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 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.
In an excerpt from Grace Tiffany’s imaginative novel, The Owl Was a Baker’s Daughter, we meet Judith Shakespeare at age 61, a midwife-apothecary in war-torn 17th-century England on the run to avoid arrest for witchcraft.
To commemorate Black History Month, we’re sharing interviews with acclaimed Black theater artists—actors, directors, playwrights—and scholars about performing and adapting Shakespeare, then and now.
Go behind the scenes of our exhibition, Little Books, Big Gifts: The Artistry of Esther Inglis. 400 years after her death, Inglis “can still make the whole place shimmer.”
Immerse yourself in the magic of the Folger and the early modern world with our new game “A Night at the Library” paired with recipes for two conjuring cocktails to enhance playing.
For many creators in the fantasy genre, from books to shows to games, the action takes place in a distant past. Why is medievalism so often the default setting for fantasy and what does that say about us?
The cozy mysteries of Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators
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Austin Tichenor
Austin Tichenor discovers the TV series Shakespeare & Hathaway, which features former police detective Frank Hathaway teaming up with amateur sleuth Luella Shakespeare to solve crimes in—where else?—Stratford-upon-Avon.
After 138 years, Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane—the first known opera by a Black American composer—is receiving its world premiere. Learn about this important American composer and how his magnum opus is being brought to life.
The Old Globe’s Barry Edelstein on Shakespeare and Community
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Shakespeare & Beyond
Learn how Edelstein adapted and directed Shakespeare’s rarely produced Henry VI, Parts I, 2, and 3, turning it into a theatrical event with a cast and crew of over a thousand and bringing their community-based work even closer to the center of the organization.
Folger Finds: New Year's Gift Rolls of Elizabeth I and Henry VIII
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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond
In early modern England, New Year’s Day was celebrated with a long-standing custom of giving gifts to the monarch. Each gift was carefully recorded on “gift rolls.” What were the top gifts in 1539 and 1585?
