Laurie Johnson | Lightnews

Prof Laurie Johnson

@lostplayhouse.bsky.social

1.3K followers 1.2K following 190 posts

Professor of English and Cultural Studies @ University of Southern Queensland. Shakespeare scholar. Finder of lost playhouses. FSA FRHistS. He/him.

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Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · 1d

Anil Crumble is both peak humour and the kind of thing you may need to speak to your doctor about.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · 2d

Always Number 8, the greatest little feline ever consigned to the page.

Reposted by Laurie Johnson, Pascale Aebischer

World Shakespeare Congress 2026 Verona @wsc2026verona.bsky.social · 2d

This is the official Bluesky account of the World Shakespeare Congress, taking place in Verona from 20 to 26 July 2026 #wsc2026 #verona #shakespeare

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · 4d

I choose option number 10, this magnificent, cranky bird that reminds me of the Duolingo owl, a very superb owl indeed, from George Withers, A Collection of Emblemes ancient and moderne (1635):

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · 12d

A baby penguin? Caught on an iceberg? This is serious!

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · 14d

FWIW, the first Laws of Cricket (1774) only refer to "the striker" and the "player at his wicket," while "bowler," "fielder" etc. are used. As early as 1830, I've got this from a Field Book to the rules of sports by William Hamilton.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · 14d

To all the misogynists claiming "batsman" is the traditional term in cricket and that "batter" is a "woke" copout, I give you Exhibit A for "batter" being much older = in The Cricketer's Guide Being a Complete Manual of the Game of Cricket (1896), "Batter" is used throughout.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · 14d

Do I have your permission to repost as well, Holly?

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · 14d

This has made me giggle for an abnormally long time!

Reposted by Charles West, Lesley A. Hall, Laurie Johnson , and 2 more Charles West, Lesley A. Hall, Laurie Johnson, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson, Frederik Dhondt

Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 14d

An open letter to @theguardian.com about their article last week about the Crown’s Silence, requesting that the Black scholar of Caribbean heritage who did the years of archival research behind this claim, and published it in 1979, Roger Norman Buckley, be acknowledged as the source of this reveal:

OPEN LETTER TO THE GUARDIAN
Dear Editors,
We write in reference to a recent article published in the UK online edition of The Guardian on Friday, 23 January 2026, which carried the following misleading headline: "British crown was world's largest buyer of enslaved people by 1807, book reveals."
The article in question, by Chris Osuh, showcases a new book by Dr. Brooke Newman, The Crown's
Silence: The Hidden History of Slavery and the British Monarchy (Harper Collins, 2026). But Newman's book is not the original source of that claim. That claim derives from earlier scholarship, the painstaking archival work of a Black historian of Caribbean heritage: the late Roger Norman Buckley.
It is unfortunate that the silencing of his original scholarship appears in the profiling of a book advertised as uncovering silences. While it is great to see public attention brought to the history of the Crown's involvement in slavery through the new book and its profiling in The Guardian, the headline compromises The Guardian's efforts to address the legacies of slavery generally and its own institutional links when it extracts and reframes earlier work by a Black scholar as a revelation new to this book.
The relevant passage in The Crown's Silence draws on original scholarship by Roger Norman
Buckley in Slaves in Red Coats: The British West India Regiments, 1795-1815 (1979). Dr. Brooke Newman repeats Buckley's figures, which she cites (referencing page 55 of Buckley's book, see attached) while changing his "British government" to "Crown." She then converts his careful "perhaps the largest individual buyer" to a more conclusive claim, changing his "British government" to "king" but without citing Buckley for that claim which is on page 56 of his book (see attached) and which, uncited in Newman's book, is the Guardian headline.
There is room for popular histories that rely largely on the secondary scholarship of other historians. But other historians have not been silent.

Reposted by Laurie Johnson

Classics for All @classicsforall.bsky.social · 24d

🎨This year, the @rijksmuseum.bsky.social smuseum in Amsterdam has opened a new exhibition on Ovid's Metamorphoses, featuring an array of paintings inspired by the ancient Roman poet.

