Calendar

Curators: Thomas Herron and Brendan Kane

Often portrayed only as a country in conflict during the 16th and 17th centuries, Ireland was also a place of intermingling culture and adaptability. Nobility and Newcomers explores both the conflict and the opportunities and challenges open to both Irish and English nobility, and reveals Ireland as a land of ideas and art.

Please note: Sundays, open NOON - 5pm

Andrew Hadfield is Professor of English at the University of Sussex and Visiting Professor at the University of Granada. He is the author of a number of works on early modern literature, including Edmund Spenser: A Life (2012), Literature, Travel and Colonialism in the English Renaissance, 1540-1625 (2007); Shakespeare and Republicanism (2005); Spenser's Irish Experience: Wilde Fruyt and Salvage Soyl (1997); and Literature, Politics and National Identity: Reformation to Renaissance (1994). He was editor of Renaissance Studies (2006-11) and is a regular reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement. He will speak on "Graymalkin and Other Shakespearean Celts."

Led by Artistic Director Robert Eisenstein, these lively and insightful seminars give music lovers a detailed look at the composers and their world. A light fare reception is also included.

The Folger Shakespeare Library's annual gala is its most important fundraiser of the year. Proceeds from the event will support the outstanding cultural and educational programming the Folger offers to the greater Washington area and beyond.

Terry McMillan, the acclaimed author of Getting to Happy, Waiting to Exhale, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, reads from her recent work.

Come celebrate Will's birthday with jugglers and jesters, music, song and dance. Enjoy stage combat workshops, the chance to perform your favorite lines of Shakespeare on the Folger stage, and tours and treasure hunts of the Folger's reading rooms. Plus, birthday cake for all, cut by Queen Elizabeth!

Celebrate Shakespeare's Birthday with the Folger in this exciting new electronic field trip! Follow four students as they discover Shakespeare's language, make meaning of the words, and learn through performance. Participate in live interactive segments using Web 2.0 technology to allow students to explore his plays and language with the experts. Designed for students in grades 6-12.

Former Poet Laureate Billy Collins reads from his body of work. Reception and book signing to follow.

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Robert Richmond

Cast away on the shores of a distant land, lost lovers and their unruly servants converge and conspire in this romance-filled comedy.