Episode description

***WARNING***  

The following contains some discussion of references to sexual assault within the Early Modern period and its plays - viewer discretion is advised.   

In this week's episode of Exit, Pursued By A Bard, Elliot is talking to one of the founding members of the Canterbury Shakespeare Festival, Philip Hunt. Phil previously directed for the festival, performed in it, helped to run it on the original committee. He has since specialised in the Early Modern period at Oxford University postgraduate level, particularly looking at queer non-canonical texts in the period. 

In this fascinating talk, Phil talks about the different attitudes towards homosexuality in the Early Modern period more broadly, before going into detail about the different spectrum of sexuality and friendship in Early Modern period and its drama. He also looks at queerness in Shakespeare and his contemporaries, the working dynamic of Boy Actors who played both men and women on the stage, cross-dressing, as well as gay humour that made it past the censor and didn't put the audience off!