Shakespeare in the news

We’re sharing some of the Shakespeare stories in the news from this fall, including the adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet for the big screen; a new discovery in Shakespeare Quarterly about a manuscript long attributed to Shakespeare’s father; remembering writer Tom Stoppard; a surprising connection between the middle school phrase “6-7” and Richard II; and new things to read, listen to, and watch.

The Real History Behind Hamnet and the Tragically Short Life of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway’s Only Son

From Smithsonian Magazine: A film adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel, starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley as Shakespeare and wife Anne Hathaway, opened over Thanksgiving. The film, directed by Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao (Nomadland), imagines the lives of the Shakespeare family in fantastical and then heartbreaking fashion.

Talking about the film, Folger Director Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper shared: “What would the story be if it was from Hathaway’s perspective? And how would we think about Shakespeare if she got to tell us stuff about him? Like, for example, he wasn’t around. In the same breath, you might be upset about an absent father but then really love Shakespeare. So, what that does is it breaks down this myth of this incredibly benign Bard, when actually he was a human man who had flaws, and that’s why his plays are so good.”

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Shakespeare Unlimited podcast interview with O’Farrell and Zhao 

Shakespeare: A Lost Manuscript Resurfaces After 400 Years—and Turns His Family’s Legacy Upside Down

From Indian Defence Review: A manuscript long believed to confirm William Shakespeare’s father’s secret Catholicism has been dramatically reassigned to his lesser-known sister, offering a rare glimpse into a hidden female voice from early modern England. Research published by Dr. Matthew Steggle in Shakespeare Quarterly reexamines a centuries-old document and identifies Joan Shakespeare Hart, not her father, as the likely author.

The document—known as the Spiritual Testament—surfaced in 1757 during repairs to the Shakespeare family home in Stratford-upon-Avon. For over two centuries, it was attributed to John Shakespeare and widely cited by scholars as evidence of his quiet resistance under Protestant rule. But new forensic analysis and textual dating indicate the manuscript could not have been written during his lifetime.

Steggle, professor of early modern literature at the University of Bristol, says that the study uses advanced digital tools to trace the text’s origins and correct what he calls “a longstanding historical misattribution.” The reassignment, he argues, “gives voice to a figure long written out of history,” as reported in The Daily Galaxy.

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Steggle’s discovery about the Shakespeare marriage

Remembering Tom Stoppard (1937–2025)

On Tuesday night, the theater lights in London’s West End dimmed for two minutes in honor of legendary playwright Tom Stoppard, who died on November 29 at the age of 88. A highly awarded writer of more than 30 plays, along with works for film, television, and radio, Stoppard had a unique connection to Shakespeare. He first rose to prominence with his 1966 play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, an absurdist take on two minor characters in Hamlet. It won the Tony Award in 1968. Years later, he co-wrote the script for the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love, which earned him an Academy Award for best Original Screenplay. Folger Theatre produced Stoppard’s Arcadia in 2009 and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in 2015.

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Encores | A scene from Arcadia performed by Folger Theatre in 2009

“6-7″—middle schoolers favorite phrase—may have roots in Shakespeare

From the New York Post: When David Marcus heard his teen try to explain what exactly “6-7” meant, a lightbulb went off. He believes the term stems from an old dice game called Hazard at the time, now known as craps.

“In the game, a player would call out the number he was trying to shoot for, or make, with two six-sided dice. Five, eight and nine were the most likely results. Six and seven, gamblers quickly discovered either through math or experience, offered lower odds and hence less chance of winning,” Marcus wrote in his opinion piece.

“From then on, six and seven, taken together, became forever associated with risk and worry. It can be found in the works of Chaucer, and has marched quite steadily down through the centuries.”

Marcus took things a step further by correlating the nonsensical term to William Shakespeare. “I should to Plashy too, but time will not permit. All is uneven, and everything is left at six and seven,” is an expression he would use in his play Richard II.

Read. Listen. Watch.

The Real Truth About the Tudor Succession Comes to Light. Literally. 

The transition to the Stuart dynasty after Elizabeth I’s death was neither smooth nor peaceful says Tracy Borman, chief historian of Historic Royal Palaces and chancellor and professor of Tudor history at Lincoln Bishop University, in her new book, The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit, and the Death of the Tudor Dynasty.

Folger Director on the Reduced Shakespeare Company podcast

In a wide-ranging conversation, Folger Director Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper talks about her new book for readers of all ages, All the World’s Your Stage, which explores the life and times of William Shakespeare through eight of his most popular plays and why this was one of her hardest books to write—plus her favorite Shakespeare play; the relationship between profanity and a love of language; Shakespearean mythbusting; the value of Shakespeare—as well as museums, arts, and humanities—beyond their “relevance;” how Shakespeare wrote what may be the first Black power speech; and the importance of studying Shakespeare on the stage as well as on the page.

Great Performances on PBS: Shakespeare in the Park’s Twelfth Night

The Shakespearean comedy of mistaken identity tells the romantic misadventures of twins Sebastian and Viola after they survive a shipwreck, including revenge plots and tricks of love. Featuring Lupita Nyong’o, Sandra Oh, Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Junior Nyong’o and more. Directed by Tony Award nominee Saheem Ali in the newly reopened Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Available to stream through December 31, 2025.

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C-SPAN: America’s Book Club with David Grann

Author David Grann joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss his books including Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager in the Folger’s historic Reading Room. They also visit the vault for a special tour of the Folger collection.