"What revels are in hand?" Shakespeare and Theatre for the Court with Elyse Sharp and Korey Leigh Smith of the "Shakespeare Anyone?" Podcast

Scurvy Companions

Today we’ll be speaking with Korey Smith and Elyse Sharp of the "Shakespeare Anyone?" podcast. You may remember Korey and Elyse from when they joined us last season to discuss Macbeth and Demonology during King James’s reign. Both professional actors themselves, Korey and Elyse dive into Shakespeare scholarship, breaking down his plays into incredibly researched detail without, as they say, the "bardolotry." Their episodes have covered topics such as "King Lear" and Shakespeare’s influence on early psychiatry, gender and queer theory in Twelfth Night, and more. They also have mini-episodes devoted to scholarship outside specific plays, including episodes on Shakespeare's folios and quartos, and food and cooking in early modern England.

Today they join us to discuss how Shakespeare’s plays were performed at court, meaning before the monarch and the nobles. We’ll discuss the mechanics of court performances, how performances changed when they were inside at court rather than outside at the Globe Theatre for the public, and how playing before the nobility allowed a chance for otherwise scandalous political commentary. Says Korey, "I wish there was more scholarship on plays of the court and the influence that individual members of Shakespeare’s society had on these characters, because that can greatly change how you cast and the choices you make when you set the play."

Korey and Elyse are interviewed by host Emily Jackoway. To learn more about NoSweatShakespeare, you can visit us online at nosweatshakespeare.com, or on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.