Who can explain the alchemical transformation that is rehearsal? Actors begin with words on a page and emerge with a fully formed theater production. In her documentary, Acting, director Sophie Fiennes captures the magic of actors connecting with their text and characters during a workshop with the world-renowned Cheek by Jowl theater company.

Eight actors haunt the halls of Twyford Abbey, a crumbling derelict mansion on the outskirts of London as they explore scenes and monologues from Macbeth. Cheek by Jowl founders and co-artistic directors Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod lead the cast through their unique rehearsal process, uncovering surprising truths not just about Macbeth but about the craft of acting itself.

Since 1981, Cheek by Jowl has staged critically acclaimed productions in over 50 countries and multiple languages, with a special emphasis on Shakespeare. Donnellan has directed and Ormerod has designed over 45 productions with Cheek by Jowl.

In this episode, Fiennes, Donnellan, and Ormerod share about their collaborative journey, the keys to unlocking a scene, and why "life isn't realistic."

Long before his iconic portrayal of Logan Roy in Succession, Brian Cox trod the boards as a Shakespearean actor.

For over 50 years, Cox has made his mark on both stage and screen, collecting Olivier Awards, a Primetime Emmy, a Golden Globe, and countless other accolades. He's best known for roles in Super Troopers, The Bourne Identity, Braveheart, Rushmore, and, of course, Succession, but he's also played Orlando in As You Like It, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Titus in Titus Andronicus, and the title role in King Lear at age 44.

Cox is currently in Washington, DC, to portray Johann Sebastian Bach in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of The Score, following performances in London's West End and at Theatre Royal Bath. His real-life wife, Nicole Ansari-Cox, plays the powerhouse role of Anna Magdalena Bach. An internationally acclaimed actor who began her career in Germany, Ansari-Cox has acted on Broadway, the West End, the Public Theatre Vienna, and the Thèâtre du Soleil in Paris as well as on film and television.

In this episode, they discuss portraying the Bachs, revisiting Lear, finding the "flow" of a scene, and why Logan Roy is "one of the most misunderstood characters in drama."

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published October 6, 2026. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the executive producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Technical support was provided by Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Web production was handled by Megan Fraedrich. Transcripts are edited by Leonor Fernandez. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

How do you write a "complete" life of Shakespeare when very little complete information about his life exists?

Four centuries after Shakespeare's death, the legends that have grown up around him have taken on a cultural significance of their own. As Inaugural Folger Chair in Shakespeare Studies Paul Menzer puts it, "The verifiable facts of his life would fit on the back of a postcard. But the stories that we have told about them would fill a dozen phone books."

Menzer's new book, The Complete Life of William Shakespeare, dives into the life story of one of history's most editorialized yet most enigmatic figures, navigating the space between fact and fancy. Did Shakespeare embark on a lone hero's journey, or was his move to London more of a family road trip? Could such a great poet have also been a shrewd businessman? And why aren't there more Shakespeares out there?

In this episode, Menzer lays out the known facts of the Bard's biography and posits how we might connect the dots on what's missing—while throwing some "wobbles into the orbit" of well-trenched folk wisdom.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published September 22, 2026. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the executive producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Technical support was provided by Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Web production was handled by Megan Fraedrich. Transcripts are edited by Leonor Fernandez. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.