About

Does Shakespeare belong to the stage or the classroom? To the movie screen or the research paper? To the theater program or the English department? On Shakespeare’s Shadows, it’s all of the above — and the podcast. 

This is a podcast that celebrates how Shakespeare’s characters can be interpreted, examined, and reimagined in innumerable new ways.

Weaving together interviews with actors and academics, Shakespeare’s Shadows delves into a single Shakespeare character in each episode. Perspectives from the worlds of academia, theater, and film together shape explorations of the Bard’s shadows, his imitations of life — pretty darn good imitations, ones that reveal enough of ourselves that we’re still talking about them four centuries later.

Praised as “an absolute gem,” “impeccably edited and researched,” and “the perfect amount of nerdy and just excellent storytelling,” Shakespeare’s Shadows has been recognized as a valuable resource for actors and teachers.

Season 2 premiered in December 2023. Many thanks to all who supported the Kickstarter campaign to relaunch the podcast!

Created by Emily Rome
Art by Chris Weller
Original music by Daryl Chadwick

Emily Rome is an educator and a journalist published in Entertainment Weekly, American Theatre, The Hollywood Reporter, the Los Angeles Times, io9, and more. Currently based in Boston, Emily first launched the podcast while living in L.A., and she recently earned a master’s degree from the University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute. Among her enthusiasms are time travel stories, the Seattle Storm, avocados, and, of course, Shakespeare.