Shakespeare professor turns spotlight on audience at Globe theatre lecture

Thursday, 08 June 2017

Shakespeare’s relationship with his audience will be explored at a prestigious lecture at the Globe theatre by a University of Reading expert this week.

Professor Grace Ioppolo, professor of English Literature, will present the 2017 Sam Wanamaker Fellowship Lecture at Shakespeare’s famous London theatre on Thursday 8 June.

She will look at how the playwright saw his relationship with audiences in his own time and in the future through studying his playhouses, actors and texts throughout history. The lecture will be illustrated by a Globe actor.

Professor Ioppolo was named the Sam Wanamaker Fellow for 2017. As well as presenting the lecture, Professor Ioppolo will also contribute to other research projects at the Globe.

The Sam Wanamaker Fellowship is awarded annually in honour of Samuel Wanamaker, an American actor and director who led the recreation of Shakespeare’s Globe. The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse within the theatre, named after him, hosts the lecture.

The invitation to serve as the 2017 Fellow was extended to Professor Ioppolo after she gave the inaugural SAM Talk in 2016 – on the 400th anniversary of the death of Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur Philip Henslowe. Professor Ioppolo led an ambitious project to digitise Henslowe’s archive of thousands of theatrical records, beginning in 2004, to create an important digital archive on early modern English theatre.

Since joining the English Literature department in 1999, Professor Ioppolo has assisted the Research Department of the Globe. She also works with the Education Department at the Globe, presenting annual lectures to MA students and attending or speaking at conferences and seminars.

The Sam Wanamaker Fellowship Lecture takes place at 8pm on 8 June at Shakespeare’s Globe. To buy tickets, visit the Shakespeare’s Globe website.