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.
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Five Folger Finds: Coronations, jubilees, and royal processions
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Esther French
Did you know that Queen Elizabeth II visited the Folger in 1991? In honor of her Platinum Jubilee, dig into some royal history in the Folger collection.
Q&A: Director Sam Gold on his 'Macbeth' with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga
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Shakespeare & Beyond
Director Sam Gold shares what he loves most about Macbeth, why it stands out from other Shakespeare tragedies he's directed, and how his ideas about the play changed over time. His current Broadway production, starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga, runs through July 10.
Q&A: Allan Clayton on playing Hamlet in Brett Dean's opera
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Shakespeare & Beyond
Hamlet sings! A new opera version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is onstage now at the Metropolitan Opera, with tenor Allan Clayton resuming the title role that he played for the opera's world premiere at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2017. Read our Q&A with Allan Clayton.
Q&A: Jacob Ming-Trent on Falstaff, Bottom, and Shakespeare’s comedy
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Shakespeare & Beyond
Jacob Ming-Trent shares a favorite moment from his Shakespeare in the Park performance as Falstaff in "Merry Wives," which premieres on PBS's Great Performances May 20.
Thanks to its peculiar reproductive cycle, distant migration, and haunting melodies, the cuckoo may hold the title for most folklore among Shakespeare’s birds.
Excerpt: Jonathan Bate's preface to the RSC's second edition of Shakespeare's complete works
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Shakespeare & Beyond
"To know Shakespeare thoroughly and read him well aloud, it was necessary to have a usable edition of his works, a text that did away with printer’s errors and the vagaries of old spelling and punctuation, that explained the more obscure words and allusions in the plays, and that was furnished with critical guidance as to the nature of Shakespeare’s genius," writes Jonathan Bate (referring to the notable Shakespeare editor Samuel Johnson) in this excerpt from the preface to the Royal Shakespeare Company's newly published second edition of the complete works of Shakespeare.
Excerpt - "William Shakespeare’s Avengers: The Complete Works" by Ian Doescher
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Shakespeare & Beyond
The Bard meets the MCU in Ian Doescher's reworking of the four Avengers films as a Shakespearean play. Read an excerpt from the epic Battle of New York scene from the first Avengers film.