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The London Stage Database

@londonstagedb.bsky.social
303 followers 52 following 72 posts

A digital humanities project documenting the history of performance in 18th-century London. Visit the database at londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu

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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Our #NEH #digitalhumanities funding has been officially restored! To celebrate, here's a blog post with a sneak peak at what we have in store for the next several months. blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... [Pictured: cross-stitch art gifted to our team by the amazing @quinnanya.me]
"Hands Off NEH" hand-stitched onto fabric printed with cartoon penguins, onto which angry eyebrows are also hand-stitched
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
📣New on the blog: MIT historian Jeffrey Ravel reveals how LSDB data is helping power a new global research collaboration that will change how we understand #theatrehistory across languages + cultures: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thc #18c #history #dataviz
Red banner reading "London Stage Data in a Transnational Context" layered over a bubble graph with circles labeled London, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Saint-Domingue, and Copenhagen.
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The London Stage Data-Sitters are back for another in our series of undergraduate research spotlights! This week, recent UO grad Adaleah Carman experiments with using LLMs to transcribe handwritten 18th-century account books. #digitalhumanities #18thc #18c blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
LSDB presents the London Stage Data-Sitters in "Adaleah Loves Handwritten Text Recognition"
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Today on the blog, our London Stage Data-Sitters series continues with a post from Sadie Mordan, who investigates a controversial memoir that provides an important (but perhaps spurious?) source for #18thcentury #theatrehistory - blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thc #18c
LSDB presents the London Stage Data-Sitters in "Sadie Tells the 'Truth' about Theatrical Memoirs"
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Triggered
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Continuing the London Stage Data-Sitters series, Ceilidh McCallum shares some additional research about the Harlequin afterpieces shown with The Beggar's Opera and the people who performed in them: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #dh #18thcentury #theaterhistory #theatrehistory
LSDB presents the London Stage Data-Sitters in...Ceilidh and the Too Many Harlequins Part 2
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
The scheduled upgrades to the LSDB database are complete, and the site is running normally. Users won't see a difference in functionality, but today's maintenance improved the security and stability of the site moving forward -- big thanks to developer Dennis Pipes!
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Attention, LSDB users: the site will be down for scheduled maintenance tomorrow (Tuesday, July 14) at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The outage should last no more than an hour. We'll post any updates here!
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Today, Ceilidh McCallum kicks off our London Stage Data-Sitters series with an interactive visualization of playhouses where Harlequin afterpieces were performed alongside The Beggar's Opera: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #dh #18thc #18c #theaterhistory #theatrehistory
LSDB presents the London Stage Data-Sitters in...Ceilidh and the Too Many Harlequins
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Delighted to be launching a new series of undergraduate research spotlights, the London Stage Data-Sitters! (Yes, it's an homage to *that* Data-Sitters Club.) blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #dh #18thc #18c #theaterhistory #theatrehistory
blogs.uoregon.edu
Introducing the London Stage Data-Sitters! – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Today on the blog, librarian Erin Winter explains how recent updates to the London Stage Database could help you discover new connections between people, performances, and dramatic works! blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #dh #18thc #18c #theaterhistory #theatrehistory
"Getting a Handel on the Data" with the word "Handel" struck out and the word "Handle" inserted, next to a portrait of the composer G.F. Handel
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Today's guest post from research assistant Quynh Tran-Le explains how to get started with text analysis using our new 935-play Drama Corpus. Check it out: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thC #theaterhistory
Graphic of a stage with curtains drawn to reveal logos for xpath, pandas, voyant, and mysql. The caption reads "Data Science Takes the Stage"
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
A final epilogue for LSDB's beloved -- and now, award-winning! -- #TheaterThursday series, now available through a dedicated gallery on our blog. We wrote a poem and everything: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thC #theaterhistory
Framed painting of a woman reading from a piece of paper with the words "Epilogue: Theater Thursday"
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
It's #theaterthursday 's curtain call! 🎭 We've brought you "on-this-day-in-history" London Stage events for four months, so today we're talking about another end of an era: the 1791 closure of Drury Lane. Read about it in our FINAL #theaterthursday blog: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
Building with arcaded ground floor and Ionic pilasters, topped by a pediment with the words "June 4, 1791: Curtains at Drury Lane"
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Update: our Advanced Search is back up and running at full capacity, now with improved protection against the bots that have been a drag on our servers in recent months. You may notice a brief "checking if you're human" test once per session. If you hit more serious snags, please let us know ASAP!
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
LSDB users: we are experiencing temporary outages of the Advanced Search feature. The development team is working on the issue and expects service to return to normal soon. Thanks for your patience, and please stand by!
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
LDSB is back online with improved underlying data! Keep an eye on the blog for more details about the latest changes later this week. In the meantime, interested readers can check out the release notes: github.com/LondonStageD...
github.com
Release v2.1 · LondonStageDB/data
Released June 1, 2026. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.20499570 A minor release that adds WorkIds to thousands of performances in the Performance table, significantly improving the accuracy of the Related Works...
