The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Thornton Wilder’s American classic Our Town include additional notes on Wilder’s approach to staging, his theme of the archaeology of history, and the sacramental tone and message of the play.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Joe Orton’s classic black comedy, Entertaining Mr Sloane, include additional notes on Orton’s alter-ego Edna Welthorpe, the language of keeping up appearances, Sloane’s lack of innocence, and the character of Kemp.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on William Shakespeare’s subversive romantic comedy, Twelfth Night, include additional notes on the characters of Viola and Sebastian.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on William Shakespeare’s bloody tragedy, Titus Andronicus, include notes on the original published texts of the play; the “wilderness of tigers” that is Rome; racism in the character of Aaron and his relationship with Tamora; and Lavinia’s awful fate.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Mark Rosenblatt’s award-winning play, ‘Giant’, include a selection of trivial facts about Dahl, as well as observations on the character of Jessie Stone and the balance of our sympathies.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist satire, Rhinoceros, include observations on the limits of logic as outlined by the character of the logician in the play, and the process and reasoning that people go through in choosing to join the herd.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus the King, include additional notes about Sophocles and Aristotle; Oedipus and the riddle of the Sphinx; the role of the Theban chorus in the play; and the power of the prophet Tiresias.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters include observations on the many who are disappointed in love; the two Mashas in Three Sisters and The Seagull; the hapless but admirable character of Tuzenbach; and the recurring symbol of migrating birds.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, include notes on Nina Simone’s ‘Young, Gifted and Black’, the Hansberry family’s fight for their home, the character of George, and how music underlines different cultural identities for the characters in the play.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof include observations on Maggie’s desire for Brick; Brick’s feelings for Maggie; what happened between Skipper and Maggie, and Brick’s denial; how Williams projected his own torments into his characters; the subjugation of the women; Gooper and Mae’s performances; and Brick and Big Daddy’s existential battle.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Oscar Wilde’s trivial comedy for serious people, The Importance of Being Earnest, comprise some trivial notes on the source of Lady Bracknell’s name and the Brighton railway line, and some serious notes on the missing scene from the original draft of the play, and the trials of Oscar Wilde.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot comprise thoughts on some of Beckett’s sources of inspiration for the play, on the theme of waiting, as well as a few interesting details about the first productions of the play.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Mike Leigh’s period classic, Abigail’s Party, include observations on Beverly’s true self, the significance of music in the play, wine as a symbol of class, and the forewarnings of Laurence’s heart attack.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Harold Pinter’s two short plays The Lover and The Collection, include notes on the portrait of Sarah and Richard in The Lover as a conventional bourgeois English couple and their divergent ideas of sexual identity, and on Pinter’s clever dual construction of The Collection.

The Footnotes that accompany our episode on Nikolay Gogol’s classic satire The Government Inspector, include notes on the source for the plot of the play, Gogol’s reaction to the initial reception to the play, as well as extracts from the playwright’s character notes for the actors.

The Footnotes to our episode on Duncan Macmillan’s devastating and humane portrait of addiction, People, Places & Things, include observations on Emma’s propensity to lie, and on how she uses her intelligence to resist the prescribed treatments and to delude herself.

The Footnotes to our episode on Harold Pinter’s breakthrough play, The Caretaker, include notes on the source for the character of Aston, the use of language as a means of evasion and negotiation, and the significance of Aston’s statue of Buddha.

The Footnotes to our episode on Eugene O’Neill’s magnum opus Long Day’s Journey into Night contain observations on the publication and first production of the play, James Tyrone the actor, Mary’s preoccupation with the past, and O’Neill’s dramatic form.

The Footnotes to our episode on Jez Butterworth’s play The Hills of California contain more on the traumatic relationship between Veronica and Joan, and on the autobiographical sources of key elements in the play.

The Footnotes to our episode on Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People include notes about the source of Ibsen’s plot, his attack on the integrity of the press, his pitting of progressive thinkers versus conservatives, and the controversy in Dr Stockmann’s tirade at the public meeting.

The Footnotes to our episode on William Shakespeare’s Othello include notes about the source of Shakespeare’s plot, the meaning of the terms “Barbarian Moor”, more on the form and settings of the play, how the changing view of race has been reflected in the performance history of the play, examples of how the language of colour codifies racism, and some final thoughts on the tragic ending of the play.

The Footnotes to our episode on Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming include notes about Vivien Merchant as the original Ruth, Ruth and Lenny not visiting Venice, the sibling rivalries on display, and Pinter’s “comedy of menace”.

The Footnotes to our episode on Federico Garcia Lorca’s tragedy The House of Bernarda Alba include observations on the opening scenes of the play, the limited opportunities for women in the villages of Spain, and the character of the madwoman in the attic, Bernarda’s mother, Maria Josef.

The Footnotes to our episode on Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts include more on the storm that greeted the original publication of the play, an appreciation of Ibsen’s mastery of structure, his use of sexual disease as a moral metaphor, Mrs Alving missing out on “the joy of life”, and the symbols that enrich this naturalistic drama. 

