Shakespeare & Beyond

Jennifer Rampling, a Princeton history professor and author of The Experimental Fire: Inventing English Alchemy, 1300–1700, explores alchemy in Shakespeare’s England.

As we welcome Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet, we take a look back at some intriguing and varied highlights of our past looks at the play.

Mark the recent equinox and the start of autumn in the northern hemisphere with a look at Sonnet 73. Take this quiz to see if you can correctly order the lines.

In a Q&A, director Raymond O. Caldwell explores divisive politics, youth-related issues, and how Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet is a “love letter to DC.”

Austin Tichenor dives deep into the Shakespearean character of the HBO Western Deadwood, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

In an excerpt from Straight Acting: The Hidden Queer Lives of William Shakespeare, Will Tosh uses lines from Twelfth Night to trace Sebastian and Antonio’s relationship.

Read our round-up of September performances from Shakespeare theaters across the country.

Greg Prickman discusses Imprints in Time, the first special exhibition in the new space, including Tolkien’s edits and an ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.

In an excerpt from a classic Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episode, Emma Smith explores a fascinating question: how popular was Shakespeare in his lifetime?

Challenge yourself with a quiz about Romeo and Juliet; Folger Theatre’s production is beginning performances on October 1.

An excerpt from Reading the River in Shakespeare’s Britain surveys some of the cultural roles of rivers, including how Shakespeare mentioned them in his plays.

Peggy O’Brien helps us explore a giant, richly detailed fictional map filled with Shakespeare’s characters, newly created for the Folger’s exhibition spaces.