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
![Shax_beyond_small_banner](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2022/11/Shax_beyond_small_banner.jpg?resize=1200%2C400&gravity)
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.
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Play On Shakespeare: Reflections from the translation project's festival of staged readings
Play On Executive Director Lue Douthit gives remarks before the festival’s first staged reading: The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Lue Morgan Douthit first wrote about the Play on! project (of which she is the executive director) on the Shakespeare &…
![Lady Archibald Campbell as Orlando Photograph of a woman lounging under a tree](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/07/lady-archibald-campell-as-orlando.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Outdoor Shakespeare: The pioneers of a summer tradition
Shakespeare by the sea, on the river, in the park or garden, on the common – in the summertime Shakespeare’s plays are everywhere outdoors! High-profile shows in New York’s Central Park or at Ashland’s Oregon Shakespeare Festival may come to…
![Caliban by the Yellow Sands program](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/07/010565.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Caliban by the Yellow Sands: Shakespeare and immigrant communities in New York - Excerpt: Here in This Island We Arrived
Here in This Island We Arrived: Shakespeare and Belonging in Immigrant New York is a 2019 book from Elisabeth H. Kinsley that explores Shakespeare performance in late 19th- and early 20-century Manhattan during a time of profound demographic change, when…
![Shakespeare Item Quiz Cover Assortment of theatrical props, including a deck of cards, a goblet, masks, fans, and keys.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/07/20190702_133154_cover.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Quiz: Which Shakespearean Item Are You?
Tell us a bit about yourself, and we’ll tell you which iconic object from a Shakespeare play matches your personality.
![All Is True and Upstart Crow All Is True and Upstart Crow](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/06/all-is-true-upstart-crow.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Ben Elton’s 'Upstart Crow' and 'All Is True': Shakespeare in different keys
Kenneth Branagh in All Is True and David Mitchell in Upstart Crow. (IMDB) Ben Elton is no stranger to Shakespeare. The British author and actor played Verges alongside Michael Keaton’s Dogberry in Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 film Much Ado About Nothing.…
![play-on-measure-festival At the June 2019 reading of the Measure for Measure translation](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/06/play-on-measure-festival.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Play on! Q&A: Aditi Kapil on translating 'Measure for Measure'
In choosing which Shakespeare play to translate for the Play on! project, playwright Aditi Brennan Kapil let herself be influenced by dramaturg Liz Engelman, who was attracted to the themes of Measure for Measure and their resonance in today’s world.…
![The Audience at Shakespeare Dallas The audience waits for the show to start at the amphitheater in Samuall Grand Park, home to Shakespeare Dallas.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/06/SD-101-Park-Audience_sm.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in June
Each month, we bring you a snapshot of Shakespeare in performance across America. Find our what the Folger’s theater partners have onstage in June.
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Quiz: Shakespeare trivia
What is Shakespeare’s shortest play? Which female character has the most lines? Test your Shakespeare knowledge with this trivia quiz.
![This is Shakespeare by Emma Smith This is Shakespeare book cover](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/06/This-is-Shakespeare-book-cover.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Emma Smith on Falstaff: An excerpt from 'This Is Shakespeare'
Shakespeare scholar Emma Smith takes 20 chapters to discuss 20 different Shakespeare plays in her new book This Is Shakespeare, offering insights on key characters, plot twists, and performance challenges. The excerpt below, which focuses on the character of Falstaff…
![Fritter on a plate Fritter on a plate](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/06/fritters-finished.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Savoring the seasons and Lettice Pudsey’s fritters
Food is intimately connected to climate and season. It was for Shakespeare and his contemporaries, and it is for us today. Beautiful, local produce is once again available in the northeast now that spring is turning into early summer. In…
![Holzhauer_Final_Jeopardy James Holzhauer thinks about the Final Jeopardy clue on the June 3 episode of Jeopardy](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/06/Final_Jeopardy_Screen_capture_edit.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
"A Great Reckoning": a closer look at a fateful Final Jeopardy clue
We explore the history behind the Shakespearean Final Jeopardy clue that unseated “Jeopardy” champion James Holzhauer.
![Drawing of the Folger bas-relief depicting a scene from Henry IV, Part 1 Drawing of the Folger bas-relief depicting a scene from Henry IV, Part 1](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2019/05/henry-iv-part-1-bas-relief-drawing.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Drawing Shakespeare: Henry IV, Part 1
Drawing by Paul Glenshaw of the Folger bas-relief depicting a scene from Henry IV, Part 1 This is the tenth post in a series by artist Paul Glenshaw about drawing the bas-reliefs by sculptor John Gregory on the front of…