Tag Archives: drama

New Year’s Resolutions for Some Favorite Classic Characters

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

New Year’s was not always celebrated on 1 January. Ancient cultures celebrated the New Year in mid-March with the planting of a new crop. It is said that the Babylonians were the first to make New Year’s resolutions. That would … Continue reading →

Posted in books, drama, Elizabethan drama, Jane Austen, King Arthur, legends and myths, literature, playwrights, Pride and Prejudice, reading, reading habits | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Anna Larpent, 18th Century Diarist and Lover of Plays

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

An 18th Century diarist, Anna Larpent’s diary gives a look into Georgian life. She was the daughter of a diplomat. She served as the de facto assistant Examiner of Plays during her time. At age 18, Larpent pulished a 32-page … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, drama, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Jane Austen, playwrights, reading habits, real life tales, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Happy 5th Book Birthday to “Pride and Prejudice and a Shakespearean Scholar: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary”

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

Back in 2017, I landed upon an idea that became part of an Austen-inspired book. You see, there is this whole faction of people/experts who believe Francis Bacon and others within Bacon’s circle wrote Shakespeare’s plays. And guess what? Francis … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, blog hop, book excerpts, book release, British history, drama, excerpt, Georgian England, historical fiction, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, playwrights, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, reading habits, Vagary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

The Second Shepherds’ Play, England’s “First Comedy”

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Regina Jeffers

  The Wakefield mystery play cycle included The Second Shepherd’s Play. The author is unknown, but the play is commonly attributed to the Wakefield Master. This play dates from the latter half of the 15th Century. It is written in Middle … Continue reading →

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Is Shakespeare’s Play “Macbeth” Cursed?

Posted on June 2, 2021 by Regina Jeffers

As theatre was my minor in my undergraduate program, I often studied Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth,” and I have taught it many times. However, I have never performed in or directed the play. Even so, I know something of the “Curse … Continue reading →

Posted in acting, drama, Elizabethan drama, paranormal, playwrights, real life tales, research, theatre | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Origin of the Drama – Everyman and The Second Shepherd’s Play

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Regina Jeffers

Morality Plays, those in which the characters were allegorical persons would attempt to drive home a moral. They provided more scope to the imagination for new plots and incidents and afforded a  chance for delineation of characters. (For more information … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Chaucer, Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Saxons, British history, Chaucer, Church of England, drama, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Pre-Elizabethan Drama: Morality Plays

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

Previously, I did a piece on Liturgical Drama. Today I would like to look at Moralities. As compared to the Miracle or Liturgical dramas, the morality play was one where the playwright had to come up with an original story … Continue reading →

Posted in acting, Age of Chaucer, Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Saxons, British history, drama, medieval, playwrights, Vagary | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Pre-Elizabethan Drama: Morality Plays

The Theatre-Loving Fore-Runners of Shakespeare ~ Part I

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

 With the rediscovery of the works of Seneca, Plautus, and Terence, the renaissance of 16th Century England began. First edited in 1308 by an Nicholas Treveth, the tragedian Seneca remained unnoticed for some time by those in England, for Treveth … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglo-Normans, British history, drama, England, kings and queens, medieval, playwrights, theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Theatre-Loving Fore-Runners of Shakespeare ~ Part I

Shetland Sword Dance

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

 Sir Walter Scott wrote in his diary of the Shetland Sword Dance on 7 August 1814. “At Scalloway my curiosity was gratified by an account of the sword-dance, now almost lost, but still practiced in the Island of Papa…. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Saxons, British history, drama, literature, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

John Heywood, England’s First Great Dramatist

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Regina Jeffers

We know little of John Heywood’s life, other than the year of his birth, which was 1497. Likely, he was once served as a choir boy in the Chapel Royale and then studied at Oxford as a King’s Scholar. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Chaucer, British history, drama, kings and queens, playwrights, poetry, political stance, theatre | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments