Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
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benbroadribb.bsky.social
Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
@benbroadribb.bsky.social
950 followers 1.2K following 210 posts
Performance Reviews Editor for Shakespeare Bulletin | Shakespeare on screen(s) | Shakespop | metamodernism | performance | adaptation | cinema | theatre | he/him/his | Man with a Movie Compulsion https://manwithamoviecompulsion.substack.com
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Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
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Emily Rowe reviews a Project 1961, Grasp the Nettle Films, and Park Pictures production Grand Theft Hamlet, dir. Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane

🎭: www.undiscoveredcountryfilm.com

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974953

📷: Production still courtesy of Sam Crane
An image of GTA avatars created by Dipo Ola, Gareth Turkington, Pinny Grylls, ParTebMosMir, and Sam Crane standing around a limo, with the text “Spanning from the lock-downs of early 2021 until their online performance in summer 2022, Grand Theft Hamlet follows Crane, Oosterveen, and Pinny Grylls (documentary maker, co-director, and Crane's partner) as they cast, direct, and stage Hamlet in the surreal, chaotic sprawl of Los Santos, GTA's glittering, gun-riddled vision of Los Angeles.” over an orange background with the SB logo.
January 9, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
shaxbull.bsky.social
Edel Semple reviews Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2025 production of The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel), written and directed by Austin Tichenor and Reed Martin

🎭: www.reducedshakespeare.com/productions/...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974952

📷: Meg Moore
An image of Hamlet (Doug Harvey), Yorick (Geoffrey Barnes), and Ophelia (Austin Tichenor), with the text “Overall, with The Comedy of Hamlet!, the RSC have created a smart, fun, and funny take on Shakespeare's tragedy. This production had bags of charm and more gags than you can shake a jester's marotte at.” over an orange background with the SB logo.
January 9, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
shaxbull.bsky.social
Bernard Krumm reviews Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company, The Shed, and Fiery Angel’s 2024 production of King Lear, dir. Rob Ashford, Kenneth Branagh, and Lucy Skilbeck.

🎭: www.theshed.org/program/302-...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974951
The text “Ultimately, this production offered an engaging theatrical experience that accentuated King Lear's existential themes and provided fresh interpretations of many of its characters, thanks to the idiosyncratic performances of a talented ensemble and an adaptation that foregrounded its rash and incomprehensible main character. But, in speeding up the plot and rushing to the end, the adaptation often flattened the complexity of Shakespeare's great tragedy.” over an orange background with the SB logo.
January 6, 2026 at 4:17 PM
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Terri Bourus reviews Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s 2024 production of Pericles, dir. Tamara Harvey

🎭: www.chicagoshakes.com/productions/...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974950

📷: Johan Persson
An image of Pericles (Zach Wyatt) lifting Thaisa (Leah Haile), with the text “Of all the plays in the canon of what the program calls "this greatest of writers," it's hard to imagine one better suited to celebrate an exhilarating transoceanic reunion of two great theater companies.” over an orange background with the SB logo.
January 6, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
benbroadribb.bsky.social
Also taking place 24-26 June 2026, the 9th Biennial SAMEMES Conference at @unifr.bsky.social with a theme of "Tolerance and Dissent". The CFP can be found here, and also closes on Thursday 15 January. @samemes.bsky.social #SAMEMES2026 #Shakespeare #EarlyModern
samemes.bsky.social SAMEMES @samemes.bsky.social · Oct 27
We are happy to share that the call for papers for the SAMEMES conference on "Tolerance and Dissent" (Fribourg, 24-26 June 2026), is now open (deadline 15 January 2026). Further information about the conference is available here: samemes2026.com! We look forward to hearing from you!
January 5, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
ellierycroft.bsky.social
Happy New Year and a pretty stupendous start to 2026 from my perspective as Predramatic Theatre -my co-authored book with @gregmw4.bsky.social - was published by Palgrave on Friday!

link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

Very kindly, our reader said of the book :-
Predramatic Theatre
This co-authored book offers a new and contemporary approach to pre-modern drama texts and performance practice.
link.springer.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:54 AM
benbroadribb.bsky.social
Happy new year! Sharing a couple of CFPs for 2026 conferences that are closing soon. First up, the 2nd International CIRCE Conference taking place at @usaloficial.bsky.social and online 24-26 June. CFP closes Thursday 15 January. #CIRCE #Shakespeare #EarlyModern circe.uv.es/congress-4-cfp
CIRCE | Early Modern Theatre on Audiovisual Communication
Project CIRCE: Early Modern Theatre on Screen
circe.uv.es
January 5, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
shaxbull.bsky.social
Rachel L. Spencer reviews Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s 2024 production of As You Like It, dir. Carey Perloff

