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

• Pamela Denoon Lecture 2016: Nelly Thomas

  By Anna on 2016-03-03 • ( 1 )

  

  On International Women’s Day, for those who can make it to Canberra, the annual Pamela Denoon Lecture will be given by Nelly Thomas on the topic of “Sexual Equality: negotiating a modern minefield”. From their website: While sex is ubiquitous,… Read More ›

• Shakespeare in Australia

  By Anna on 2016-02-17 • ( 1 )

  

  Shakespeare TwentyScore is marking 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, including event listings for Australia. The anniversary date is 23 April, but all kinds of things will be taking place all through 2016, so keep checking for updates, and expanding resources pages. Please come and visit the website, follow our Facebook page and find us on Twitter at @Shakes20Score.

• King Lear and Family Dramas

  By Anna on 2015-12-22 • ( 1 )

  

  I have a piece up at The Conversation on how King Lear is a great primer in common dysfunctional emotional/behavioural patterns between an ageing parent and adult children. It’s a seasonal special! King Lear and Family Gatherings There are plot summary… Read More ›

• Friday Hoydens: Women in Theatre

  By Anna on 2015-11-13

  

  The Irish theatre scene is currently in an uproar of the best kind. In 1904 the Abbey Theatre in Dublin was co-founded, with W.B. Yeats and Edward Martyn, by Augusta, Lady Gregory to give the voice of the Irish nation… Read More ›

• Friday Hoyden: Princess Sophia Duleep Singh

  By Anna on 2015-10-23 • ( 5 )

  

  “Taxation without representation is a tyranny… I am unable to pay money to the state, as I am not allowed to exercise any control over its expenditure.” – Princess Sophia’s response in court, on charges of refusing to pay licence… Read More ›

• Talk like a pirate day Friday Hoyden: Sayyida al Hurra

  By Anna on 2015-09-18 • ( 2 )

  

  It be that time o’ the year once more when we don our arrghs and polish up our mateys for tomorrow’s Talk Like a Pirate Day (19th September). It’s a great time to remind ourselves that women could be just… Read More ›

• Brainstorming session: Shakespeare 400

  By Anna on 2015-08-17 • ( 4 )

  

  Here’s a little bit of Australian history trivia: the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death coincided with the first celebration of ANZAC day. Sydney’s Shakespeare memorialists had spent four years planning major events, including booking the fanciest theatre in town for… Read More ›

• Friday Hoyden: Bree Newsome

  By Anna on 2015-07-03 • ( 1 )

  

  After the murder of nine people at a Bible study group in a church in South Carolina, USA, in a white supremacist terrorist massacre specifically targeting black Americans, many people’s patience has run out with the display of racist symbols… Read More ›

• Friday Hoydens: Shakespeare’s Aptronymic Ingénues

  By Anna on 2015-06-12 • ( 4 )

  

  Cross-posted from Flaming Moth Towards the end of his career, Shakespeare wrote a string of plays that make a feature of the relationship between an ageing patriarch and a daughter who is coming into adulthood. These young women are all possessed… Read More ›

• Friday Hoyden: Hildegard von Bingen

  By Anna on 2015-04-03 • ( 4 )

  

  Long ago I promised a set of the “three wise H’s”. After Hrotsvit and Heloise, we are overdue to hear about Hildegard, and Good Friday seems like the perfect time to promote one of the great medieval Christian philosophers. She… Read More ›