7.30pm, Thursday 22 April
This is an online event hosted on the British Library platform. Bookers will be sent a link in advance giving access and will be able to watch at any time for 48 hours after the start time.
Juliet. Queen Titania. Ophelia. Lady MacBeth. There isn’t a single female character in Shakespeare’s canon that was written to be performed by a woman. Yet women were there from the outset – funding, building and running the theatres.
Beginning with a reading from Richard II by pioneering Shakespearean actor and star of Bridgerton Adjoa Andoh, this timely online talk explores the role of and the roles for women in the worlds and works of Shakespeare. From the trailblazing female playhouse owners of the sixteenth century to the evolution of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters – we go on a journey into the cultural history of theatre, performance and women. Joining Adjoa Andoh are theatre historian Dr Andy Kesson, intellectual historian Dr Vanessa Lim and event chair and early modern historian Dr Wanda Wyporska.
This event has BSL and captions. It is available for 48 hours from first release.