Episode 10 - The Genius of Shakespeare

In this episode, our special guest, Andrew Doyle discusses the abiding genius of Shakespeare with Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert, Richard Woolfenden and Jane Sandeman. They point out that Shakespeare has created, in his plays, an expression of how we can better understand what it means to be human. They take up claims that Shakespeare can’t have written all those brilliant plays, that they must have been written by a well-educated aristocrat, pointing to the elitism within these challenges to the Bard’s unparalleled genius. And they draw out, looking at specific works, how Shakespeare presented the complexity of human beings, without making moral judgements. At a time when activists in the theatre and in education threaten to turn Shakespeare into an instrument of ‘decolonisation’ this is an important discussion  … but is it still worth going to watch a contemporary production of a Shakespeare play? Andrew Doyle is a successful writer and comedian, and creator of the satirical woke character, Titania McGrath; he hosts Free Speech Nation on GBNews. He is also passionate about Shakespeare. Respondents — all passionate about Shakespeare!: Alka Sehgal Cuthbert is Director of Don’t Divide Us and formerly teacher of EnglishJane Sandeman, chief operating officer at The Passage charity for homeless people, Richard Woolfenden, English teacher and filmmaker. Get full access to Arts First at artsfirst.substack.com/subscribe

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