Resource Guide: 'Mona Acts Out' by Mischa Berlinski

On November 5, 2026 the Folger’s virtual book club returns with a discussion of Mona Acts Out by Mischa Berlinski. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to Shakespeare and performance.

READ some of the plays mentioned in the novel

• Measure for Measure
• Antony and Cleopatra
• Macbeth
• Explore all of Shakespeare’s plays with Folger Digital Texts

LISTEN to related podcasts

• Episode 2: Actresses on Shakespeare
• Episode 10: Artistic Directors Talk Shakespeare
• Episode 34: Great Shakespeare Actors
• Episode 39: Auditioning for Shakespeare
• Episode 297: Acting, with Sophie Fiennes and Cheek by Jowl

LEARN about famous Shakespeare actresses through history

• Sarah Siddons: “Tragedy Personified”
• Actors Ellen Terry, Henry Irving, and Victorian Shakespeare
• Charlotte Cushman, an American star
• Shakespeare Unlimited Episode 234: Dame Judi Dench on Seven Decades of Shakespeare, with Brendan O’Hea
• Shakespeare unlimited Episode 282: Adjoa Andoh on Shakespeare

REVISIT past Book Club picks that touch on performance and the theatre

• The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf by Isa Arsén
• Edith Holler by Edward Carey
• Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor
• Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
• If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
• A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke