BSA Bulletin for June 2016
2nd June 2016
Registration for Hull 2016
The BSA’s 2016 conference, ‘Shakespearean Transformations: Death, Life, and Afterlives’, takes place 8-11 September 2016 at the University of Hull. Registration for the conference is now open. The early bird rate (before 1 July) is £180/£90 concession, and the conference dinner at The Deep aquarium will cost £40. All participants must be members of the BSA in good standing. 15 bursaries for postgraduate students will also be available, and details will be posted on the conference website shortly. Please visit the conference website for full details.
Report on the Irish Renaissance Seminar
As part of the Shakespeare celebrations in Northern Ireland and Ireland this year, the British Shakespeare Association was delighted to support the Irish Renaissance Seminar on Saturday 7 May at Queen’s University, Belfast. Mark Thornton Burnett’s report on a successful day, including pictures of the spectacular Shakespeare birthday cake, is now up at the BSA website.
Report on Disability and Shakespearean Theatre
The BSA was pleased to sponsor two events in April celebrating the 400thanniversary of Shakespeare’s death: ‘Disability and Shakespearean Theatre’, a conference at the University of Glasgow on 20 April, and ‘Shakespeare 400: New Perspectives’, at the Chichester Festival Theatre on 23 April. A full report on the Glasgow conference by Jessi Parrot is now available on theBSA website.
BSA Journal – new articles
New articles from Shakespeare published online this month include Gemma Miller’s piece on ‘Changing Representations of the Child in Stage and Film Productions of Macbeth’ and Carol Mejia LaPerle’s article on ‘Shakespeare’s Cleopatra and the crimes of Early Modern Gypsies’. Current members can subscribe to the journal – including the physical volume and full online access – at the heavily discounted price of £15. ContactPeter.Kirwan@nottingham.ac.uk for details and missing volumes.
BSA Event Videos
Our website hosts video recordings of BSA events. Members can currently watch the inauguration of Chris Grace and Dame Janet Suzman as honorary fellows of the association, complete with their reflections on their work with Shakespeare. A taster of the recording is available to all on the website, and members in good standing for the current year have been emailed a password for the full recording.
Teaching Shakespeare issue 9 available now
Issue 9 of the BSA magazine Teaching Shakespeare issue includes a bumper noticeboard and royally ushers in the year with two articles on the Henry IVplays by Michael J. Collins and Howard Gold. Submissions for Issue 10 can be sent to the journal editor at sarah.olive@york.ac.uk . Issue 9 can be downloaded from the BSA website.
Bardolph’s Box: An Introduction to Shakespeare
In March and April the BSA supported Up the Road Theatre’s Bardolph’s Box, a theatre production designed by BSA member Nicola Pollard for children aged 8-12 and their families. For more information, please see the company website. To read Nicola’s report from the road, please see the post on our website.
THE BSA MEMBERS’ BULLETIN
We are pleased to advertise news and activities by our members and other Shakespeare associations. If you would like to advertise a Shakespeare-related activity, please email Peter.Kirwan@nottingham.ac.uk. Items below are not affiliated with or endorsed by the BSA – please use individual contact details for more information.
Metamorphosis at Senate House Library
Senate House Library is commemorating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with a season of activities running from 14 April to 17 December, including a free exhibition, a programme of events and a website with digital content and research resources. Based loosely on the ‘seven ages of man’ speech from As You Like It, the season will reflect the changes in Shakespearean text and scholarship over four centuries. For full details, please visit the website.
OCR GCSE English Conference 2016
The GCSE English Conference 2016 will be held on 6 June at Shakespeare’s Globe. All teachers working with GCSE-level students are invited to attend a day of practical workshops, discussions and networking opportunities, including a keynote conversation with Kazuo Ishiguro. For more information, please visit the conference website.
Shakespeare in French Study Day
With Shakespeare’s works being regarded as ‘universal classics’, it is perhaps not surprising that they have so often been staged across the Channel. Shakespeare is, in fact, the writer whose works are most frequently performed in France. On 8 June, Senate House Library is hosting a free study day including a film screening, bilingual reading of Henry VI, talks, discussions and a wine reception. Places must be reserved here.
The Sam Wanamaker Fellowship Lecture
Gordon McMullan delivers this year’s Sam Wanamaker Fellowship lecture at Shakespeare’s Globe on Thursday 9 June. His talk will mark the Shakespeare Quatercentenary, addressing what it means to ‘remember’ Shakespeare in 2016 and reflecting on the ‘forgetting’ that is also required. Tickets (£15) can be booked here.
Shakespeare’s Sisters, 12 June
Curzon Cinemas are organising a special event on 12 June to celebrate women in Shakespearean film. Featuring two new short Shakespeare-inspired film directed by women and a panel discussion, the event will address the presence of women in front of and behind the camera in Shakespearean film. Read the article and book tickets here.
Shakespeare:Birmingham
Shakespeare:Birmingham organises weekly gatherings / Shakespeare play readings at the Birmingham & Midland Institute in the centre of Birmingham (Tuesdays, 6.30-9.00pm), as well as workshops aimed at increasing enjoyment of Shakespeare through any means possible! We are currently reading King Lear, all are welcome to attend. Details of all our activities can be found at www.shakespearebirmingham.co.uk.
Birmingham Royal Ballet Shakespeare events in June
Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Shakespeare celebrations continue in June with two major shows: The Taming of the Shrew and a triple-bill featuring Wink(based on five Shakespeare sonnets), The Moor’s Pavane (based on Othello) and The Shakespeare Suite. The programme also includes an open class and pre-show talks. For more information, please visit the BRB website.
Shakespeare in Europe and the Americas, 10 July
In association with the current ‘Shakespeare in Ten Acts’ exhibition, the British Library is holding a special event exploring Shakespeare’s cultural presence in Europe and the Americas. The day includes papers, round-table sessions and a closing wine reception. Tickets can be booked at the British Library website.
The Merchant of Venice in Venice, 27-28 July
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is organising a fundraising event in Venice to support its re-presentation of New Place. You are invited to attend a production of The Merchant of Venice in the Jewish ghetto (500 years old this year). Tickets (priced at £450) also include talks from Shakespeare experts and theatre practitioners, a three-course lunch at Locanda Cipriani, coffee and a drinks reception. For more information, or to reserve a place, please contact clare.sawdon@shakespeare.org.uk
Call for Papers: ‘Shakespeare and his contemporaries’ Conference in Brazil
The ‘VI Jornada de Estudos Shakespeareanos: Shakespeare e seus contemporâneos’ will be held at Universidade de São Paulo (USP, São Paulo, 10-11 November 2016). Abstracts in English, Spanish or Portuguese are due 30 June 2016. For more information, please contactjornadashakespeare@gmail.com or jornadashakespeare.blogspot.com.
Shakespeare Documented online exhibition
Shakespeare Documented is a multi-institutional collaboration convened by the Folger Shakespeare Library to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. This free online exhibition constitutes the largest and most authoritative collection of primary-source materials documenting the life of William Shakespeare (1564-1616). It brings together images and descriptions of all known manuscript and print references to Shakespeare, his works, and additional references to his family, in his lifetime and shortly thereafter.
BBC Shakespeare Archive now available to UK schools
The BBC has recently launched the BBC Shakespeare Archive Resource. This new online resource provides schools, colleges and universities across the UK with access to hundreds of BBC television and radio broadcasts of Shakespeare’s plays, sonnets and documentaries about Shakespeare. The material includes the first British televised adaptations of Othello and Henry V, classic interviews with key Shakespearean actors including John Gielgud, Judi Dench and Laurence Olivier, and more than 1000 photographs of Shakespeare productions.