🎭: santacruzshakespeare.org

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974947
The text “Eventually, I settled amongst Santa Cruz Shakespeare's eager devotees for an evening of cross-generational hijinks and romantic intrigue—the former being quite appropriate, given Santa Cruz Shakespeare's summer season title and theme, "Generations." I left, however, reflecting on the poignancy of how temporary progress can seem from generation to generation, and how hard it can be to believe in change from those in power after they've shown us who they are at their core—or, at what seems like their core.” over an orange background with the SB logo.
January 2, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
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Zola P. Feasel and Joseph F. Stephenson reviews Wild Goose Theatre’s 2024 production of Twelfth Night, dir. Paul Alex Nicholls

🎭: www.oxfordcastleandprison.co.uk/events/event...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974949

📷: Phil Morton (Twelfth Night)
An image of Malvolio (Billy Morton) in a suit holding a letter up in the air, with the text ““[...] the actors were directed to play off the audience response, so rather than being thrown off by audience sighs, groans, and laughter, they returned the energy. That energy—inspired by Nicholls, expressed through his hardworking cast members, and at the performance we attended (and perhaps depending on the weather) reciprocated by appreciative audience members—can help turn an ordinary evening in Oxford into an extraordinary one.” over an orange background with the SB logo.
January 2, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
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Frank Clarke reviews Graeae Theatre Company’s 2024 production of Romeo and Juliet, dir. Jenny Sealey

🎭: graeae.org/event/romeo-...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...

📷: Patch Dolan
An image of the Nurse (Irmina St Catherine) and Juliet (Cherie Gordon) using British Sign Language, with the text “Graeae's version of Romeo and Juliet was my first experience of watching a complete ensemble of Deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent actors presenting an accessible version of a canonical play [...] watching this production estranged me from my usual viewing habits, and forced me to renegotiate for myself a new way of accessing this most regularly performed play.” over an orange background with the SB logo.
December 30, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
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Che Floy reviews Folger Theatre’s 2024 production of Romeo and Juliet, dir. Raymond O. Caldwell

🎭: www.folger.edu/whats-on/rom...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...

📷: Erika Nizborski
An image of Lady Capulet (Fran Tapia) clinging to the body of dead Tybalt (Alina Collins Maldonado), with Lord Capulet (Todd Scofield), the Prince (Deidra LaWan Starnes), and the Nurse (Luz Nicolas) in the background, with the text “This production offered a different sort of tragedy that shifted attention from the usual focus on the star-crossed lovers to the failing of a community, as evidenced by its inability to mourn for its dead children” over an orange background with the SB logo.
December 30, 2025 at 4:13 PM
benbroadribb.bsky.social
Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, or Alice In Chains.
December 29, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
edelsemple.bsky.social
Folks - I am quoted in National Geographic on #Hamnet #Shakespeare!!! 🤩 It energises me to continue research on Shakespeare biofiction with @kscheil.bsky.social and editing our 50 chapter Shakespeare biofiction Handbook - out with Palgrave in 2026!
www.nationalgeographic.com/history/arti...
The brief life—and untimely death—of Hamnet Shakespeare
Though little is known about the life of William Shakespeare's only son, historians say his premature death may have shaped the bard's most famous works.
www.nationalgeographic.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:24 PM
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Laurie Maguire reviews Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2025 production of Edward II, dir. Daniel Raggett

🎭: www.rsc.org.uk/edward-ii/

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974945

📷: Helen Murray
An image of Edward II (Daniel Evans) laying on the dead body of Gaveston (Eloka Ivo), with the text “The deaths of Gaveston and Edward were given parallel brutal treatment, depicting a world in which people are tortured and killed for sexual choices” over an orange background with the SB logo.
December 22, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
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Adib Faiz reviews Randai Macbeth, a 2025 production by Traditional Performing Arts Centre (PuTRA), National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (ASWARA), adapted and directed by Norzizi Zulkafli

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974944

📷: Izzat Fazil
An image of Macbeth (Che Kem) and members of the ensemble, with the text “Norzizi's willingness to take liberties with both Macbeth and randai certainly yielded wonders rich and strange” over an orange background with the SB logo.
December 22, 2025 at 8:34 PM
benbroadribb.bsky.social
My annual festive resharing of this blog I wrote a few years ago about the potential King Lear echoes and parallels to be found in Home Alone. It's one I really enjoyed writing at the time, so I hope you enjoy reading it. Merry Christmas you poor, bare, forked animals! medium.com/action-is-el...
‘I made my family disappear’: Echoes and inversions of King Lear in Home Alone
Ben Broadribb explores the Shakespearean echoes to be found in a cinematic Christmas favourite, Chris Columbus’s 1990 film Home Alone.
medium.com
December 20, 2025 at 12:14 PM
benbroadribb.bsky.social
I'm way behind on blogging, but I've finally published my round-up of every film I watched for the first time in September and October. A link to my blog is in my bio, and the direct link to the article is here.
Compulsive Viewing: September and October 2025
First of all, a general update on the lack of, er, updates here.
manwithamoviecompulsion.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:50 PM
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Lucy J. S. Clarke reviews National Theatre’s 2024 production of Coriolanus, dir. Lyndsey Turner

