Shakespeare's only reference to Easter comes up in Romeo and Juliet Act III when Mercutio talks about buying a new doublet for Easter. Despite only a single reference to this holiday, for the people of 16-17th century England, Easter was a major event. Holidays in Shakespeare's lifetime largely followed the life of Jesus Christ, and the resurrection of Jesus that is celebrated on Easter Sunday was a high point of the year's festivities. Here today to share with us the customs, foods, and yes, the clothing like a new doublet, that would have been staples for the observance of the Easter Holidays in Shakespeare's lifetime, is our guest, and author of Reformation England 1480-1642, Peter Marshall.

In this episode of That Shakespeare Life, we explore the surprising presence of monkeys, apes, and baboons in early modern England and the role these animals played in the culture of Shakespeare's world. Shakespeare refers to primates dozens of times in his plays, and those references were not purely imaginative—exotic animals were arriving in England through global trade, kept as fashionable pets by elites, and even trained to perform tricks for public entertainment. By examining travel narratives, natural history books like Edward Topsell's The History of Four-Footed Beasts, and records of animal performances near the London theatres, we uncover how early modern audiences understood these creatures and why primates became such vivid symbols in Renaissance literature and stage culture.

What toys did children play with in Shakespeare's lifetime? In this episode, historian Dr. Julia Martins joins That Shakespeare Life to explore the games, dolls, rattles, hobby horses, and playground activities that shaped childhood in Tudor England—and how these playful details appear in Shakespeare's world.