Inside Shakespeare's plays

Shakespeare’s plays are full of unforgettable women, but too often their voices are cut short. In She Speaks: What Shakespeare’s Women Might Have Said, acclaimed actor Harriet Walter imagines what they might tell us if given the chance, using original poems that deepen their stories and shed new light on Shakespeare’s plays.

A round-up of stories about Shakespeare in the news this month—a September issue of our own—with discoveries about miniature portraits, Emma Smith’s webinar series, reading recs for kids, and ad parodies from Improvised Shakespeare.

Scholar Simon Smith explores Twelfth Night’s rich history on indoor and outdoor stages, asking how different spaces shape the play’s performance possibilities.

A six-episode podcast drops you inside Hamlet from the prince’s POV. Director Jeremy McCarter explains how 21st-century technology unlocked a fresh take on Shakespeare’s tragedy.

It’s full of joy, love, music, and mistaken identities. Challenge yourself with our quiz about Twelfth Night!

Shakespeare mentions the word “fool” more than 300 times. Here are seven quotes, often spoken by one of his wise—and witty—fools.

Try our quiz about the women in Hamlet, from Gertrude to Ophelia… and more.

How can A Midsummer Night’s Dream speak to students today? Scholar Gail Kern Paster writes that the 400-year-old play connects to a wide range of contemporary issues that 21st-century audiences care about.

What did Shakespeare’s characters have to say about love and lovers? Try our quiz to complete their lines.

Darren Freebury-Jones explores the ways in which Shakespeare reshaped the works of contemporaries like John Lyly, Thomas Kyd, and Christopher Marlowe into something distinctly his own.

What happens when a king loses his people’s trust? Historian Helen Castor delves into the 14th century drama behind Richard II’s fall and Henry IV’s rise, the events that inspired Shakespeare’s celebrated history plays.

Austin Tichenor takes a look at Al Pacino’s new memoir, Sonny Boy. Pacino describes how central Shakespeare was to his development as a young actor.