January 1st, 1604, James 6th of Scotland, newly crowned James I of England,

is hosting his first Christmas season at Hampton Court Palace.

Gathered are all the VIPs of the early 17th century.

Courteers, ambassadors and aristocrats, all jostle for space, eager to see and judge the new king for themselves.

Here, in the Great Hall, they are sheltering for more than just the cold.

Plague has swept through London, so James has invited his guests to stay for the season,

away from the busy, dangerous city.

And they're in luck, also invited to remain in comfort of the entertainment,

including The Kingsmen, an elite theatre troupe led by a renowned playwright.

The King arrives and takes his seat on a dais at the end of the hall.

The crowd of assembled courtiers take their seats and hold their breath.

They are about to watch a performance of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Welcome back to the Historic Royal Palace's podcast. I'm Brett Dolman and I'm a curator of collections at Hampton Court. And today I am standing in the great hall of the palace, just as King James I first and William Shakespeare did back in the winter court season of December 1603 and January 1604. We're going to talk on today's podcast about the New Year's Day

performance of Shakespeare's own A Midsummer Night's Dream and about those two men at the

centre of things, Shakespeare and King James. We'll be looking at the entertainments the court

enjoyed during that winter, how the programme was put together, and how it might have

gone down at the time. And I am therefore very happy to introduce my guest. Dr. Will Tosh is

Director of Education at Shakespeare's Globe in London and has written several books on the iconic

man himself and most recently straight acting the many queer lives of William Shakespeare.

Will, welcome to Hampton Court.

Thank you very much for having me.

It's wonderful to be in this amazing space.

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