Meryl Faiers
@merylf.bsky.social
Early modern commercial London theatre; the King’s Women: discovering the wives, sisters & daughters at the heart of Shakespeare’s acting company.
Sunken Ships, Shakespeare, and Whale Watching open.substack.com/pub/shakespe... An evocative post from Callan Davies on all things watery and Shakespearean, from a Swedish warship to whales in Suffolk.
Sunken Ships, Shakespeare, and Whale Watching
Maritime Shakespeare, Stockholm's extraordinary Vasa Museum, and whales in early modern East Anglia
open.substack.com
Shakespeare’s colleague John Heminges was apprenticed to grocer James Collins and when Collins died his widow Anne took over as apprentice master/mistress. My latest King’s Women blogpost takes up Anne’s story……….
My latest post for the Kings Women follows the archival traces of two women in the 1580s who ran their own businesses and took on apprentices, Anne Collins and Annabell Baye, paid up members of the Grocers Company. www.kingswomen.org/post/the-sis... #earlymodern #womenshistory #londonhistory
The Sisterhood of Grocers
by Meryl Faiers, 9 June 2026My most recent post (20 April 2026) offered a reconstruction of the life of Rebecca Heminges, the wife of a grocer (and actor - John Heminges). Now I'm looking at two of th...
kingswomen.org
My latest post for the Kings Women follows the archival traces of two women in the 1580s who ran their own businesses and took on apprentices, Anne Collins and Annabell Baye, paid up members of the Grocers Company. www.kingswomen.org/post/the-sis... #earlymodern #womenshistory #londonhistory
The Sisterhood of Grocers
by Meryl Faiers, 9 June 2026My most recent post (20 April 2026) offered a reconstruction of the life of Rebecca Heminges, the wife of a grocer (and actor - John Heminges). Now I'm looking at two of th...
kingswomen.org
www.kingswomen.org/post/alice-t... The latest blogpost from the King’s Women looks at new evidence identifying the woman who served drinks to theatregoers at the Globe tavern.
Alice Tapps White Jacob: Alleged Brothel-Keeper, and Landlady at the Globe Tavern
by Héloïse Sénéchal, 5 May 2026 In this blog post, Héloïse Sénéchal looks at new evidence identifying the woman who served drinks to theatregoers at the Globe tavern. The second Globe playhouse had a ...
kingswomen.org
www.kingswomen.org/post/alice-t... The latest blogpost from the King’s Women looks at new evidence identifying the woman who served drinks to theatregoers at the Globe tavern.
Alice Tapps White Jacob: Alleged Brothel-Keeper, and Landlady at the Globe Tavern
by Héloïse Sénéchal, 5 May 2026 In this blog post, Héloïse Sénéchal looks at new evidence identifying the woman who served drinks to theatregoers at the Globe tavern. The second Globe playhouse had a ...
kingswomen.org
I love maps - historic and modern - so Callan Davies’s latest article is a particular delight. shakespearestage.substack.com/p/navigating...
Navigating Shakespearean History
A meditation on mapping and the surveys of Ralph Treswell
shakespearestage.substack.com
www.theguardian.com/stage/ng-int... Agree with Michael Billington? Disagree? Either way, an excellent reminder of brilliant productions and performers, many of which shaped my own early theatregoing.
To see or not to see? Every single Shakespeare play – ranked!
Antony and Cleopatra? Exhausting. Lear? Magnificent but flawed. Hamlet? Limitless. For Shakespeare’s birthday, the Guardian’s former theatre critic ranks all the plays
theguardian.com
My latest blogpost for the Kingswomen introduces Rebecca Edwards: she married star actor William Knell at 14, was widowed at 15, then married Shakespeare’s colleague, John Heminges. www.kingswomen.org/post/rebecca... #earlymodern #womenshistory
Rebecca Heminges (1571-1619)
by Meryl Faiers, 20 April 2026Evidence of the lives of non-elite women is often fragmentary and frequently found in administrative records. The first stage of thinking about the experiences of someone...
kingswomen.org
My latest blogpost for the Kingswomen introduces Rebecca Edwards: she married star actor William Knell at 14, was widowed at 15, then married Shakespeare’s colleague, John Heminges. www.kingswomen.org/post/rebecca... #earlymodern #womenshistory
Rebecca Heminges (1571-1619)
by Meryl Faiers, 20 April 2026Evidence of the lives of non-elite women is often fragmentary and frequently found in administrative records. The first stage of thinking about the experiences of someone...
kingswomen.org
One of the First Comedy Double Acts? open.substack.com/pub/shakespe... Another great Friday piece from Callan Davies, this time on an Elizabethan husband and wife stand up duo.
One of the First Comedy Double Acts?
