Today’s Extra Credit focuses on Stephannie S. Gearheart’s article, ““This island’s mine”: Imagining Alternatives to Thatcherism through Ghosting in Derek Jarman’s The Tempest (1979)”. Check out these open-access resources to go along with this open-access article! 📰: muse.jhu.edu/issue/55948

Another Open Access issue, 43.2 features brilliant reviews from @pascaleexeter.bsky.social, Lucy J S Clarke, Adib Faiz, Laurie Maguire, @cheflory.bsky.social, @rachel-l-spence.bsky.social, @frarke.bsky.social Zola P Feasel and @joestephenson.bsky.social, @terribourus.bsky.social, Bernard Krumm, 1/2

NEW ISSUE KLAXON: Shakespeare Bulletin 43.2 is now published via Project Muse! In this open-access issue, scholars and practitioners engage in conversations across time, media, and geographic distance. 📰: muse.jhu.edu/issue/55948

Laurie Maguire reviews the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2025 production of Twelfth Night, dir. Prasanna Puwanarajah. 🎭: www.rsc.org.uk/twelfth-nigh... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/971403 📷: Helen Murray

Emma Katherine Atwood and Olivia Soileau review Resurgens Theatre Company’s 2024 production of Tamburlaine the Great, Part One and Part Two, dir. Brent Griffin. 🎭: resurgenstheatre.org/past-product... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/971402 📷: John Michael Hoke

Hanh Bui reviews the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2024 production of Pericles, dir. Tamara Harvey. 🎭: www.rsc.org.uk/pericles/pas... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/971401 📷: Johan Persson

Katie O’Hare reviews The Guthrie Theater’s 2024 productions of Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V, dir. Joseph Haj. 🎭: www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-ti... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/971400 📷: Dan Norman

We are happy to share that the call for papers for the SAMEMES conference on "Tolerance and Dissent" (Fribourg, 24-26 June 2026), is now open (deadline 15 January 2026). Further information about the conference is available here: samemes2026.com! We look forward to hearing from you!

Scott Shepherd reviews Oh! Ophelia, Ophelia, presented by Choi Sung-ok’s Meta-dance Project as part of the 2024 K Stage Festa at Myeongdong Theater. 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/971399 📷: Sang Hoon Ok

Justin B. Hopkins reviews New York Circus Project’s 2024 production of Hamlet, created by Sam Landa and Emma Owens. 🎭: www.newyorkcircusproject.org/hamlet 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/971397 📷: Steve Sarafian

CFP: Tolerance and Dissent Deadline for abstracts 15 January 2026 Conference: 24-26 June 2026, University of Fribourg Travel grants available for graduate students #EarlyModern #SkyStorians all info: www.rensoc.org.uk/event/tolera...

ANNOUNCING #BSA2026 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE! AI and Shakespeare: CfP The BSA will meet virtually in 2026, 26–27 Feb, 1–5pm GMT to reflect and take stock on the explosive impact of AI on Shakespeare research, performance and education communities, considering opportunities and threats, briefs and griefs

David Cottis reviews Half Trick’s 2024 production of Antonio’s Revenge, dir. Courtney Bassett. 🎭: halftrick.com#antonio 📰: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl... 📷: Eliza Roberts

Terri Bourus reviews Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s 2024 production of Henry V, dir. Edward Hall. 🎭: www.chicagoshakes.com/productions/... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl... 📷: Liz Lauren

Suzy Lawrence reviews the 2024 production of Kiss Me, Kate at the Barbican Theatre, dir. Bartlett Sher. 🎭: kissmekatemusical.com 📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/971398 📷: Johann Persson

Joseph F. Stephenson reviews Shakespeare’s Globe’s 2024 production of The Taming of the Shrew, dir. Jude Christian. 🎭: www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on/the... 📰: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl... 📷: Helen Murray

Very pleased to learn at the end of last week that my article for Shakespeare Survey 78, "The BBC's Television Adaptations of Henry VI and Britain's National Identity Crises," has now been published online. If you'd like to read it, here's the link: www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...

Drew Struzan's movie posters were incomparable works of art that uniquely captured the beauty of cinema. Sharing a handful of my many favourites in remembrance following the sad news of his death. RIP Drew Struzan.

If you, or anyone you know, would be willing to provide a 1,000-1,500 word review for Shakespeare Bulletin of Born With Teeth at Wyndham's Theatre, and you're available to attend the matinee performance on Wed 16 October (tomorrow), then please reply/DM here! 🙂

Diane Keaton (1946–2025)

It's a new issue of Shakespeare Bulletin, and it's free to read! #S20 #OpenAccess via @projectmuse.bsky.social #shakespeare #theater #academicsky

A fantastic Performance Reviews section in 43.1, with pieces from @terribourus.bsky.social, @davidcottis.bsky.social, @joestephenson.bsky.social, Justin B. Hopkins, Suzy Lawrence, Scott Shepherd, Katie O'Hare, @hanhbuiwrites.bsky.social, @emmakatwood.bsky.social, Olivia Soileau, and Laurie Maguire.

**DEADLINE EXTENSION!** Seminar enrolment for the 2026 World Shakespeare Congress has now been extended to 15 December. The full list of seminars can be found here: www.wsc2026.org/seminars/ #WSC2026 #Shakespeare

Hey Bluesky!👋 We're the Revels Office, an academic network for PGRs and ECRS researching all things early modern📚 Our community is a friendly space to share ideas and resources, ask questions, support each other, and meet fellow early modernists. Check out our website for more! revelsoffice.com

Robert Redford, Oscar-winning actor and director, dies aged 89

Take a look at the latest post on my Substack, Man with a Movie Compulsion, to see what I made of all the films I watched for the first time in August. I think it's fair to say at this point that I am not a Zach Cregger fan. manwithamoviecompulsion.substack.com/p/compulsive... #cinema

One week left to join the seminars @gemmaallred.bsky.social @edelsemple.bsky.social and I are organising for SAA and WSC next year ⏳ Seminar registration for both conferences closes on Monday 15 September! @saaupdates.bsky.social #Shax2026 #WSC2026

In 2026, Gemma Allred @gemmaallred.bsky.social Edel Semple @edelsemple.bsky.social and I are co-organising two seminars: one at SAA @saaupdates.bsky.social in Denver, CO, convened both in-person and virtually; and another at the World Shakespeare Congress in Verona, Italy. #Shax2026 #WSC2026