British Graduate Shakespeare Conference

This year’s programme for the British Graduate Shakespeare Conference (The Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, 26-28 May 2011) is taking its final shape, and some more exciting speakers have confirmed their attendance. The extended registration period for the conference ends on 25th April.

- Professor Stanley Wells (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, former Director of the Shakespeare Institute) will be joining us this year at BritGrad to discuss his latest book, Shakespeare, Sex and Love (Oxford University Press, 2010).

- Following the performance of George Chapman’s The Memorable Masque, directed by Jacque MacDonald at the Hall of the Shakespeare Institute, the discussion panel will include Professor Martin White (University of Bristol).

- A plenary panel will be dedicated to the refurbished Royal Shakespeare Company venues and the possibilities of these spaces for the performance of Renaissance drama.

- The upcoming publication of British Drama 1533-1642: A Catalogue (Oxford University Press, 2011 et seq.) will be celebrated with a plenary session with the participation of its authors, Dr Martin Wiggins (The Shakespeare Institute) and Dr Catherine Richardson (University of Kent).

- Dr Jaq Bessell and her Performance Research Group will also take part in the conference with a practical workshop session. Recent successes of the Group include their version of Antony and Cleopatra for two actors and a piano, which was performed several times in 2010, including a performance at the International Shakespeare Conference in the summer.

- Matthew Frost will be joining us on behalf of Manchester University Press as a plenary speaker in a session on academic publishing under the title Publishing and the PhD.

- Delegates will be offered the opportunity of attending a performance of The Merchant of Venice directed by Rupert Goold, with Sir Patrick Stewart reprising the role of Shylock, that he played in 1978 at The Other Place (Dir. John Barton).

- On Friday 27, delegates may sign up to take a guided tour of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s library and archives, held at the Shakespeare Centre, ending with a display of material from their Shakespeare and local collections, which include the archive of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

- Scheduled social events will include a themed party at the fabulous No. 1 Shakespeare Street, and a closing reception at the beautiful gardens of Hall’s Croft—the house that belonged to William Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna and her husband, Dr John Hall—kindly sponsored by the Routledge Annotated Bibliography of English Studies (ABES).


It would be greatly appreciated if university departmental contacts could print and display the attached CFP to promote the conference at their institutions. Full registration details at www.shakespeare.bham.ac.uk/BritGrad/

We look forward to welcoming you at the Shakespeare Institute in May!


Yours,


The Thirteenth Annual British Graduate Shakespeare Conference
26-28 May 2011
The Shakespeare Institute
Mason Croft, Church Street
Stratford-upon-Avon, WARKS
CV37 6HP England