🎭: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974943

📷: Misan Harriman (Coriolanus)
An image of Caius Marcius Coriolanus (David Oyelowo) center stage, wielding a sword on a battlefield with company members rushing around him, with the text “Lyndsey Turner's production focused on the weight of history, but in doing so created an oddly bloodless Coriolanus that let both politics and tragedy fall by the wayside.” over an orange background with the SB logo.
December 18, 2025 at 5:22 PM
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Pascale Aebischer reviews Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2025 production of Titus Andronicus, dir. Max Webster.

🎭: www.rsc.org.uk/titus-andron...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/974942

📷: Marc Brenner, (Titus Andronicus)
An image of Titus Andronicus (Simon Russell Beale) in a trench coat standing before the coffin of his son, with the other Andronic seated behind him, with the text “The ending, then, resisted the facile hope that is often reached for in productions that seek to render Young Lucius into a ray of hope for interracial reconciliation and a brighter future [...] the ending alarmingly anticipated a future in which children are willing to kill those who threaten the purity of their own race.” over an orange background with the SB logo.
December 18, 2025 at 5:22 PM
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Today’s Extra Credit focuses on Pascale Aebischer’s article, ““Why dost not speak to me?”: An Interview with Letty Thomas on Performing Lavinia”. Check out these open-access resources to go along with this open-access article!

📰: muse.jhu.edu/issue/55948
December 15, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
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Today’s Extra Credit focuses on Stephannie S. Gearheart’s article, ““This island’s mine”: Imagining Alternatives to Thatcherism through Ghosting in Derek Jarman’s The Tempest (1979)”. Check out these open-access resources to go along with this open-access article!

📰: muse.jhu.edu/issue/55948
December 10, 2025 at 7:42 PM
benbroadribb.bsky.social
Another Open Access issue, 43.2 features brilliant reviews from @pascaleexeter.bsky.social, Lucy J S Clarke, Adib Faiz, Laurie Maguire, @cheflory.bsky.social, @rachel-l-spence.bsky.social, @frarke.bsky.social Zola P Feasel and @joestephenson.bsky.social, @terribourus.bsky.social, Bernard Krumm, 1/2
shaxbull.bsky.social Shakespeare Bulletin @shaxbull.bsky.social · Nov 24
NEW ISSUE KLAXON: Shakespeare Bulletin 43.2 is now published via Project Muse! In this open-access issue, scholars and practitioners engage in conversations across time, media, and geographic distance.

📰: muse.jhu.edu/issue/55948
November 26, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
shaxbull.bsky.social
NEW ISSUE KLAXON: Shakespeare Bulletin 43.2 is now published via Project Muse! In this open-access issue, scholars and practitioners engage in conversations across time, media, and geographic distance.

📰: muse.jhu.edu/issue/55948
November 24, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
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Laurie Maguire reviews the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2025 production of Twelfth Night, dir. Prasanna Puwanarajah.

🎭: www.rsc.org.uk/twelfth-nigh...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/971403

📷: Helen Murray
An image of Feste (Michael Grady-Hall) in a puffy, black and yellow clown outfit, with the text “Viola’s story had a happy ending only because it took place in the world of fiction, a world where “tempests are kind, and salt waves fresh in love” (3.4.388). In the production’s masterstroke, the play was framed as a Christmas story told by Feste.” over a blue background with the SB logo.
November 6, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Reposted by Dr. Benjamin Broadribb
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Emma Katherine Atwood and Olivia Soileau review Resurgens Theatre Company’s 2024 production of Tamburlaine the Great, Part One and Part Two, dir. Brent Griffin.

🎭: resurgenstheatre.org/past-product...

📰: muse.jhu.edu/article/971402

📷: John Michael Hoke
An image of Tamburlaine (Tamil Periasamy) holding Zenocrate’s (Faina Khibkin) bloody face with the text “Resurgens’s Tamburlaine the Great, Part One and Part Two was a tour de force, highlighting Marlowe’s musical language and forging an uncomfortable intimacy with tyrannical violence.” over a blue background with the SB logo.
November 6, 2025 at 2:54 AM