Shakespeare's Shadows
Episodes
BONUS: Anne Hathaway — reimagining Shakespeare’s wife
21 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Anne Hathaway was married to William Shakespeare for nearly 34 years, until his death in 1616. What was she like? What kind of relationship did she ha...
BONUS: ‘Dickinson’ — Shakespeare Club in the Apple TV series
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
William Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson — both are frequently declared to be among the very best writers in the English language. And now, for Dicki...
BONUS: Bandits on the Run’s ‘The Shakespeare Tapes’
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Shakespeare’s words from "As You Like It" and "Twelfth Night" get a catchy, folkish musical treatment on "The Shakespeare Tapes," a new EP by folk-p...
BONUS: Lauren Gunderson & Kaja Dunn on ‘A Room in the Castle’
29 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take for a woman to survive in Elsinore? What would Ophelia and Gertrude tell us — if only they got anywhere close to the number of lin...
Duke Senior & Duke Frederick
27 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"As You Like It" is often remembered for being a rom-com, but it’s also a family drama. Duke Senior (Rosalind’s father) is usurped by his brother ...
Horatio
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hamlet’s best friend, Horatio, gets 7 percent of the lines in "Hamlet" next to the title character “who never shuts up” (as one guest on this ep...
Portia
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In "The Merchant of Venice," Portia is remarkable for her cleverness and the power she holds, and she’s ostensibly a hero of this story. But her jou...
BONUS: Long Beach Playhouse's 'Hamlet'
04 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Roberto Williams is one of five actors together playing the title character in Long Beach Playhouse’s current production of "Hamlet". One actor play...
BONUS: Punchdrunk & Emursive’s ‘Sleep No More’
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"Sleep No More," the immersive, one-of-a-kind adaptation of "Macbeth," is in the spotlight in the first-ever bonus episode of Shakespeare’s Shadows....
The Dauphin
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In “Henry V,” King Henry gets a new foil: the French Dauphin, the heir apparent in France, England’s rival. In the conflict that culminates in t...
Caliban
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
featuring interviews with actor Michael Blake, Pilobolus choreographers Matt Kent and Renée Jaworski, and SUNY New Paltz professor Matthieu ChapmanA ...
Romeo
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
featuring interviews with actor Bally Gill and University of the Pacific professor Courtney Lehmann One half of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers i...
Petruchio
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
featuring interviews with actors Patrice Jean-Baptiste and Simon Paisley Day and Gonzaga University professor Heather EasterlingOne of Shakespeare’s...
Puck
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A spirit of mischief, transformation, and imagination, Puck aka Robin Goodfellow darts around "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" provoking chaos and confus...
Iago
20 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of Shakespeare’s most notorious and chilling villains, "Othello" character Iago, is in the spotlight in the second episode of season 2. This cha...
Juliet
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The podcast relaunches with an episode all about Shakespeare’s first tragic heroine. This season 2 premiere explores what makes Juliet extraordinary...
Mercutio - Episode 11
24 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In "Romeo and Juliet," Mercutio becomes the tipping point that turns this tale of two star-crossed lovers from a romantic comedy to a tragedy. Episode...
Ariel - Episode 10
27 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ariel, the sprite who serves Prospero in “The Tempest” is the first non-human character featured on Shakespeare’s Shadows. Dr. Brinda Charry —...
Cordelia - Episode 9
16 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
For a character that doesn’t appear onstage for much of the play, there is a lot to unpack with Cordelia, and she has a major impact on the journey ...
Ophelia - Episode 8
01 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The most recognizable image of perhaps any Shakespeare heroine is Ophelia drowning — Gertrude’s description of Ophelia “mermaid-like” in the b...
Rosalind - Episode 7
15 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With more lines than any other female character in Shakespeare’s canon, Rosalind stands apart. Both a romantic and a cynic when it comes to love, sh...
Malvolio - Episode 6
01 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
“Twelfth Night” is a comedy, so it calls for a happy ending — but not all of the play’s characters get a wedding and a ride off into the Illyr...
Richard II - Episode 5
18 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In episode 5, Richard II is in the spotlight — right where he likes to be. This is the diva king who loves to hear himself talk but is tragically la...
Hermione - Episode 4
04 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Hermione is a rarity among Shakespeare’s characters: She’s mother of young children. This queen at the center of “The Winter’s Tale” gets pu...
Henry IV - Episode 3
20 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Henry IV: Actor Harry Lennix and UCSB professor Jim Kearney delve into Henry IV’s fraught relationship with his son (the future King Henry V), his a...
Viola - Episode 2
05 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Twelfth Night’s Viola: The real reason for this Shakespeare heroine’s disguise as a young man, the nuances of a tricky love triangle, and Viola’...
Lear - Episode 1
05 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
King Lear: This episode’s guests — actors Fran Kranz and John Slade and University of California, Irvine professor Julia Lupton — discuss Lear’...