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Inspired by Shakespeare

Artist Elise Ansel Reimagines Macbeth
Shakespeare and Beyond

Artist Elise Ansel Reimagines Macbeth

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Ansel shares how her questions as an artist fellow about Fuseli’s take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth inspired her to create two abstract, large-scale oil paintings but this time from a woman’s perspective that celebrates the play’s sisterhood.

The space between Julius Caesar and Malcolm X
Shakespeare and Beyond

The space between Julius Caesar and Malcolm X

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Al Letson’s play Julius X acts as a sort of Venn diagram that allows us to twice witness a familiar text (Julius Caesar), with a harsh and violent moment of American history that marked a significant contest waged by Black Americans for freedom and equality.

Shakespeare in the news
Shakespeare and Beyond

Shakespeare in the news

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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

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.

The Improvised Shakespeare Company
Shakespeare and Beyond

The Improvised Shakespeare Company

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Author
Austin Tichenor

The Improvised Shakespeare Company has been creating hilarious Shakespearean masterpieces—from an audience suggestion of a title of a show that has never been written—for 20 years. Austin Tichenor shares how they do it.

Julius Caesar meets Julius X
Shakespeare and Beyond

Julius Caesar meets Julius X

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Author
Johnna Champion

Discover books, costume sketches, and theatrical props for Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in the Folger collection along with items from Folger Theatre’s production of Al Letson’s Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. 

Al Letson on his play Julius X
Shakespeare Unlimited

Al Letson on his play Julius X

Posted

Journalist, playwright, and poet Al Letson talks about Julius X, his play that borrows lines, characters, and plot from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to tell the story of Malcolm X. He shares the play’s origins and his approach to creating art.

Shakespeare, Money, and Meaning-Making
Shakespeare Unlimited

Shakespeare, Money, and Meaning-Making

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Can reading King Lear help us rethink economic policy? Can Measure for Measure shape how we talk about justice? Professors Laurette Dubé and Paul Yachnin explore how Shakespeare can help us imagine more humane systems for our world.

Artists and scholars on queer Shakespeare
Shakespeare and Beyond

Artists and scholars on queer Shakespeare

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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

We’re celebrating Pride Month by sharing some of our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast interviews and blog posts with acclaimed artists, actors, directors, scholars, and writers about queer Shakespeare over the centuries.

Shakespeare’s Boy Player Alexander Cooke
Shakespeare Unlimited

Shakespeare’s Boy Player Alexander Cooke

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In Shakespeare’s time, women onstage were played by boys, and for those boy players, fame could be fleeting. Nicole Galland’s novel Boy follows Alexander “Sander” Cooke, a real-life actor in Shakespeare’s company.

Shakespeare and Science Fiction
Shakespeare and Beyond

Shakespeare and Science Fiction

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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

What is Shakespeare’s role in a genre of literature—science fiction—that flourished centuries after his plays first took the stage? Scholar Sarah Annes Brown explores the influence of Shakespeare the man and his writing.

Imagining Shakespeare’s actor Alexander Cooke
Shakespeare and Beyond

Imagining Shakespeare’s actor Alexander Cooke

Posted
Author
Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor travels back to Elizabethan England with Nicole Galland’s novel Boy about Shakespeare’s acting company member Alexander Cooke in a surprisingly contemporary exploration of gender roles onstage and off.

Juliet and Romeo as a Western
Shakespeare and Beyond

Juliet and Romeo as a Western

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Author Anthony Del Col shares how the newest Kill Shakespeare adventure found its inspiration in Westerns like The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

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