Comment your favourite artistic reimagining of Ovid's Metamorphoses below! 👇

#classicsforall #rijksmuseum

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Jan 6

Although Life was cruelly ended after just two seasons, I loved the ending in which Damian Lewis's character Charlie Crews reveals to the crime boss how he survived for so long in prison. The impact and the satisfaction level of that moment was amazing.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Dec 28

Or to square it up, perhaps, by having announcers tell a story about how receivers practice catching from their QB every time there is a successful reception.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Dec 23

Hi. Do you look like I might have loaned you my copy of Rudolph Fiehler's Strange History of John Oldcastle (bought in a second hand bookshop in New Orleans in 2016, just like the one pictured below)? If you fit that description, I could really use it back. Thanks.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Dec 22

After the year we’ve all had, if it’s okay with you, I think I’d just as well jingle only two-thirds of the way.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Dec 21

Apparently the Barmy Army cheered the players leaving for rain -- they do realise, don't they, that a draw means the Ashes definitely stay with Australia? The only way for England to win the Ashes is to be on the field to bat for an unlikely, but still possible, win.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Dec 14

The Indian crowds rioting in Kolkata because of Lionel Messi is bizarre but craziest of all is that Sunrise (in Australia) thought the best way to cover the story was to cross to their US Correspondent (in New York).

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Dec 9

I'm with either "sorely" or "surely" and agree on "see"

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Dec 5

I miss this! I was only in Soton for five weeks, but I grew very fond of views like this, and the big ships, and the old sites obvs. Ahh, good memories.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Dec 3

A wonderful scholar was taken from us too soon. Please help to ensure Meghan C. Andrews's book can be made more widely available via Open Access.

Elizabeth Kolkovich @ezkolkovich.bsky.social · Dec 2

Attention #EarlyModern and #Shakespeare friends: join me on this Giving Tuesday in donating to an Open Access fund for Meghan C. Andrews’s book. Cancer took Meghan from us in 2023, but her legacy can live on. Share widely!

Donate to Help Publish Meghan's Shakespeare Monograph, organized by Sarah Neville

Shakespeare scholar Meghan C Andrews passed away in 2023, after a valiant… Sarah Neville needs your support for Help Publish Meghan's Shakespeare Monograph

www.gofundme.com

Reposted by Laurie Johnson, Lucy Munro

Elizabeth Kolkovich @ezkolkovich.bsky.social · Dec 2

Donate to Help Publish Meghan's Shakespeare Monograph, organized by Sarah Neville

Shakespeare scholar Meghan C Andrews passed away in 2023, after a valiant… Sarah Neville needs your support for Help Publish Meghan's Shakespeare Monograph

www.gofundme.com

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Nov 23

In all the back and forward from press and crowds after the first Ashes test, I haven't seen anybody yet say a word of praise to Stokes and (I think it was) Brook, who shook Head's hand after he was dismissed. Fair play, gents, and a good sporting gesture.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Nov 22

Excitement at 6:30 am, as the last of a morning storm rolled past, I was in my study when lightning hit us = electricity surged through the house, a huge bang, lights flickered , and my study light blew. Animals spooked and family woke, but the only casualty was my light bulb.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Nov 22

Marjorie Taylor Greene in a pensive moment ahead of her big press conference.

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Laurie Johnson, Talia Schaffer , and 5 more Lesley A. Hall, Laurie Johnson, Talia Schaffer, Kathleen Kennedy, Catriona Seth, Annette Yoshiko Reed, David McInnis, Karin Wulf

Shannon K. Supple @mazarine.bsky.social · Nov 19

JOB POSTING!

Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Rare Books and Prints at the @folger.edu

amherst.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FSL_Em...

Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Rare Books and Prints

The Folger Shakespeare Library knows that an exceptional staff is the backbone of any great organization. We hire exceptionally qualified individuals who are committed to the mission, vision, and valu...

amherst.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Nov 19

Nah, Texas judge is careful to make sure American kids think it's okay to murder, on the day when the murderer in the White House welcomes another murderer and tells the journalists to be nice to him.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Nov 18

I’ll take “people whose names are in the Epstein files” for 2,000 thanks, Ken.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Nov 18

Not a cellphone in sight. Just two murderers living in the moment.

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Nov 18

Well, looks like Rep. Clay Higgins just outed himself as being in the Epstein files! #427-1

Prof Laurie Johnson @lostplayhouse.bsky.social · Nov 18

That's the trouble with that pesky Muse. When she strikes at 4 am, there's no answer to it other than to get out of bed, get ready for work, and head into the office ... and write. So here we are at 4:30, me and my old friend the keyboard. Write.

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