Johnna Champion

Explore collection items about early 20th-century performances outdoors by the Ben Greet Players, who played college campuses across the US—and eventually the front lawn of the White House, along with designs from the Folger’s 2026 production.

In 1936, Britain’s first feature-length Shakespeare “talkie” premiered: As You Like It featuring Elisabeth Bergner and Laurence Olivier in his first Shakespeare role on screen. Explore the film’s press kits and study guides.

19th-century American Actor Ira Aldridge is remembered as a pioneering performer who refused to let racism prevent him from pursuing his passion for performing Shakespeare, first in New York and then abroad. Explore his story.

Actress Sarah Siddons was 18th-century London’s best-known tragedienne, most famous for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth. An assortment of objects from our collection show her rise as an early star of modern celebrity culture.

We revisit Johnna Champion’s October 2025 presentation as part of our Folger Book Club discussion of Elizabeth Hand’s A Haunting on the Hill.

Discover books, costume sketches, and theatrical props for Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in the Folger collection along with items from Folger Theatre’s production of Al Letson’s Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. 

Explore First Folios owned by two 17th-century women, a prop dagger used by a leading actress of the late 19th century, and scripts and programs from a 20th-century women’s theater in Japan that’s still performing Shakespeare today.

Our assistant curator highlights a new acquisition and other material in our collection related to Twelfth Night

19th-century audiences adored Charlotte Cushman in Shakespeare, including Hamlet and Romeo but also Viola (and Cesario). Check out these Twelfth Night finds in our collection.