Welcome to the Folger
Enjoy great stories | Explore what makes you curious | Share the best in art, history, and literature with friends and family at the world’s largest Shakespeare collection.
The Folger is open! New exhibition galleries, gardens, and shop
Plan your visit
Get details and reserve timed-entry passes.
Explore our exhibitions
See what’s on view in our galleries.
Take a tour
Reserve a group tour or student experience.
Check out our shop
Gifts, games, merch, and more!
Eat at Quill & Crumb
Enjoy lunch or a quick snack at our new café.
What’s on
Join us for in-person and virtual events: theater, poetry, music, and more.
'The Death I Gave Him' by Em X. Liu
Folger Book Club:
'The Death I Gave Him' by Em X. Liu
How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition
Kings and Commonwealth
Family Workshop: A Power Player Spectacle
Cocktails and Conversation: "A Springtime Revival" with Douglas Clark
Foraged Mixology
Twelfth Night
Folger Salon with Mark Bland, Zainab Cheema, and Kate Doubler
Creative Conversations: Twelfth Night
About us
How did the world’s largest Shakespeare collection end up one block from the US Capitol? Explore the Folger’s origin story.
The latest from our blogs and podcast
Q&A with Twelfth Night director Mei Ann Teo
Director Mei Ann Teo shares the vision for Folger Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night. Shakespearean original practice, the soulful pop of local icon composer Be Steadwell, and an ensemble proposition all inform a production that Teo describes as “hilarious, sexy, and devastating.”
Shakespeare Folios in the news
ICYMI we’re sharing several recent news stories about the Folio that caught our eye—from auctions of rare copies to groundbreaking research to new exhibitions.
Play on!: An interview with "Twelfth Night" composer Be Steadwell
Folger Theatre’s Twelfth Night begins performances May 13. Composer Be Steadwell shares how The Cure, Elizabethan traditional ballads, the underground club scene in Berlin, and queer ball culture all inspire the songs for this production.
Imagining Shakespeare’s actor Alexander Cooke
Austin Tichenor travels back to Elizabethan England with Nicole Galland’s novel Boy about Shakespeare’s acting company member Alexander Cooke in a surprisingly contemporary exploration of gender roles onstage and off.
'The Death I Gave Him' Resource Guide
On May 1, 2025 the Folger’s virtual book club continues with a discussion of The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to Hamlet, science fiction, and technology.
Juliet and Romeo as a Western
Author Anthony Del Col shares how the newest Kill Shakespeare adventure found its inspiration in Westerns like The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
Our collection
The First Folio
The Folger has the world’s largest collection of First Folios. Learn more about the book that gave us Shakespeare.
A majestic portrait
The Folger collection includes about 200 paintings. This portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by George Gower is dated 1579, making it the oldest painting in our collection. Two years after he completed this portrait, Gower became Serjeant Painter to the Queen, making him the most important artist in England.
Our other Elizabeth I holdings include hand-signed letters, books, and even New Year’s gift rolls detailing her holiday gifts. It is the largest collection of Elizabeth I materials in North America.
Shakespeare’s works
View the full list of plays and poems to read, search, and download our bestselling editions of Shakespeare’s works.
Shakespeare’s most popular plays
Romeo and Juliet
Macbeth
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Julius Caesar
Othello
Hamlet
Explore
What was Shakespeare's theater like?
Learn about the Globe and other London playhouses where Shakespeare’s company performed. What was it like to be an actor there, or an audience member?
Teach
How can Shakespeare help 21st-century students be stronger readers?
Our Folger Method is revolutionizing how not just Shakespeare but all literature is taught using strategies that allow all students to own – and enjoy – complex texts.
Research
If we are what we eat, what can recipes from the past tell us?
Projects like Before ‘Farm to Table’ unite scholars and practitioners in investigations into the past to shed light on what matters to us today.
Support the things you love
Your gifts make access to our collection, learning opportunities, and exciting experiences happen.