In this episode, former associate artistic director at Artists Repertory Theatre Jon Kretzu; emeritus research scientist and former resident bear biologist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Dr. Martyn Obbard; and this season’s Leontes Graham Abbey, as moderator, explore Shakespeare’s famous stage direction, “Exit, pursued by a bear.” Together they consider what bears would have meant to Elizabethan audiences at a time when the animals were extinct in Britain and much of Europe, and discuss the broader context of animal metaphors throughout Shakespeare’s plays.

Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.