King’s College, London broke from the 2016 pack in March of this year and hosted a one-day Beaumont conference, complete with a magnificent, Edwards Boys’ performance of Beaumont’s fascinating and quirky play, The Woman Hater.

In London’s snowy April, the focus has remained resolutely on Shakespeare, however. While some of the events and performances were specific to this commemorative year, others set the tone for ongoing investigations and conversations as we move forward into this next phase of Shakespearean inquiry. Many of the talks and walking tours focused on biographical and theatrical history. Julian Bowsher from Museum of London Archeology, for instance, offered Thames-based explorations of Shakespeare’s London, as well as visits to the current excavation site of the Curtain Theatre in Shoreditch. This ongoing archeological work prompted him to offer cautionary tales about the now outdated material presented about the Curtain in his award-winning 2014 book about Shakespeare’s London Theatreland.

Scholar/actor Eva Griffith, also emphasized theatre history when she offered a study day at the London Metropolitan Archives that focused on the Red Bull Theatre. The Red Bull site offers no visible remains of its theatrical past, but Griffith drew from her expertise (and her acting colleagues) to recreate some of the theatre’s prominent past, also detailed in her book A Jacobean Company and its Playhouse: The Queen's Servants at the Red Bull Theatre (c.1605-1619).

Sarah Dunstagheer, from the University of Kent, set the context for several current performances of The Winter’s Tale, in her Guildhall Library talk that presented evidence to suggest that the indoor theatres gaining prominence during this drama’s composition played a significant role in determining how many scenes, including the striking ending, were imagined and performed when the play was first written.

Documentary maker and historian Michael Wood came to St. Botolph’s without Aldgate in order to present his research into the family history of Mary Arden and its influence on Shakespeare’s plays. Arguing that the circumstances of one’s grandparents play a significant role in many people’s world views, he discussed the socioeconomic positions of Shakespeare’s grandparents and the ways that their shifting roles in society may have shaped the dramatist’s artistic creations.

Much has been occurring at Shakespeare’s Globe this month, as the Hamlet world tour returned to London and Artistic Director Dominic Dromgoole completed his tenure as artistic director. In the day-long symposium on intercultural Shakespeare marking the end of this ambitious theatrical project, Global Shakespeare’s Dr. Preti Taneja presented her work with Syrian refugees, along with scholars offering a wide range of perspectives on Shakespearean work across the world.

There have been other talks and many performances, including the “Complete Walk”, cinematic Shakespeare presented along the Thames on the weekend of the Shakespeare anniversary. The month is concluding with Dr. Taneja’s ambitious conference Indian Shakespeares on Screen. A rich time, indeed, for the Shakespeare world.