Shakespeare in the world
The post-modern peregrinations of Pericles
The story of Pericles continues to be retold by twenty-first century novelists, among them Mark Haddon, in The Porpoise (2019), and Ali Smith, in Spring (2019), the penultimate book in her “Seasonal Quartet.”
What theater makers learned from 2020
We asked some of our Shakespeare theater partners what the events of 2020 had illuminated for them about Shakespeare and theater.
William Shakespeare: International man of mystery
Austin Tichenor writes about how the lack of biographical details about Shakespeare’s life leaves his audience always wanting more.
Does a rose by any other name smell as sweet? Modern perfumes and the Myth of the Tudors
Does a rose by any other name smell as sweet? Can we capture the perfumes of the past to savor in the present? This blog post looks at two 21st-century perfumes that try to market their scents by evoking early…
Mangled glory: Fact and (mostly) fiction in Shakespeare’s history plays
Austin Tichenor writes about theater’s limitations as a historical record, given its dramatic needs and narrative imperatives.
“Jumping o’er times:” Visiting great Shakespeare performances past
Cyril Walter Hodges. The fire at the Globe, 1613 (illustration for: Shakespeare’s Theatre, 1964). Folger Shakespeare Library. While William Shakespeare never wrote what we might think of as a science-fiction play, he knew intuitively that the theatre — more…
How to think like a sonnet, or, fourteen ways of looking around a room
A sonnet packs a lot of meaning into a tiny space. Here are fourteen ways (one for each line) of approaching Shakespeare’s most well-known poems.
Sonnets & Chill: What did Shakespeare’s audiences do when the theaters were closed?
Speed reading Launce’s letter : / J. Gilbert ; W. Thomas, sc. 19th century. Folger Shakespeare Library. ART File S528t7 no.10 (size XS)All right, enough. We’ve all heard how super-productive William Shakespeare was when the plague shut down his theaters:…
Savor Shakespeare's sonnets with Patrick Stewart
Need some quality poetry to help you through these difficult times? Sir Patrick Stewart has been reading a Shakespeare sonnet a day on Twitter.
"A goodly prize": Award-winning Shakespeare movies
Since we’ve just completed the annual Hollywood marathon called “Awards Season” — several self-congratulatory months filled with the Independent Spirit Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, various guild awards from around the world, the British Film & Television Academy Awards (the…
5 classic TV Shakespeare references from the late 60s and early 70s: The Flintstones, Gilligan's Island, Star Trek, The Brady Bunch, and Happy Days
The cast of The Merry Wives of Windsor with a 1970s twist at Folger Theatre. The Brady Bunch-inspired scenic design is by Tony Cisek. (Cameron Whitman Photography) Shakespeare’s influence can be found in many aspects of American culture, from film…
Have yourself a merry Shakespeare Christmas
It’s that time of year, when a certain subset of us wonder, somewhat longingly and not for the first time—what’s the closest thing we have to a Shakespeare Christmas play?