Meet Richard Tarlton, Elizabethan England's biggest celebrity, and his wife Kate in their stand-up venue...
open.substack.com
This travelogue post shares some of my new playhouse research, on the back of a very insightful trip to see some 400-year-old Spanish playhouses. It’s helped me understand the Shakespearen theatre scene more keenly. open.substack.com/pub/shakespe...
A Visit to the Spanish Playhouses
Golden Age Spain's 'corrales de comedias' as a guide to Shakespearean London's playhouses...
open.substack.com
History's Most Prolific English Playwright? open.substack.com/pub/shakespe... Latest post from Callan Davies - an introduction to and appreciation of Thomas Heywood, Shakespeare’s truly prolific contemporary.
History's Most Prolific Playwright?
On why we don't talk enough about Thomas Heywood...
open.substack.com
Stuck in traffic on your way to work? Here’s an excellent read from Callan Davies. A Shakespearean History of Traffic open.substack.com/pub/shakespe...
A Shakespearean History of Traffic
Could Shakespeare ride a horse? How did Tudor wine orders get delivered? Did playhouses cause congestion? and other questions
open.substack.com
I went in search of “our other Shakespeare” to find some of London’s less obvious theatre history. Meet Thomas Middleton just off the Elephant and Castle… open.substack.com/pub/shakespe...
Discovering London Through "Our Other Shakespeare"
The lost London homes of the dramatist Thomas Middleton
open.substack.com
Great blog by Callan Davies about Margaret Brayne and the (literal) building of the Theatre. shakespearestage.substack.com/p/margaret-b...
Margaret Brayne: the Forgotten Woman Who Built the Theatre Industry
You've probably never heard of her, but Margaret Brayne should be an icon of theatre history
shakespearestage.substack.com
I somehow doubt that I’m going to beat this total in 2026: 2025 was such a great reading year. But I’ll aim to at least match the figure.
The hospice which provided so much support in the last few weeks of my husband’s life is losing a major funding source - please consider helping if you can. Any or all of us may need the support of a hospice in the future. www.arhc.org.uk/protectourca...
Protect Our Care - Arthur Rank Hospice Charity
Protect Our Care Devastating funding cuts will close 9 of our 22 Inpatient unit beds at our Hospice in Cambridge, and have huge implications for local people. One chance to get this right The funding...
arhc.org.uk
No risky footwear for me when mounting steps to the stage to receive my doctorate yesterday. Huge thanks to everyone who’s helped and supported me through the last 9 (yes, 9) years.
Excited to be shortlisted for the @araukie.bsky.social Record-Keeping Service of the Year award for 2025! We believe our team is incredible, and if you think so too, we’d love your vote! Click below to support us: 👇 www.archives.org.uk/recordkeepin... #RecordKeeping #ARA
Excellent first conference yesterday organised by the Revels Office with a fantastic range of speakers (sorry, including me!) and a brilliant keynote by Catherine Richardson. Same time next year??
Everyone’s generosity has already helped me surpass my fundraising target of £1000. Please don’t stop now! Thank you.
On 21 June I’m joining this walk to raise funds for our local hospice, whose Hospice at Home team provided practical and emotional support so that my husband, David, could remain at home as he wished. Their work is vital - please support it! Thank you. arhc.enthuse.com/pf/meryl-peart
Star Shine Night Walk 2025
I'm taking part in the Star Shine Night Walk 2025 to help raise money for the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity and to celebrate the life of my husband of 45 years, David. The Hospice at Home team provided
arhc.enthuse.com
On 21 June I’m joining this walk to raise funds for our local hospice, whose Hospice at Home team provided practical and emotional support so that my husband, David, could remain at home as he wished. Their work is vital - please support it! Thank you. arhc.enthuse.com/pf/meryl-peart
Star Shine Night Walk 2025
I'm taking part in the Star Shine Night Walk 2025 to help raise money for the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity and to celebrate the life of my husband of 45 years, David. The Hospice at Home team provided
arhc.enthuse.com
Beautiful mural street painting in the Netherlands, by Jan Is De Man This makes my heart sing ❤️📚 #BookSky
Lecture series!👩🏫 'Performing (in) the Early Modern City': join myself, Dr Lydia Valentine, and Prof. Clare McManus Thursdays 29th May-12th June to hear about secret performance, sky-high performance, and the influence of civic performance on race-making in early modern London. 🧵more info below!
academic.oup.com/sq/article/7... Excellent article by Heloise Senechal on the area of Southwark around the Globe just published in the latest Shakespeare Quarterly.
The “dwellinge howse on the Banckside”: John Heminges and the Neighborhood of the Globe Playhouse
Early tales of a haunted site, the presence of “curious remains,” and eventually an archaeological dig have sustained fascination with the second Globe pla
academic.oup.com
