So Potent Art: The Magic of Shakespeare

18:30 (1hr)

Award-winning actor, theatre-maker, and author Emily Carding leads us through some of the esoteric wisdom and symbolism of Shakespeare’s works, including Hermeticism, Alchemy, and the Kabalah and how it can add to our understanding of the plays, themes, and characters. What can we discern about the life and beliefs of Shakespeare himself from looking at the portrayal of magic in his plays? Emily will read extracts from their book, So Potent Art: The Magic of Shakespeare as well as perform (and reveal the secrets of) some of Shakespeare’s most intriguing speeches.

Praise for So Potent Art: The Magic of Shakespeare:

"Brilliant, practical, witty, and accessible, Carding gifts great insight throughout, sensitively introducing the reader to Shakespeare, Magic(ke), and the creative light that can shine from and through all of us."—Ben Crystal, author of Shakespeare on Toast

"This is a glorious book – and long overdue. There have been other works that looked into Shakespeare's magical life but nothing as thorough or enlightening as this. Emily Carding is to be congratulated for her work and for opening the doors to a magical realm."—John Matthews, author of How to see Faeries.

"'There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio...' and Emily Carding explains it all to you in this practical and informed new book. With a lovely wit and Shakespearean expertise, Carding shows how two seemingly unrelated subjects—magic and Shakespeare—are inextricably entwined and extraordinarily powerful."—Austin Tichenor, artistic director of the Reduced Shakespeare Company