Oberon Shakespeare Study Group

Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre  (SARC) Director Dan Wright, PhD announced that SARC and Portland Center Stage will host "The Anonymous Colloquium" on January 28 and 29, 2012 at the Gerding Theatre at the Armory in downtown Portland, Oregon. Wright said that the purpose of the colloquium is to ". . . discuss approaches to teaching the Shakespeare authorship question with the aid of [Roland Emmerich's film] Anonymous and to develop a curriculum that the SARC will publish for use in schools, colleges and universities across the USA and around the world." Wright described the goals of the colloquium to readers of the SARC electronic mailing list: We are going to use teacher-inspired and student-informed ideas to create options for schools, universities and lay forums to use so they can utilize [Roland Emmerich's film]  Anonymous , in whole or in part, in teaching situations that are adaptable not only to audiences but to time, place and perspective...

  Richard Paul Roe's book,  The Shakespeare Guide to Italy: Retracing the Bard's Unknown Travels , (Harper Collins, 2011) goes on sale November 8, 2011 at Amazon and other bookstores. The book is sold in trade paperback and ebook formats. A starred review in Library Journal said: A fascinating look at a largely untouched aspect of Shakespeare's identity and influences. Recommended for Shakespeare enthusiasts and scholars as well as travelers looking for a new perspective, this is also particularly intriguing as a companion to specific plays. Twenty years of meticulous research at the sites of Shakespeare plays in Italy make this posthumously published work of particular interest to those interested in the Shakespeare authorship question. According to the publisher: Using the text from Shakespeare's ten "Italian Plays" as his only compass, Roe determined the exact locations of nearly every scene in Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merc...

Former Shakespeare Oxford Society trustee Katherine Chiljan will discuss her new Shakespeare authorship book,  Shakespeare Suppressed: The Uncensored Truth about Shakespeare and His Works  (Faire Editions, 2011) at two Contra Costa County libraries in California next week. She will appear from 6-8 p.m. November 3, 2011 at the Walnut Creek Library, and will present a slide talk at 7 p.m. November 8, 2011 at the Danville Library.  Oxfordian Hank Whittemore said in his discussion of Chiljan's book, "Shakespeare Suppressed by Katherine Chiljan -- new revelations about the Earl of Essex, King James and the Earl of Southampton" , " Katherine Chiljan has written a new Oxfordian/authorship book that wipes out the Stratford man forever. I suggest it represents a new landmark book that belongs on our shelves." More info at:  http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_19216356

Director Laura Wilson's anti-Stratfordian Shakespeare authorship film,  Last Will., &Testament , will debut November 27, 2011 at Shakespeare's Globe in London. The  Shakespearean Authorship Trust  and Brunel University will host this advance screening of the documentary from First Folio Pictures, Inc., directed by SAT trustee Lisa Wilson, who consulted on the set of Roland Emmerich's 2011 Shakespeare authorship film,  Anonymous . According to the SAT website: Last Will. & Testament is a 90-minute film that explores the evolution of the authorship question since Shakespeare’s time, with particular reference to William Shakspere of Stratford and Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, though other candidates are discussed. Among those defending the orthodox position are Stanley Wells and Jonathan Bate, both of whom were invited to speak at the conference. The documentary is beautifully shot and has exclusive access to footage of Roland Emmerich’s...

Dark Lady Players Director John Hudson posted a reply to yesterday's Shakespeare Birthplace Trust publication of "Shakespeare Bites Back" on his Dark Lady Players weblog. SBT Chairman Stanley Wells and education director Paul Edmondson authored the free 40-page e-publication in response to the opening of Roland Emmerich's Shakespeare authorship film, Anonymous . "It's a polemical essay and is bound (we hope) to ruffle a few feathers," Edmondson said. "In this audiobook we speak together about what you might say to anyone that asks you about Shakespeare's authorship." Hudson said, in his reply: As a graduate of the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham, of which Dr. Wells used to be the director, I am disappointed by his failure to meet normal scholarly standards of argument. I am equally disappointed that the Institute’s incoming director, Dr. Paul  Edmondson, has joined him in this biased polemic against free academ...

BBC Essex broadcast their morning radio show live from Castle Hedingham yesterday, the opening day of Roland Emmerich's Shakespeare authorship film, Anonymous . The broadcasters spent the morning ". . . asking the question, 'Was Shakespeare really an Essex man called Edward de Vere who grew up in the castle?'"  Oberon readers may listen to 180 minutes of the discussion until November 3, 2011 on the BBC Essex website at:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00kyn44#synopsis Castle Hedingham is also producing an Edward de Vere exhibition at the castle to run November 7, 8, 9, 2011.

