Ooh Susanne, if you like genre, you’re going to have a LOT of fun with this play! XD

Hi everyone, I’m Susanne – another first-time reader of the play.

I specialise in (early modern) law and literature, and have a particular interest in genre (how do early modern genre politics/evolving genres influence the depiction of legal conflicts on the stage?), revenge, and non-Shakespearean drama. Oh, and pirates! Because the German…[Read more]

Hi everyone, I’m Duncan, and I’m currently in the final(ish) year of a PhD in Education and Applied Linguistics, doing a case study on teaching Shakespeare workshops at a Chinese university using ethnomethodology (the other EM I’m interested in). It was a surprise to find myself in the social sciences, as for many years I taught film studies,…[Read more]

Hi everyone, I’m Ellie and an early modernist with a special interest in gender, politics, and the practice-based/staging side of things. I’m also Nora’s colleague right now which is a) how I know she’s awesome and b) how I know about The Birth of Merlin! I’m very grateful to her for setting up a structured way for me to finally read this play.…[Read more]

Hi, everyone! I’m Charlene and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I’ve not read this play before but I am a big proponent of early modern theatre not by Shakespeare. I’m the artistic director of Brave Spirits Theatre of Alexandria, VA, and we produce more of Shakespeare’s contemporaries than any other theatre company in the DC metropolitan area,…[Read more]

Hello! My name is Sally. I’ve never read this play before, but I’m interested in early modern drama and its afterlives.

My work is on archives of mostly-Shakespeare performances since the Restoration–I’ve worked on performance photography, and I’m currently working on a project with the Royal Collections and trying to think about letters,…[Read more]

Hello, I’m Dave! I have read this play more often than I care to admit, although I can never remember exactly what happens in it. My general perception is that the first three acts are fantastic and then it goes off the rails. But I look forward to being corrected.

I once wrote a book about Middleton and Rowley’s collaborations. Birth of Merlin…[Read more]

Hi everyone! My name is Brandi and I’m a first time reader of the play.

I am interested in the history of the book and reading–including spaces of reading such as libraries, studies, and the university– as they are performed in 16th and 17th century early modern drama. I’ve also recently become very interested in the politics of editing early…[Read more]

Hello. My name is Eoin and I am pleased to join this group. It has been a very long time since I read this play.

I’m interested in the politics of printing and performing 16th and 17th century plays and in reprints and revivals of early modern drama in later centuries, including our own. My pronouns are he/him/his. When I am not doing early…[Read more]