Author Archives

I am a writer and educator in Drama and Theatre Studies. My specialist areas are Shakespeare, particularly with regard to the female characters, dramaturgy and theatre history. Raising a little boy also gives me plenty of cause to reflect on parenting and social justice issues. While my active site is orlandocreature.wordpress.com you can find lots more of my writing archived at Hoyden About Town, under both Anna and my earlier handle, Orlando. Twitter: @orlandocreature

• Ahoy, ye scurvy knaves!

  By Anna on 2012-09-19 • ( 5 )

  

  It be annual Talk Like a Pirate Day.

• Wednesday I-wish-it-was-merely Whimsy: Renegade Raging Grannies

  By Anna on 2012-08-29 • ( 3 )

  Todd Akin’s medieval science + pithily excremental phrasing has brought out the musical in a number of people who are much cleverer than him.

• Friday Hoydens: Pussy Riot

  By Anna on 2012-08-24 • ( 5 )

  

  Three members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot were sentenced this week to two years in prison for singing a protest song in a Moscow cathedral.

• Wednesday Whimsy: So you’ve been accused of witchcraft…

  By Anna on 2012-08-15 • ( 5 )

  

  A handy guide to what you can expect: please share any bits and pieces you have come across recently that have surprised, delighted, intrigued or otherwise positively engaged you.

• Friday Hoyden: Katie Taylor

  By Anna on 2012-08-10 • ( 4 )

  

  Katie Taylor, of the Republic of Ireland, just won a gold medal in the 60kg lightweight division of the first women’s boxing competition to be held at the Olympics.

• Is Whimsy Just for Wednesdays?

  By Anna on 2012-07-31 • ( 11 )

  

  This is for Megpie, because I just went over to your blog for the first time, saw your gif in the top left corner, and thought you would enjoy it. (Others may too.) Professor Elemental – “Cup of Brown Joy”… Read More ›

• Why I Would Rather Let My Son Watch X-Men than Bob the Builder

  By Anna on 2012-07-23 • ( 7 )

  

  With my child reaching the advanced age of four and a half I am having a harder time keeping him on the television designed for very little people, and he is starting to ask for the stuff with superheroes in… Read More ›

• Friday Hoydens: Women of Firefly

  By Anna on 2012-07-20 • ( 14 )

  

  Zoe, Kaylee, River and Inara. The four graces. Different talents, different struggles, different features, different life experiences. Same life-affirming energy. I wish we could have heard more of their stories, and maybe one day I will get around to reading… Read More ›

• Friday Hoyden: Poppy King

  By Anna on 2012-07-13 • ( 6 )

  

  If I write about a present-day hoyden she is most likely to be a raving lefty like Camila Vallejo. To balance the scales somewhat, I thought it would be novel to feature a capitalist hoyden this week. Digging around in… Read More ›

• Friday Hoyden: Artemis

  By Anna on 2012-07-06 • ( 6 )

  

  With Katniss and Merida currently ruling our movie screens, this is a great year for women with a flair for archery. Certainly time, then, to give some love to the prototype arrow-wielding woman, the Greek goddess Artemis.