Bard News Round-Up

We will very soon be deep into our production of The Comedy of Errors, with all of the news that related directly to i, so it seems like now is the best time to share some other bits and bobs of Shakespeare news with you:

• From last fall, a sheaf of previously undiscovered John Shakespeare (Will's father) documents were turned up in the UK's National Archives:

Professor Glyn Parry of London's University of Roehampton uncovered the 21 documents that illustrate some financial difficulties that the Shakespeare family experienced during William's youth.
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There's a brief write-up here and a very substantive interview with Professor Parry here on the podcast That Shakespeare Life, providing a ton of context for what he found, as well as how he came to do so.

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• Speaking of documents related to the life and work of William Shakespeare (including this new find), quite a few primary documents have been digitized and are available to all of us, courtesy of a partnership between the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Bodlien, the British Library, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the National Archives. Check it out here!

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• During Black History Month, we have the opportunity to learn more and think about African American performance and production of the works of Shakespeare, which reaches at least to the early-19th century. An exhibition presented this month by Houston's Harris County Public Library seeks to amplify those "unsung artists."

SIR LAURENCE OLIVIER, RICHARD BURTON, AND PAUL SCOFIELD—all three were legendary Shakespearean actors, and all three were white men. But that doesn’t mean there haven’t long been outstanding black Shakespearean counterparts.
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That’s why the Harris County Public Library, in partnership with Main Street Theater, created Speak of me as I am: A Celebration of African-American Contributions to Shakespeare as part of its African American History Month programming. The reading series has actors from ...
Read more here

Ira Aldridge as Othello, by James Northcote

T​he article namechecks Henrietta Vinton Davis and Ira Aldridge as two of those unsung theatrical greats, the latter of whom was forced to leave the United States for his theater career to flourish. Read more about each them by clicking through their respective names. 

The first of two episodes of the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast delving into the same subject can be found here.

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We'll be back soon with lots and lots of Comedy of Errors goodness!