On 15 September 2018, Shakespeare’s Globe staged the comedy ‘The Queen’s Arcadia’ by Samuel Daniel, in the original venue where it premiered for Queen Anne in 1605: Christ Church hall, Oxford.
Dr Elizabeth Sandis, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the Shakespeare Institute, introduced the play, explaining its historical context and its place in the canon of Renaissance drama. She is currently academic advisor to the Globe staging university plays for their new series.
Sandis' research interests span the full corpus of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century drama, specialising in plays which bear witness to multilingual practices, Classical influences, the pedagogical functions of drama, and the relationships between educational institutions in early modern England.
Through their project Read Not Dead, the Globe are bringing to life the forgotten gems of Shakespearean England to give audiences insights into the wide range of works produced in Renaissance theatres. Each performance combines the expertise of the Globe and university academics working together, creating a unique experience for audiences who are watching live research in action.