Black women have performed, revisited, claimed, and explored Shakespeare’s characters, language, and ideas for hundreds of years, yet too often their stories have not taken center stage. Try our quiz about some of the Black women encountering Shakespeare’s works and world, from centuries ago to the stars, directors, and scholars of today.
Quiz Maker – powered by Riddle
To learn more about Black women and Shakespeare, we invite you to explore our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast interviews, including “Black Women Shakespeareans, 1821–1860, with Joyce Green MacDonald,” Shakespeare & Beyond blog posts, and more. You can also learn more about Shakespeare’s plays from our online resources, including free, downloadable Folger editions of the text, essays, collection images, and more.
We also invite you to visit us at the Folger Shakespeare Library—just a block from the US Capitol—to enjoy our exhibitions, performances, and Quill & Crumb café.
On exhibit
To Hear Her Speak: Black Women and Shakespeare
Keep exploring
To Hear Her Speak: Black women, Shakespeare, and early modern texts
Patricia Akhimie, curator of the Folger exhibition To Hear Her Speak, asks: “What do Black women and Shakespeare have to do with each other?” Quite a bit over 400 years it turns out, as she shows in the catalog’s introduction.
Adjoa Andoh on Shakespeare
Acclaimed actor Adjoa Andoh shares how “swinging the lens” in both Bridgerton and Shakespeare reveals new perspectives on power, identity, and belonging, inviting audiences to see familiar stories in radically different ways.
Whitney White and Shakespeare
Theater powerhouse Whitney White shares the music she hears when she reads Shakespeare— punk rock, the blues, gospel—and how the sounds and rhythms of Lady Macbeth, Emilia, Juliet, and Richard III inspired All Is But Fantasy.
Stay connected
Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.