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The Play's the Thing

CiRCE Podcast Network
Shakespeare
Hamlet
Macbeth
Henry V
As You Like It
Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare
Measure For Measure
Ophelia
Leadership
Isabella
FATE
Gertrude
Romantic Love
Claudio
Rome
Antony and Cleopatra
Ambition
Claudius
Lady Macbeth

The Play's the Thing is the ultimate podcast resource for lovers of Shakespeare. Dedicating six episodes to each play (one per act, plus a Q&A episode), this podcast explores the themes, scenes, characters, and lines that make Shakespeare so memorable. In the end, we will cover every play The Bard wrote, thus permitting an ongoing contemplation and celebration of the most important writer of all t... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes209Founded8 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
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Latest Episodes

This week Tim is joined by a family of Shakespeare fans who are full of questions, including, "How many words did Shakespeare create?"

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William Shakespeare is the most celebrated dramatist in the English language, perhaps any language. But who was the man behind the plays? Part two of two.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

William Shakespeare is the most celebrated dramatist in the English language, perhaps any language. But who was the man behind the plays? Part one of two.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Tim and Sarah-Jane as they answer your questions about Shakespeare's most underrated play.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Key Facts

Accepts Sponsors
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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Recent Guests

Theophilus Mayetta
13-year-old student, participant in the Q&A
Paideia School (Fort Collins)
Episode: The Life of Shakespeare Q&A (rerun)
Mercedes Mayetta
16-year-old student, participant in the Q&A
Paideia School (Fort Collins)
Episode: The Life of Shakespeare Q&A (rerun)
Titus Mayetta
11-year-old student, participant in the Q&A
Paideia School (Fort Collins)
Episode: The Life of Shakespeare Q&A (rerun)
Sophia Maietta
Assistant Producer on The Play's the Thing
The Play's the Thing
Episode: The Life of Shakespeare Q&A (rerun)
Emily Maietta
Mother of the Mayetta children; involved in broader season planning
Paideia School / Family
Episode: The Life of Shakespeare Q&A (rerun)
Judith Sparky Roberts
The guest, a theater educator and actor with a background in directing Shakespeare
The Play's the Thing / The CiRCE Podcast Network
Episode: The Merchant of Venice: Bonus with Sparky Roberts (rerun)
James Shapiro
Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, author of Shakespeare in a Divided America
Columbia University
Episode: James Shapiro and Shakespeare in a Divided America (rerun)
Mary Pat Rogers
Has a master's degree from the University of Dallas and teaches rhetoric, Latin, and British literature, especially Shakespeare.
University of Dallas
Episode: Measure for Measure: Act V

Hosts

Tim McIntosh
Host of the series with a theatre background, often steering discussions with a mix of performance insight and scholarly context
Heidi White
Co-host providing literary and performance perspective, noted for commentary on Hamlet and other plays
Sarah-Jane Bentley
Co-host known for close readings, discussion of staging and teaching Shakespeare

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 378 ratings
  • Seem knowledgeable, but…

    …the are VERY long winded and they have fallen into the trap of thinking the they’re the smartest people in the room and that they are the authority and that ONLY they have the proper interpretation of Shakespeare.

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    McDuck1977
    United States3 months ago
  • So Awesome!

    You folks are manna from Shakespeare Heaven. Thank you so very much.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    RevAvery
    United States4 months ago
  • So thankful!

    I am so thankful to have found this podcast. What a delight! My Shakespeare cup runneth over!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    torahforall
    United States9 months ago
  • To be Hamlet

    I have been enjoying your Hamlet series. As a literature teacher who knows every line of the full play, there are moments when I find your interpretations challenging me to think of beloved scenes in new ways. At others, I find myself talking back to where my ear pods shut off. Your discussion of Fortinbras in act 4 was one such place. Fortinbras is Hamlet’s foil, which Hamlet makes clear in the battlefield scene. Our protagonist envies Fortinbras. He is resolute, strong of mind and conviction—a... more

    Apple Podcasts
    4
    KTP1915
    United Statesa year ago
  • MacBeth

    This was an awesome discussion of MacBeth. I thought I knew the play well but I gained so much from listening to these episodes. Thank you!!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    elbybo
    United Statesa year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Listeners appreciate the deep, scholarly analysis and accessible teaching guidance.
Some praise the banter and classroom applications, others note long pauses and occasional rambling.
Many highlight the hosts' breadth of Shakespeare knowledge and practical teaching tips.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

The Life of Shakespeare Q&A (rerun)
Q: Why should we read Shakespeare rather than only see his performed works?
Reading lets you slow down, think about the words at your own pace, and gain deeper appreciation for meaning and craft that performance alone might rush past.
The Life of Shakespeare Q&A (rerun)
Q: Did Shakespeare intend for all his plays to be read?
We don't know for sure, but Shakespeare didn't publish them himself in his lifetime, and the actors who performed his plays initially played a key role in how they were shared with readers; reading allows slow, careful engagement with language.
Coriolanus: Q&A (rerun)
Q: What is Shakespeare saying about Rome and the state's autonomy through Volumnia and Coriolanus' relationship?
The hosts propose that Shakespeare critiques autocratic tendencies and emphasizes the danger of a state that consumes its defenders; Volumnia embodies patriotic zeal that both shapes and isolates her son, highlighting the price of political loyalty.
Coriolanus: Q&A (rerun)
Q: Why does Coriolanus' departure and eventual return provoke such strong reactions from the Volscians and Orpheus, and how does that shape the ending's tragedy?
They discuss how Coriolanus' earlier failure to reconcile personal honor with civic duty culminates in a public punishment by the very people he once defended, illustrating the play's central tension between individual courage and the demands of the state.
Coriolanus: Q&A (rerun)
Q: Is Menenius switching between blank verse and prose a device for signaling audience accessibility and the mood of the scene, rather than a simple status marker?
The hosts explain that Menenius uses prose and verse to signal public versus private discourse, and the shift can indicate mood, formality, and audience, not just class; later scenes show how these devices sometimes break the expected rule, revealing complexities in communication.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Gender Skew
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Frequently Asked Questions About The Play's the Thing

What is The Play's the Thing about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A meticulous Shakespeare-focused show that allocates six episodes per play (one per act) plus a Q&A, offering close readings, historical context, and staging ideas. Across episodes, listeners engage with themes like mercy, justice, love, fate, and moral philosophy, with hosts balancing textual analysis, performance insights, and classroom pedagogy. Notable strengths include accessible explanations of complex scenes, strong emphasis on hermeneutics and teaching applications, and a reputation for thoughtful banter that pairs scholarly rigor with practical interpretation. It's probably especially appealing to teachers, actors, and literature lovers who want deep dives that connect the text to modern reading and performance.

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How many listeners does The Play's the Thing get?

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How many subscribers and views does The Play's the Thing have?

To see how many followers or subscribers The Play's the Thing has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to The Play's the Thing?

These podcasts share a similar audience with The Play's the Thing:

1. Close Reads Podcast
2. The Literary Life Podcast
3. The Daily Poem
4. The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins
5. Read-Aloud Revival ®

How many episodes of The Play's the Thing are there?

The Play's the Thing launched 8 years ago and published 209 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact The Play's the Thing?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

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What guests have appeared on The Play's the Thing?

Recent guests on The Play's the Thing include:

1. Theophilus Mayetta
2. Mercedes Mayetta
3. Titus Mayetta
4. Sophia Maietta
5. Emily Maietta
6. Judith Sparky Roberts
7. James Shapiro
8. Mary Pat Rogers

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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