The Shakespeare & Beyond blog features a wide range of Shakespeare-related topics: the early modern period in which he lived, the ways his plays have been interpreted and staged over the past four centuries, the enduring power of his characters and language, and more.
Shakespeare & Beyond
Shakespeare & Beyond also explores the topics that shape our experience of Shakespeare today: trends in performance, the latest discoveries and scholarship, news stories, pop culture, interesting books, new movies, the rich context of theater and literary history, and more. As the word “beyond” suggests, from time to time Shakespeare & Beyond also covers topics that are not directly linked to Shakespeare.
Questions or comments? You can reach us at shakespeareandbeyond@folger.edu.
What the Nurse Might Have Said
Acclaimed Shakespearean actor Harriet Walter reimagines what the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet might have said after Juliet’s death in an excerpt from She Speaks!.
Watch | A look at early modern "selfies" by calligrapher, artist, and writer Esther Inglis
Enjoy a video from the Esther Inglis special exhibition, showing how early modrern calligrapher, artist, and writer Inglis’s self-portraits helped tell her story.
Staging Puerto Rican Culture: Speaking Spanish and English in Romeo and Juliet
Carla Della Gatta explores how bilingual staging methods help evoke Puerto Rican culture for the Capulet women in Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet.
“Steeped in blood”: The doomed youth of Shakespeare and Stephen King
With Halloween approaching, Austin Tichenor takes a look at Stephen King and a theme he shares with Shakespeare: the often tragic fate of younger characters.
Q&A: John Douglas Thompson on playing Othello at the Royal Shakespeare Company
John Douglas Thompson, who is playing the title role in Othello in the Royal Shakespeare Company production, shares his insights about the character and the play.
Director's cut: Exhibits inspired by "Romeo and Juliet"
Selected by director Raymond O. Caldwell and the Folger staff, with evocative descriptions by Caldwell, rare objects resonate with the themes of Romeo and Juliet.
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in October
Read our round-up of October performances from Shakespeare theaters across the country.
AI and iambic pentameter: Making political speeches in the metaverse
Melanie Bender Martin explores how the Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet, set in a DC metaverse, was equipped with political ads… in iambic pentameter.
Alchemy, aqua vitae, and Mixology: How alchemy gave us liquor
Without alchemy there would be no mixology. No cocktails, no spirits, no liqueurs, no essences! Dive into the history of alchemy and distillation, with two cocktail recipes.
High spirits: Alchemy in Elizabethan England
Jennifer Rampling, a Princeton history professor and author of The Experimental Fire: Inventing English Alchemy, 1300–1700, explores alchemy in Shakespeare’s England.
A round-up of intriguing looks at "Romeo and Juliet"
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.
Order It: Greeting autumn with Sonnet 73
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.