As we get ready for the release of a brand new recording of SJ Brady’s Here She Comes, an adaptation of Euripides’ Bacchae, David Bullen takes a look at the character of Agave from the ancient to the modern stage. Agave appears at the end of Euripides’ Bacchae in one of the Read more…
To celebrate LGBTQ+ history month, we’ve thrown the spotlight on the ancient world, showcasing stories and figures that resonate with queer identities and life experiences today. True, it is impossible to exactly map our contemporary world onto the past – particularly when the gap is pushing at least two thousand Read more…
Last night I went to see the National Theatre’s production of Macbeth. It has been described as “the worst Shakespeare production at the NT for at least a decade” (see a roundup of reviews here) – and, having now seen it for myself, it’s got me to thinking. The National Read more…
I remember exactly the moment in my life when I read Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles. By Jove was being formed, I was going through a pretty rough patch three years into a five year relationship, and as I undertook my MRes I was becoming increasingly immersed in classical Read more…
In this new regular series, we introduce you to some of By Jove’s Icons – the women who inspire us in our theatrical work, research, activism, and personal lives. Check back every four weeks for a Who, When, and Why on our heroines! Who: Lillah McCarthy, actress When: 1875-1960 Read more…
This year’s annual Game of Thrones fever was an intense few weeks. The series is coming to a close, drawing together loose threads and tying up character arcs established six seasons ago. This is hugely exciting for long term fans of the series and fans of good television in general Read more…
The next show in By Jove’s Season of Violent Women, Here She Comes, draws its inspiration from one of Euripides’ final tragedies, The Bacchae. In that play, Dionysus inspires madness in all the women of Thebes, sending them up to nearby Mount Cithaeron to worship him in forested isolation; this Read more…
It’s been a grim week in politics (at least for some). Here, our co-artistic director David Bullen shares his thoughts… Last week we performed Margaret of Anjou, a reinvention of Shakespeare’s first tetralogy. In the programme we noted the parallels in the play with the American presidential election: Margaret is Read more…
This week on the By Jove blog, something we’ve not had in a while: a good, old-fashioned RANT, courtesy of our co-artistic director, David Bullen… This week Shakespeare’s Globe announced that their artistic director, Emma Rice, is to step down in 2018 after producing a mere two seasons at the Read more…
With less than two weeks to go until the opening of our Season of Violent Women, co-artistic director David Bullen explores why we might have to think about renaming the whole thing… The current race to be the next president of the USA has historic significance: for the first time Read more…