Favourite shows 2021 (digital)

Despite the fact that theatres were once again up and running for about half the year (varying from place to place), there was still a massive appetite for digital productions going into 2021. The digital revolution has been a great step forward for accessibility (I’m pleased to see that a few venues are committing to […]

Most popular posts of 2021

Unsurprisingly, in terms of hits 2021 was the worst year on record – I don’t actually remember writing as much as I did, so I’m glad that you’re still reading the minimal output I provide! And despite the lack of motivation, I still managed to complete a couple of challenge weeks. I was obviously still […]

Love Theatre Day 2021: Brave new world?

Happy Love Theatre Day, everyone! This year I actually feel like marking it, not because all of London’s West End theatres are now back open for business (though that is obviously excellent news), but because I’m just about working out where theatre of all kinds fits into my peri-pandemic routine – note that I’m not […]

#MindTheBard: Broken Heart (Romeo & Juliet)

Let’s just say this hasn’t been the most typical of weeks, as far as the Giant Microbes are concerned, as the final pick is ‘broken heart’ – inspired by Romeo & Juliet. Though the two lovers don’t die of broken hearts, the combination of living in the pressure cooker of a familial feud (the Montagues & […]

#MindTheBard: Pox (All’s Well That Ends Well)

The great pox, or syphilis, crops up a fair amount in Shakespeare – ‘pox’ appears 23 times across 15 plays, basically thanks to it being a byword for ‘curse’ (kind of like ‘fuck this’ or ‘screw that’ now). Giant Microbes went for All’s Well That Ends Well, which I’m glad about as I’ve only seen it […]

#MindTheBard: Blood (Macbeth)

Obviously blood isn’t a disease, but its presence or absence is clearly a key difference between life & death – or, if you’re one of the Macbeths, a guilty reminder of the foul deeds on their CV. There is an awful lot of bloodshed in the Scottish Play, be it in battle, a guestroom regicide, […]

#MindTheBard: Leprosy (Henry VI, part 2)

Ah, leprosy. A disease (along with gout, syphilis & rabies) that for some reason makes me snigger, despite how terrible it would actually be to have it. It’s mentioned in a few of Shakespeare’s plays, but as the Henry VI Henriad is such a rarity, I thought this was the one to go for. This part […]

#MindTheBard: Madness (Hamlet)

Madness. Not the most sensitive or appropriate term, but simply extracted from today’s play: Hamlet. There are various different displays of what might have been understood to be ‘madness’ when Shakespeare wrote the play, but what we could now diagnose as depression, anxiety, paranoia, schizophrenia… The list goes on. But what of the Prince of Denmark […]

#MindTheBard: Boils (Coriolanus)

On this #ShakespeareSunday we head off to ancient Rome, where tempers are boiling over… The Tarquin kings have been expelled and there are riots in the street, as citizens grapple for grain; they’re also not best pleased with the general Caius Marcius, who reciprocates their contempt. The ‘microbe’ for today is the boil, which is […]

#MindTheBard: Leech (Henry V)

To kick off the week, we go once more unto the leech… Giant Microbes aren’t just about ‘germs’, as we shall see over the course of this week, with worms, organs & various other biomedical critters making up the collection. The humble leech has been sucked out of one of Shakespeare’s most well-known histories: Henry V. […]