Upcoming Talks:

Wednesday, March 11 at 7PM

Panoramic Theatre with Stephen Burdman

How does a city park become ancient Rome—and how do actors fill it with voice, movement, and meaning?

Join Stephen Burdman, Founding Artistic Director of NY Classical, as he takes us inside Panoramic Theatre: adapting the script, directing actors, coaching voice and text, and transforming public spaces into living worlds. Get an early look at how he’s beginning to shape The Tragedy of Julius Caesar for NY Classical’s summer 2026 season. Wine included.

Wednesday, April 15 at 7PM

Coriolanus with Dr. Miles Grier

“Martius's Beard: Textual Fragmentation and MTM Transition in Coriolanus”

The time has come to talk about Coriolanus’s facial hair. During what his mother describes as his “comely” youth, Martius is Rome’s champion—“with his Amazonian chin… driv[ing] / The bristled lips before him,” as his commander boasts. What does this beardless allure reveal about the character’s later rigidity and disdain for perceived femininity? In this bold and thought-provoking lecture, Dr. Miles Grier argues that Coriolanus is not simply a straightforward misogynist, but a figure vexed by change itself—troubled by an incomplete gender transition from male to male. Through close attention to the transformative fragmentation of both bodies and texts, Dr. Grier invites us to reconsider one of Shakespeare’s most politically volatile Roman plays through a striking contemporary lens.

Wednesday, May 13 at 7PM

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar with Prof. Sid Ray

About Vino & Verse

Vino & Verse is NY Classical’s dynamic, one-hour lecture series that brings Shakespeare and classical theatre to life beyond the stage. Hosted at our office and led by renowned scholars, artists, and industry experts, each session dives deep into the language, history, and contemporary relevance of the works we produce. Smart, engaging, and refreshingly accessible, Vino & Verse is your chance to explore big ideas, sharpen your understanding of classical text, and connect with fellow theatre lovers in an intimate setting.

Previous Vino & Verse Events

Shakespeare’s Original Practices
October 8, 2025

How did Shakespeare’s actors bring his plays to life without directors, lighting designers, or weeks of rehearsal? In this session, we’ll explore Shakespeare’s original practices—from cue scripts and costumes to fast-paced rehearsal processes and shared light with the audience—and how these practices gave performances immediacy, spontaneity, and deep connection.

Led by: Sid Ray, PhD, Professor of English and Women’s and Gender Studies, Pace University

Dr. Ray’s research focuses on Shakespeare and early modern drama, dramaturgy, and performance. She has written extensively on Shakespeare, Marlowe, Webster, and early modern women writers, and is a dramaturg, text coach, and longtime Board Member of New York Classical Theatre.

Othello
November 6, 2025

In modern America, Othello's race is a fact--he is a Black man. But, in early modern England, Othello's race was a question.

Somewhere, across centuries and across an ocean, Richard Burbage gave way to James Earl Jones and Laurence Olivier ceded the stage to Denzel Washington, and our modern world provided a simple answer to a complex series of questions surrounding the race of the valiant Moor. 

Using the text of William Shakespeare's Othello; the history and performance of blackness in early modern England; and the shifting social, political, and cultural contexts as jumping off points, this evening of Vino and Verse invites the audience to re-open the questions surrounding Othello's race, and explore who, what, when, and where made Othello into the man we know him as today. 

Led by: Matthieu Chapman, NY Classical Literary Director & Associate Professor and Head of Theatre Studies at SUNY New Paltz

The Merchant of Venice
Law, Lies, and Love: Rehearsing the Contradictions:
DECEMBER 3, 2025

Presented by Dr. Sophia Murashkovsky Romma: distinguished scholar, theatre/film director, playwright, and international human rights attorney.

The play that asks: Is a pound of flesh legally binding?

Join scholar and dramaturg Dr. Sophia Murashkovsky Romma as we turn the stage into a rehearsal hall and a courtroom to unveil the theatrical tension of The Merchant of Venice.

We shall place Portia, Shylock, and Antonio "in character" for high-stakes interviews, and then subject Act IV to a Mock Trial, testing the ethical limits of the law. Explore the chilling contradictions of Justice versus Mercy that persistently disturb audiences, even today.