The Theatre History Podcast is proud to partner with Stories from the Eastern West to present the first of a two-part episode on the life and work of revolutionary theatre director Jerzy Grotowski.
The Restoration was an era of theatrical innovation and rebirth in England. It also saw a number of strikingly radical revisions of William Shakespeare's original plays. Dr. Amanda Eubanks Winkler joins us to talk about her work with the Performing Restoration Shakespeare project, which is studying these adaptations and helping to revive them for the stage.
In this week's Theatre History Podcast, Matt DiCintio on the origins of the freak show and its lasting influence on our perceptions of disability, race, and physical difference.
Why is Mary Ann Yates the greatest actress you've never heard of? Dr. Elaine McGirr introduces us to this eighteenth-century star and recounts her fascinating career.
How do you depict pregnancy when you're working with an all-male cast? Dr. Sara BT Thiel joins us to discuss this and other issues connected to pregnancy on the Stuart stage.
Could you make it as the manager of a New York City theatre in the 1840s? That's the question that Dr. Robert Davis's game and app Broadway:1849 poses to players. Robert joins us to talk about the rough-and-tumble world of New York's antebellum theatre.
Dr. Cobina Gillitt joins the Theatre History Podcast to introduce us to the work of Putu Wijaya and his Teater Mandiri and to explain how modern Indonesian theatre has developed amid the turmoil of its recent history.
How has the circus changed from its earliest origins to today? CarlosAlexis Cruz joins us to explain how acrobatics and storytelling have come to replace the big top and the three-ring circus.
How did Black theatre connect with the Civil Rights Movement? Dr. Julie Burrell of Cleveland State University joins the Theatre History Podcast to talk about William B. Branch's one-act play A Medal for Willie and the underappreciated radicalism of theatre in the 1950s.
Playwright Chantal Bilodeau joins us to discuss her essay "Why I'm Breaking Up with Aristotle," and how we need to explore new forms of storytelling in order to create theatre that engages with issues like climate change.
Rediscovering Weimar Operetta with Dr. Kevin Clarke
17 April 2018
Dr. Kevin Clarke of the Operetta Research Center introduces us to Weimar-era operetta, which pushed artistic and social boundaries and is finally enjoying an artistic and scholarly reappraisal after decades of neglect.
Dr. Nora Williams joins us to talk about Measure (Still) for Measure, a devised theatre project in the US that revises Shakespeare's infamous "problem play" in order to engage with issues such as sexual consent.
Examining the Controversial History of the “Mummers Wench” with Dr. Christian DuComb
24 January 2018
Dr. Christian DuComb of Colgate University joins us to talk about Philadelphia's Mummers Parade and how the figure of the "Mummers wench" has its roots in the history of blackface minstrel shows.
Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart: Tracy Heather Strain Shows Us a Different Side of Lorraine Hansberry
17 January 2018
Filmmaker Tracy Heather Strain talks about her new documentary Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart, which explores the life and work of playwright Lorraine Hansberry.
Remembering Argentina’s Traumatic Past Through Theatre with Dr. Noe Montez
12 December 2017
Dr. Noe Montez of Tufts University joins us to talk about how Argentina's theatre have dealt with the legacy of the country's period of military dictatorship.
Amy Meyer joins us to talk about acrobatic accidents in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as what they tell us about our appetite for risky entertainment.
Dr. Erin Mee on Modern and Contemporary Indian Theatre
7 November 2017
Dr. Erin Mee of New York University joins us for the second part of our series on Indian theatre. In this episode, she explains how modern Indian theatre developed in the decades before and after independence.
Dr. Erin Mee of New York University joins us to discuss kutiyattam, a style of theatre from southwestern India that brings ancient Sanskrit dramas to life.
