What do we see when we look at early modern plays in contemporary theatre? Well, this is a very UK-based, and probably London-based answer, but we generally see a lot of white, able-bodied cis men in plays about white, able-bodied cis men; we generally see the same 10-15 plays of the 400 or so early … Continue reading Galatea, BritGrad and diverse alarums
Emma Frankland
The Sound of Lyly: Galatea Interview
We recently had a chance to interview Vicky Abbott, the musical lead on Emma Frankland's Galatea project, and we asked her what it was like writing music for a sixteenth-century play in a modern production. We feature here some of Vicky's brilliant recordings (©Vicky Abbott) along with choreographed responses to songs that have been crucial … Continue reading The Sound of Lyly: Galatea Interview
Galatea in Cornwall: Finding Gods in Truro
For this week's R&D workshops, Emma Frankland and Mydd Pharo are joined by Kellan Frankland, Krishna Istha, Mzz Kimberley, and Nadia Nadarajah in and around Truro (based at the Hall of Cornwall, thanks to their support) for a week looking at Galatea's Gods and their divine interactions: Neptune, Venus, her son Cupid, and Diana and … Continue reading Galatea in Cornwall: Finding Gods in Truro
Getting Mortal in St Austell: Galatea in Cornwall
We are joining Emma Frankland and her crew of artists and players for the next few days. Emma is spending this week and next week with two groups of artists to explore in more detail some of the themes and scenes of John Lyly's Galatea, building on research and development workshops from last August. The … Continue reading Getting Mortal in St Austell: Galatea in Cornwall
Before Conference (and The Woman in the Moon)
Our conference is coming up later this month, and we’re looking forward to the range and diversity of papers, conversations, and performance work that will be descending upon South West London in what we’re all confident will be a rare weekend of British Bank Holiday sun. This short post reflects on some of the issues … Continue reading Before Conference (and The Woman in the Moon)
Birthday Post: A Year of Before Shakespeare
We launched our website last year, on the date of Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary, with an introduction to the project and something of a provocation in Andy’s post about putting the Shhhh into Shakespeare.... The comments that followed have been matched by recent posts that have engendered debate and discussion amongst readers, including the creation by … Continue reading Birthday Post: A Year of Before Shakespeare
Galatea Workshop Response: Hester Bradley
We are very pleased to host Hester Bradley's response to the Galatea workshops hosted at the Jerwood Space in August this year. Hester is a PhD student at Oxford Brookes, whose work explores what representations of the moon by John Lyly and William Shakespeare can reveal about contemporary ideas of female identity and personhood. *** I attended … Continue reading Galatea Workshop Response: Hester Bradley
Galatea Workshops: Where are we?
This week, Emma Frankland is exploring John Lyly's Galatea (1585?) at the Jerwood Space with a collection of performers, actors, and makers, looking in particular at its representations of non-normative sexuality and concluding investment in transgender identity exploration. Throughout the week, a handful of academic visitors are dropping in to observe or participate. The workshops are also working between deaf … Continue reading Galatea Workshops: Where are we?
Galatea Workshops
We invite scholars to participate in exploring John Lyly’s Galatea at the Jerwood Space this August. The award-winning theatre maker Emma Frankland and Andy Kesson will be working with a company of performers, exploring the play’s representations of non-normative sexuality and its concluding investment in transgender identity. We are grateful to Shakespeare Bulletin, the University of Roehampton and the Before Shakespeare project … Continue reading Galatea Workshops
