William Shakespeare - Playwright to The King

On the 1st of Janurary, 1604, Hampton Court Palace hosted a performance by William Shakespeare's acting troupe, The King's Men. They were booked to perform for the new King of England, James VI of Scotland, and one of the plays that they chose was 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. What did it mean to be part of 'The King's Men'? How did Shakespeare's relationship with James VI and I shape his life and his plays? In this episode, Curator Brett Dolman welcomes Dr Will Tosh to the Great Hall at Hampton Court, one of few surviving places where we can tread in Shakespeare's footsteps, to discuss the nature and impact of royal patronage on Jacobean theatre. Read more about Shakespeare at Hampton Court Palace on our website. Dive into the history of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with blogs from The Globe. Buy Will Tosh's book 'Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare' here.

You can listen to William Shakespeare - Playwright to The King online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

William Shakespeare - Playwright to The King is an episode from Talks and Lectures by Historic Royal Palaces.

This episode is 44:04 long.

This episode was published on Jan 29, 2026.

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