The Footnotes to our episode on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion include an intriguing fact about a special guest at the premiere of the play, more observations on the ending of the play and what happened afterwards to Eliza, and a tribute to the genius of Alfred Doolittle.

The Footnotes to our episode on William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream include observations on the forest as a setting for love and dreams, on the play as democratic drama, and on the not-so-hidden meanings in the names of the rude mechanicals. 

The Footnotes to our episode on Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa include more on the meaning of dancing in the play, as well as some observations on the characters of Kate and Father Jack.

The Footnotes to our episode on Noël Coward’s Private Lives include observations on what kind of love is on show in the play, on Sybil and Amanda as different kinds of women, and on the verbal precision of Coward’s language.

The Footnotes to our episode on Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire include more on the autobiographic sources for the play, observations on the character of Blanche’s young gay husband, and on the social context in the time the play was written.

The Footnotes to our episode on Michael Frayn’s comic masterpiece Noises Off include extracts from the fictional programme to Nothing On, the play-within-the-play, and a reprisal of one of the best jokes in the play.

The Footnotes to our episode on George Bernard Shaw’s romantic comedy Arms and the Man include further observations on Shaw’s satire of social pretensions, as well as references to a few of the great names who have taken on the role of Major Sergius Saranoff.

The Footnotes to our episode on C.P.Taylor’s Good include observations on Halder’s solipsism, his shameful betrayal of his friend Maurice, and how individual moral paralysis writ large can sanction a political crusade.

The Footnotes to our episode on Spring Awakening include observations on how Wedekind’s own life reflected events and values contained in the play; notes on how the first production was finally able to take place fifteen years after the play was written; and some of the parallels with Goethe’s Faust.

The Footnotes to our episode on The Crucible include some facts about the Salem Witch Trials and Miller’s invention; the meaning of the title of the play; and the instinct for self-preservation that drives many of the characters’ behaviour. 

The Footnotes to our episode on Jerusalem include thoughts on the choice of Byron for Rooster’s surname, his retinue of Lost Boys, and the wonders of the stagecraft in the play and London production.

The Footnotes to our episode on The Caucasian Chalk Circle include notes on the origin of the chalk circle, the Soviet setting of the Prologue, Brecht’s views on the purpose of art, and the pleasures of the language in the play.

The Footnotes to our episode on The Seagull by Anton Chekhov include how the Moscow Arts Theatre adopted the seagull as their emblem, Chekhov’s active love life, the principle of Chekhov’s Gun, who is Masha’s father, and the comedy and tragedy of Konstantin.

The Footnotes to our episode on Patrick Marber’s play Closer include observations on the chronology of the scenes in the play, Marber’s clever manipulation of time and space in staging, the Newton’s Cradle prop, and the meaning of the title.

The Footnotes to our episode on Much Ado About Nothing include more on the meaning of the title, the rhetoric in play in the verbal tennis of the dialogue, and the changing perception of Beatrice through the ages.

The Footnotes to our episode on Middle include the significance of Crouch End, the sources of our personal life goals, and what the musical selections in the play signal.

The Footnotes to our episode on All My Sons include Miller’s sources of the story in the play, observations on his critique of the American Dream, and the characters of Ann and George Deever.

The Footnotes to our episode on Clybourne Park include listening for the echoes of the first act in the second half of the play, the small things that reveal the characters’ unconscious bias, and how we define the tribes we belong to.

The Footnotes to our episode on Brian Friel’s play Faith Healer include observations on the elusive faith of the healers and the healed, and on the emotional truth of our memories.

The Footnotes to our episode on Blasted include observations on the sources of the title of the play, and on the writers that infuenced Kane as she wrote it.

The Footnotes to our episode on Doubt include observations on the cat and mouse duel between Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn, and the journey for Sister James from innocence to doubt and confusion.

The Footnotes to our episode on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time include observations on the dramatic irony at work in the play – ironically it’s not as simple as we may think – as well as the uncommon and common challenges of parenting, and the peeling away of labels.

The Footnotes to our episode on Best of Enemies include observations on how TV brought the conventions of 1968 and the conflicts on the streets of America and in Vietnam into people’s living rooms in full colour; how the issues of the day then still preoccupy us today; and how the bruising encounter between Buckley and Vidal haunted both men ever after.

The Footnotes to our episode on Macbeth include observations on the unnatural, propulsive pace of the play, and on the origins and interpretations of Shakespeare’s three ‘weird’ sisters.

The Footnotes to our episode on Blue/Orange include some further thoughts on the significance of the slightly awkward back slash in the title of the play.

The Footnotes to our episode on Hamlet include further thoughts on the nature of Hamlet’s ‘madness’, why the flawed hero retains our sympathy throughout the play despite some aspects of his behaviour, and how we can draw a credible psychological path for Ophelia’s descent.