Shakespeare's 400th anniversary

The schedule for the day is as follows. Students will participate in three sessions in rotation.

9.30am – 10am Arrival at Hope. The Conference will begin promptly at 10m.
10am – 10.15am Welcome to Liverpool Hope University
10.15am – 12pm Academic Sessions (including a 15 minute break)
12pm – 12.45pm Lunch (students are advised to bring a packed lunch, or money which can be used in our canteens)
12.45pm – 1.30pm Academic sessions
1.30pm – 2pm Plenary/Depart Hope
2pm – 3pm Optional Campus Tour (Please advise if you would like to book spaces on a tour)

Session 1. Speaking (and Not Speaking): Acting Measure for Measure Today Dr Stephe Harrop

This practical drama workshop will help students to appreciate the importance of speaking Shakespeare’s texts in order to gain a fuller sense of the meaning of his plays. We will think about the role of the actor in creating theatrical meaning, and explore the challenges of performing Shakespeare's dramatic verse in the twenty-first
century. Using speeches and scenes from Measure for Measure, we will also consider the impact that choices regarding speech, silence, and space can have on the interpretation of a play for a modern audience. Dr Stephe Harrop is Lecturer in Drama (Shakespeare and the Classics). Her research focuses on the practical and ethical challenges facing the modern performer of classical plays, and she has directed a number of Shakespeare’s most difficult works, including (most recently) Titus Andronicus.

Session 2. Sexuality, Gender, and Law in Measure for Measure Dr Lisa Walters

This session will explore cases of sexual slander from the records of ecclesiastical courts of the early seventeenth century in order to develop a greater understanding of the politics of Measure for Measure. In doing so, the session will consider how an understanding of prevailing attitudes towards gender and sexuality during the era of Shakespeare can enhance our understanding of his representation of justice and authority in this play. Dr Lisa Walters is a Lecturer in English. Her work on Shakespeare includes “Monstrous Births and Imaginations: Authorship and Folklore in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Renaissance and Reformation 39.1 (2016) and “Oberon and Masculinity in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” ANQ 26.3 (2013).

Session 3. Going to the theatre in Shakespeare’s London Dr Louise Wilson

This session will use interactive maps, early modern objects and non-literary texts alongside Measure for Measure to ask two related questions: what was London like during Shakespeare’s lifetime and, how does Shakespeare write about the experiences of the city in his plays? London underwent massive changes in the sixteenth century: the population grew quickly and the city adapted to the needs of its new inhabitants. This session will introduce the people, places, and events that audiences would encounter on their way to see a play at The Globe Theatre, and then discuss how this rapidly changing urban environment, and the new problems and opportunities it brought with it, are woven into the plots of Shakespeare’s plays. Dr Louise Wilson is Lecturer in English Literature (Medieval to Early Modern) at Liverpool Hope University. Her research focuses on early modern material and cultural history, and she collaborated with Professor Lukas Erne on the book Shakespeare and the Book Trade (2013), and the article, ‘The Popularity of Shakespeare in Print’, Shakespeare Survey 62 (2009).