Shakespeare Unlimited
Such Sweet Thunder: The musical sonnets in Duke Ellington's Shakespeare suite
Duke Ellington includes “musical sonnets” in his 12-song Shakespeare jazz suite, Such Sweet Thunder. Learn more about this 1957 milestone in the story of jazz and Shakespeare from an interview with Douglas Lanier.
Helena Modjeska, a shining Polish-American star
Born on October 12, 1840, the Shakespearean star Helena Modjeska shone bright in two very different theatrical worlds, first becoming a leading lady in Warsaw and then, after moving to Anaheim, California, launching a second career as a leading actress…
Shakespeare's roles in the Caribbean
Shakespeare is woven into the culture of the British Caribbean, with a special emphasis on Caliban and The Tempest–but does he reflect the colonial past, influence anti-colonial authors, or both? Scholars Giselle Rampaul and Barrymore A. Bogues traced his complex…
A closer look at pregnancy, midwifery, and breastfeeding in the Tudor period
Jakob Rüff. The expert midwife, 1637. Folger STC 21442 What was everyday life like for women throughout Tudor society? Elizabeth Norton, a historian of the queens of England and the Tudor period, shares stories on the Folger’s Shakespeare Unlimited podcast…
Summer reading: Find your next book by listening to these author interviews
Looking for a good beach read? Something to bring on your long plane ride? Listen to these author interviews from the Folger’s Shakespeare Unlimited podcast to find a novel inspired by Shakespeare’s stories and his world. Naomi Miller on Mary…
Top 5 Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episodes of 2020
Our top Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episodes from 2020 explore Shakespeare’s sources, his sonnets, and the solace we take in his work. Happy listening!
‘Julius Caesar’ and Shakespeare’s change in the American curriculum, from rhetoric to literature
Early 19th-century American students would study speeches from Shakespeare’s plays as examples of good public speaking, not as literature. How did Shakespeare’s place in the school curriculum change?
Romeo and Juliet: Is Shakespeare’s famous love story actually a play about violence?
Is Romeo and Juliet a play about love? Well yes, but it’s also about violence, argues Casey Kaleba, the fight director for many Folger Theatre productions and one of the Washington, DC, area’s most sought-after fight coaches for stage plays.
The madness of Hamlet and King Lear: When psychiatrists used Shakespeare to argue legal definitions of insanity in the courtroom
Well-known Shakespeare characters such as King Lear and Hamlet suffer (or appear to suffer) from madness—and early American psychiatrists took note. Observations drawn from literature began to bleed into courtroom testimony regarding insanity pleas.
10 acclaimed directors on Shakespeare and their work
A few of favorite quotes from some of the directors we’ve had on the Folger’s Shakespeare Unlimited podcast since 2014.
Top 10 Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episodes of 2019
Our top Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episodes from 2019 feature interviews with authors, directors, actors, and scholars. Happy listening! 1. Deborah Harkness: A Discovery of Witches In 1994, Deborah Harkness was doing research at Oxford University’s Bodleian Library when she stumbled…
Revisit the top five Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episodes of 2018
Revisit some of our most popular 2018 Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episodes, from Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway to a conversation with actor Derek Jacobi to the tyrants in Shakespeare’s plays.