Shakespeare, Sir Thomas More and the Strangers’ Case
Shakespeare writes about race. A lot. Othello and The Merchant of Venice are just the best known examples. Most regard Shakespeare’s writings as humanising the …
Shakespeare Begins
Desdemona’s Tears rain down for another than she
In recent times, I have been working both on translating May Ziadeh’s poetry and publication of Cinthio’s Desdemona: The Story that Inspired Othello. With both …
Behind the scenes interview: Juliet is dead: Romeo’s Lost Scene
In the video below, director filmmaker Rhianna Spooner and author/translator Michael Curtotti talk about Juliet is Dead: Romeo’s Lost Scene: the new release short film …
Othello and Desdemona: An Italian novella of murder and manipulation
Until you read the stories that Shakespeare read, it’s difficult to fully understand the plays he wrote. This is the tale of a particular story …
Romeo and Juliet Go Down to Egypt
As far as we know, the first recognisable version of Romeo and Juliet was written by Masuccio Salernitano, or, by his proper name: Tommaso Guardati. …
What an Italian novella really taught me about Shakespeare …
It’s a strange place to look, you’d think. Shakespeare is an English poet. No … He is the English poet. So surely there would be …
An Interview with Dr Francesco Ricatti: Matteo Bandello’s Romeo and Juliet
Recently, I was privileged to speak with Dr Francesco Ricatti, Associate Professor of Italian Studies at the Australian National University who kindly arranged the interview …
Matteo Bandello’s Forgotten Tale of the Tragic Lovers Romeo and Juliet
Sometimes, you just can’t believe what you turn up in history. If I told you a rather odd (and almost forgotten) bishop was the one …
It’s funny, but Shakespeare is teaching me Italian stories
It’s curious to find the heart of Italy in the soul of England, but so it is. For Shakespeare put it there. For years now, …