The Malone Society is proud to present our 2021 online conference. This year we will be turning to Ben Jonson’s comedy The Devil Is an Ass, one of his best loved, most enduring, and funniest creations.
The day will start with an introductory lecture by James Loxley (Professor of English, University of Edinburgh), followed by a performance of the play on Zoom, which will be directed by Joshua Caldicott. After a brief pause for lunch, we will be hosting a series of panel sessions on Zoom.
The first afternoon session will be a Q&A with the acclaimed actor David Troughton, who played the leading role of Fitzdottrel in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of 1995 (dir. by Matthew Warchus); the session will be chaired by Lois Potter (Professor Emerita, University of Delaware).
The second session will feature Martin Wiggins (Honorary Senior Research Fellow, The Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon) and a team of researchers from the Reading Early Plays (REP) project: Jodie Smith, Lucy Holehouse, and Jennifer Moss Waghorn (all doctoral researchers at the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon). They will be offering their thoughts on the original casting of the play in its premiere by the King’s Men in 1616.
Finally, we will have a panel presenting new work on Jonson and on The Devil Is an Ass, comprising papers by Joshua Caldicott (doctoral researcher, University of Nottingham / The Shakespeare Institute), Sam Jermy (doctoral researcher, University of Leeds), and Jakub Boguszak (Lecturer, University of Southampton). The chair and first respondent will be Jane Rickard (Associate Professor, University of Leeds).
Precise timings will be advertised shortly.
Tickets for the event are £5, and you can sign up via Eventbrite here. We will be sending the Zoom link to all registrants shortly before the event.
Please feel free to send any queries to our Events Organiser, José A. Pérez Díez, at J.A.PerezDiez@leeds.ac.uk.