BEFORE THE TIME ON THE CHALLENGE EVEN STARTED

The unqualified confidence of AI is the new ‘unsinkable ship’ and it is increasingly likely that we’ll have a new Titanic situation.

One of my favorite cases of someone being Wrong on the Internet was a very earnest, very confused vegan who was telling people how cruel honey is; and it eventually turned out they thought honey was made by putting bees in a centrifuge and spinning them around until they threw up.

'I'm not interested in destroying the climate because you're too lazy to read' might be my favourite quick way of summing up the current situation. Lordy

Chuckling at the almost touching pointlessness of gifting Donald Trump a Michael Longley poem. Like playing Bach to a waffle iron.

Oh wait. That’s not why they’re here? They’re actually here to make sure the people protesting the rapist don’t get too uppity? Huh.

It’s heartening to see a strong Garda presence on Dublin’s streets to help protect women and children while a known rapist comes to visit

It's just weird isn't it when the British Museum is running a sold-out exhibition, when The Odyssey reports $1billion at the box office, when the V&A has just opened the most innovative and accessible museum model in Europe....and this is what our minister for research comes out with.

MEN! What are they good for? (Absolutely nothing) etc etc

Thanks Leah! Also I didn't realise you were at Galway; let me know when you're in Dublin and let's have a coffee!

Thank you! I’m looking forward to having written it!

BSA Conference 2027, 'Sounding Shakespeare: Voice, Music, Sound, Silence' CfP part 1: call for seminar and workshop proposals open now until 30 September! The conference will take place at the University of Leeds, 21-24 July 2027.

Thanks. I'm really excited to finally put this out there.

My Element argues that the language used to describe Caliban is metaphorical, not literal; productions which take such language at face value are complicit in the othering process that justifies indigenous enslavement/erasure.

But, in performance, productions all too often lean into dramaturgies of difference, othering the character of Caliban to the point of annihilating his humanity. To do so is de facto white supremacy in action, and sees Caliban merely through Prospero's eyes -- that is, a coloniser's eyes.

I've been wanting to write this book for aout 6 years, ever since I was editing The Tempest for Arden Performance Editions. Editing the play line by line convinced me once and for all that Caliban is no monster: he is entirely human.

Absolutely delighted to say that I’ve just signed a contract with Cambridge University Press to write a new short book (Element) in their Shakespeare Performance series. PERFORMING CALIBAN will explore how this character has been portrayed in UK theatres. I can’t wait to share it with you all.

You know what’s a great Irish value? Giving people a lovely welcome.

Here come the Space Nazis