Current Talks
Shakespeare Club members are entitled to attend eight talks a year, usually on the second Tuesday of the month between October and May, at 7.30pm. These friendly occasions are an opportunity to meet others interested in Shakespeare, and to hear academics talk about their latest research, practitioners share their expertise, or performers showcase their talents. Talks are often illustrated by images or video. Speakers are usually delighted to answer questions from their audience. The current programme is below.
2025-2026 season
14 October 2025. Rev Dr Paul Edmondson, Local Studies Specialist, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Honorary Fellow of the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham. Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, and I. Presidential Evening.
11 November 2025. Dr Abigail Rokison-Woodall, The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham. Stratford’s Round House (including a short film)
8 December 2025 . Christopher Saul. Exit Pursued By a Bard: A jobbing actor’s meandering journey through a landscape of Shakespearean productions over the last 60 years. Devised and Presented by Christopher Saul.
13 January 2026. Rob Eastaway, Director of Maths Inspiration. Much Ado About Numbers: Shakespeare’s Mathematical Life and Times.
10 February 2026. Dr Tracy Borman, author, historian and broadcaster: The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit & the Death of the Tudor Dynasty.
10 March 2026. Dr Elizabeth Hardy. Ellen Terry’s Performances in Shakespeare during her twenty-year partnership with Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre in London.
7 April 2026. Dr Manuela Perteghella, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Stratford-upon-Avon and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Shakespeare, From Globe to Government: Shakespeare in Translation and in Parliament.
12 May 2026. Professor Alison Shell, University College London. Shakespeare and the English Counter-Reformation: King Lear’s Spiritual Directions.