Roland Emmerich's film, Anonymous , about the Shakespeare authorship controversy will open in southeast Michigan theaters on October 28, 2011. SONY representative Stephanie Gonzales said the film will open at the following theaters: AMC Livonia, Livonia (9:30a, 12:35p, 3:35p, 6:40 p, 9:45p) Emagine Novi, Novi Uptown 8, Birmingham MJR Marketplace Sterling Heights, Sterling Heights NCG Eastwood Cinemas, Lansing Goodrich Quality, Ann Arbor (11a, 1:40p, 4:20p, 7p, 9:40p) According to Moviefone Internet resource: MJR in Sterling Heights, AMC in Livonia and Emagine in Novi will screen a midnight showing of Anonymous at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Oct. 28 (just after midnight tomorrow, Thursday, night) Gonzales said Anonymous will open next week, November 4, at local Celebration Cinemas and IMAX, Grand Rapids. Tickets and showtimes, click here Listing of reviews and commentary on Roland Emmerich's film, Anonymous: Update 09/10/11: Hollywood Reporter  "Anonymous: Toronto Rev...

The Shakespeare Fellowship and the Shakespeare Oxford Society awarded the 2011 Oxfordian of the Year Award to De Vere Society Vice-chairman  Kevin Gilvary in recognition of his work in editing Dating Shakespeare's Plays (Parapress Ltd., 2010) -- a book that reviews the documentary evidence and range of arguments for establishing a date range for Shakespeare's plays. The award was conferred jointly by the Shakespeare Fellowship and the Shakespeare Oxford Society at their annual joint conference on October 16, 2011. SOS President Richard Joyrich, presented a plaque to Gilvary at the conference in the  Washington   Court   Hotel, Washington DC. I n accepting the award, Gilvary  paid special tribute to Christopher Dams who started the Dating Project over a decade ago with special emphasis on the use of documentary evidence, and to Eddi Jolly,  Elizabeth Imlay  and the late Philip Johnson for their help in editing the project. He also hig...

Oberons in SOS leadership Oberon co-founder Richard Joyrich, MD was elected to his second year as president of the Shakespeare Oxford Society at the society's joint conference with the Shakespeare Fellowship October 13-16 2011.  Oberon member Susan Grimes Width has resigned from the SOS board, but will continue her work on the SOS by-law committee. New board members John Hamill and Robin Fox were elected to the SOS board to replace outgoing board members Susan Grimes Width and James (Jaz) Sherwood. In addition to Joyrich as president, SOS officers who were elected at the conference are Vice-president Joan Leon, Treasurer Virginia Hyde, and Membership Chairperson Stuart Green. SF/SOS joint conference syllabus The agenda and syllabus for the 2011 SF/SOS join conference held October 13-16, 2011 in Washington DC may be viewed online at:  http://shakespearefellowship.org/news/?p=122 . The syllabus contains synopses of conference presentations including those of Oberon...

Hedingham Castle, built in 1140 by the first earl of Oxford Aubrey de Vere, has dipped a tentative toe in the slough of controversy that is the Shakespeare authorship question with a post yesterday on the Hedingham Castle blog titled,   "Anonymous . . . that is the question?"   The post begins: With the release of the film “Anonymous” examining the theory that someone else could have written the Shakespeare plays, should in fact tourists be travelling to Hedingham Castle rather than Stratford –upon- Avon each year? That is a very good question -- a question that up until now has gone unasked by The  Hedingham Partnership, a corporation that administers the historic site. The history of Hedingham on the castle's website demurely says only this about the "courtier poet", the seventeenth earl of Oxford Edward de Vere: In 1561 Queen Elizabeth I aged twenty-eight stayed at Hedinham from August 14 -19 th, and Edward, 17th Earl, became one of her favourites and...

As some of you may have heard, Tom Hunter suffered a massive cardiac event last Friday afternoon while sitting outside of his cottage on the shores of Northern Michigan's Torch Lake, considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. After a (mercifully painless) hospitalization in Traverse City Tom departed this world at around 3 AM this morning. Although our local group, Oberon, was started in 1999 by Barbara Burris and myself and Tom joined us a little later, he has become (in my opinion at least) the soul of our group. He has served as our Chair for these many years and has kept us on track and helped build Oberon into a well-respected local Oxfordian group (of course I don't want to take away from all the great efforts of many of you). Tom's death is a great loss for Oberon, as well as for the Oxfordian world in general. Tom has been very active in doing research and has published many papers in Oxfordian newsletters and other media outlets. H...