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Please pardon our dust! The LSDB website will be down for a planned upgrade to the database later today, June 1, starting at 3 p.m. Pacific time. The outage is expected to last no more than an hour. Read more on our blog:
blogs.uoregon.edu
Downtime and improvements this week – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
We've all had performances fall short of our expectations before, but have you ever had one directly undermine your legitimacy as ruler of a nation? No? Well Queen Mary II did! Read about her experience here: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thc #theaterhistory
Portrait of sitting woman in elaborate brown dress with blue cape with the words "May 28, 1698: A Royal Request Gone Wrong"
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Have you ever wondered what makes a website accessible? Just in time for the long weekend, we have a special blog post about recent updates to the site's accessibility. Read about footers, landmarks and more at: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #accessibility #projectupdates
Graphic of computer showing London Stage Database homepage; a banner in front of the graphic displays the HTML code for Alt text corresponding to the computer image.
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
A notice for fans of the London Stage! 🔊 The London Stage Database will be down for patching and maintenance today (May 21st) at 3:00 p.m PDT. This is expected to be a very brief outage, lasting only around 10 minutes or so. Thanks in advance for your patience!
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Fans of The Stage beware! Your patronage of playhouses may be "corrupting the Morals and Principles of the Youth!" Wait a second— haven't we heard this before? In this week's #theaterthursday, read about turn-of-the-18th-century arguments on theater's morality: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
Etching of a large building's symmetrical, pillared facade with the words "May 21, 1700: A Dangerous and Growing Evil"
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Fairies? Machines? Children Dancing with swords?! Sometimes #theaterthursday events are as confusing as exciting. For this week's blog, we parse out some perplexing oddities of Punch's Theatre: London's not-to-be-missed puppet attraction! Read about it here: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
Etching of small marionette puppet (a stout man in top hat) with the words "May 14, 1711: What is Going on at Punch's Theatre?"
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Late last week, a federal judge in New York ordered that the NEH grants terminated by DOGE (including ours) must be reinstated. Read about what comes next for the London Stage Database on our blog: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
blogs.uoregon.edu
“A Moral Victory” – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
It's #theaterthursday ! Do you have a coworker who makes your job that much harder? Makes you wish they'd retire already? Well, the sentiment was shared, even in London playhouses. Read about the rivalry and retirements of a starlet and a stage manager here: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Wishing another royal wedding was on the UK's horizon? Wish no longer! For this #theaterthursday, join us in celebrating the (1736) marriage of Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta! Read our blog to learn how the match was celebrated- London Stage style! blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
As promised, we're back this #theaterthursday with more on the remarkable Mrs. Charlotte Charke. Unafraid of critiquing politicians and her father alike, check out our blog to read about Charke's participation in controversial stage satire: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
Etching of actors facing viewer/engaged in various scenes with the words "April 23, 1735: The Remarkable Charlotte Charke Part II"
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
We heard about so much exciting research at this year's ASECS conference that we can't help but want to share. Check out our latest blog post for a sneak peak into some of the projects currently putting the LSDB to use: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thc #theaterhistory
Notes from the field: New Work Using the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
It's #theaterthursday ! This week, on the anniversary of her death, we remember Charlotte Charke and her life of "adventures and misfortunes." As far as London Stage celebrities go, it doesn't get more interesting than Charke... Check out our blog for more! blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
Painting of lady in vibrant blue, gentleman in bright pink, and two onlookers with the words "April 16th, 1760: The Remarkable Charlotte Charke"
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
"New Work Using the London Stage Database" is happening at #asecs26 bright and early Saturday morning! Conference attendees, we'll have a password-protected super-special super-secret data drop for you to preview...so grab a coffee and join us at 8am! #digitalhumanities #dh #18thcentury #c18
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
We come to you this #theaterthursday with devastating news: performance of Cleomenes (the new play we've all been waiting for) has been royally PROHIBITED! Read more about the 👑's censorship of Cleomenes here: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thc #theaterhistory
Cover of play manuscript with the words "April 9th, 1692: Cleomenes and the Crown"
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
This just in: Never before seen works of Shakespeare have been rediscovered!!! What’s that? You don’t think it sounds like real Shakespeare? Surely you must be imagining things. Grab your tickets and read about this #theaterthursday event on our blog! blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
blogs.uoregon.edu
April 2nd, 1796: A Shakespearian Scandle – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
For this #theaterthursday, we're taking it easy (in line with Restoration Era tradition, of course) Read about it here: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thc #theaterhistory
blogs.uoregon.edu
March 26th, 1768: Easter Holidays – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Today we're spotlighting a celebrity of the London Stage-- one SO famous that even her nights out were the subject of public interest. Check out this week's #theaterthursday to read about the Restoration icon, Nell Gwyn: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thc #theaterhistory
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
DOGE's use of ChatGPT to terminate 97% of NEH grants (including ours) continues to make headlines this week. Project director Mattie Burkert sat down with investigative reporter Evan Watson from KGW-8 (NBC news Portland) for an interview. Read more and watch the video on our blog:
blogs.uoregon.edu
LSDB in the News: KGW-Portland Investigates – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Take your seats, silence your phones, and, whatever you do, PLEASE refrain from climbing onstage! Check out this week's #theatertthursday on the stage loungers, audience riots, and meddling managers of the London Stage: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thc #theaterhistory
blogs.uoregon.edu
March 12th, 1763: A Notice from Management – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
DOGE used ChatGPT to assess whether our NEH grant was "DEI" before terminating it and thousands of others. Project lead @mattieburkert.bsky.social has filed a declaration in the lawsuit led by @historians.org @modernlanguage.bsky.social @acls1919.bsky.social @authorsguild.org. Read more on our blog:
blogs.uoregon.edu
LSDB in the News: Lawsuit Update – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Today's #theaterthursday may be more serious than usual, but it’s FULL of intriguing London Stage history! Curious about male perception of women in 18th century playhouses? Craving details on London’s coffeehouse culture? Check out our March 5th spotlight here: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
blogs.uoregon.edu
March 5th, 1733: Orange-Women, Penknives, and Coffeehouses – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Nothing makes us happier than hearing how the London Stage Database helps our users research! Check out our blog to read about how researcher Lesley Dunlop used the LSDB in her local history article and for a guide on how YOU might go about searching the database! blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
blogs.uoregon.edu
LSDB in the News: The Watford Observer – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Happy #theaterthursday! This week we celebrate the return of the King’s Company after a fire left them tragically theater-less. Read about the 🔥 on Drury Lane and the company’s return to the stage here: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thc #theaterhistory
blogs.uoregon.edu
February 26th, 1672: The Return of the King(‘s Company) – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Hey fans of the London Stage! It’s our 3rd #theaterthursday ! 🎉 Feb. 19, 1785: Drury Lane’s Macbeth sees a clash of genres! The witches may have been breaking character SNL-style, but icon Sarah Siddons remained SUBLIME as Lady Macbeth. Read about it on our blog! blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
blogs.uoregon.edu
February 19th, 1785: A ‘Monstrous Marring’ of Macbeth – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
#theaterthursday 🎭 On this day in history, 1661: Samuel Pepys sees a show, says women (now on-stage) make it "much better" than previously all-male casts, and ends the night with an ale! More RE: Pepys's night out here blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thc #theaterhistory
blogs.uoregon.edu
February 12th, 1661: A WOMAN in The Scornful Lady?! – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
It's #theaterthursday, our new weekly blog series spotlighting London Stage events from this day in history! Feb. 5, 1704: a story of rival sopranos and ORANGES thrown from the audience! Read about the 🍊 ordeal here: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #18thc #theaterhistory
blogs.uoregon.edu
February 5, 1704: Orange Attack at Drury Lane – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's- new Research Assistants for the London Stage Database!? You heard that right folks! 🎉 Read all about our new RAs, Ceilidh and Rose, in our latest blog post! blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #c18 #18thc #humanities #theaterhistory
blogs.uoregon.edu
Meet the 2025-2026 Research Assistants – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Attention all fans of The London Stage Database! 📣 Thanks to a new, internal grant, the LSDB is officially able to resume active development! Read our blog post about the news here: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/... #digitalhumanities #c18 #18thc #humanities #theaterhistory
blogs.uoregon.edu
Funding news – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
The website is back up and running, now with the improved "Related Works" feature and the new "Print Witnesses" extension of that feature. Big shout out to Dennis Pipes for a last-minute assist! For more on what's new, check out our blog: blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
blogs.uoregon.edu
New feature: Print Witnesses – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Friendly reminder that the LSDB website will be down for scheduled maintenance starting at 3:30 Pacific / 6:30 Eastern time.
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
The LSDB website will be down for about an hour later this week while we roll out a new feature (!!!). The outage is scheduled for Thursday 9/26 at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time. Check out our blog for a preview, and watch this space for more updates. blogs.uoregon.edu/londonstage/...
blogs.uoregon.edu
How we spent our summer vacation – Extending the London Stage Database
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
The LSDB will experience a brief outage around 4pm pacific time today (Tuesday) while we update the database to reflect some recent record housekeeping. It should only last 10-15 minutes. Thanks for your understanding!
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The London Stage Database @londonstagedb.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
TIL that our database includes performances of a play called "A Rehearsal of Kings; or, The Projecting Gingerbread Baker: With the unheard of Catastrophe of Macplunderkan, King of Roguomania and the Ignoble Fall of Baron Troperland, King of Clouts" #academicsky #digitalhumanities #theaterhistory
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