Folger Shakespeare Library Announces How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition to Open on February 21

The exhibition draws from the Folger’s collection to highlight the powerful people behind the throne in Shakespeare’s time

The nation’s capital is full of people working to gain favor with those in leadership positions, but this trend predates Washington by hundreds of years. The court of Queen Elizabeth I was full of social climbers and courtiers seeking to better their own positions through their proximity to power. How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition, which opens at the Folger Shakespeare Library on February 21, 2025, shows how historical and literary figures ranging from royal advisors to household staff used cunning, cutthroat, and creative means to acquire power and curry favor with the Tudor monarchs. And, illustrating that the stakes were quite high during the 16th century, stories often ended with beheadings.

The exhibition will feature more than 60 objects from the Folger’s collection, including playbooks for how would-be advisors in a royal court should behave. These include a copy of Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince printed in 1584 in London, a political treatise that tells leaders how to gain and retain power, and The Book of the Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione dating to 1561, the definitive 16^th century book of manners, advising society’s elite how to dress, behave, and even dance. Visitors will also encounter letters, engravings, prints, caricatures, execution records, and illustrated funeral processions. The objects are organized into a presentation that offers “rules” for how to be a successful courtier, written with a 21^st-century audience in mind.

“I hope visitors see the parallels between Tudor England and today. Cancel culture, brand management, nepotism, power dressing, and the idea of ‘fake it ’til you make it’ were all a part of life for people seeking a position in the queen’s inner circle,” says Heather Wolfe, the Folger’s Curator of Manuscripts. “When I was selecting items for the exhibition, I was continually struck by the similarities between the self-help books for managers and leaders today and the how-to books for aspiring power players from the 16^th century.”

Additional highlights include an early “ruff commandment,” a proclamation prohibiting excessive fashion choices; miniature portraits of King James I’s family; a 1579 gift roll listing the gifts given to Queen Elizabeth I—with items such as jewelry, clothing, books, gloves, and candied treats—that extends to almost 12 feet long when unfurled; and a series of nine illuminated manuscript books bound in crimson velvet with gold braided borders depicting the coats of arms of the Knights of the Garter (c. 1569–1580). These books are a recent acquisition in the Folger’s collection and on exhibit for the first time in the United States.

“We have much to learn from the early modern world; there is an undeniable and exciting dialogue between the past and present within this exhibition,” says Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper, the Folger’s Director. “While status symbols and the rituals we engage in have changed over the centuries, the desire to elevate our social selves remains constant.”

The exhibition design was created by Topos Graphics. How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition will be open to the public until July 2025 in the Stuart and Mimi Rose Rare Book and Manuscript Exhibition Hall during the Folger’s regular hours, Sundays: 11am–6pm; Tuesday and Wednesday: 11am–6pm; Thursday, Friday, and Saturday: 11am–9pm; the Folger is closed on Mondays. Admission is free and related events and talks will be listed on the Folger website. The Folger Shakespeare Library is located at 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC. For more information about the exhibition, please visit: folger.edu/powerplayer

About Folger Shakespeare Library

The Folger Shakespeare Library makes Shakespeare’s stories and the world in which he lived accessible. Anchored by the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, the Folger is a cultural center where curiosity and creativity are embraced, and conversation is always encouraged. Visitors to the Folger can choose how they want to experience the arts and humanities, from interactive exhibitions to captivating performances, and from path-breaking research to transformative educational programming. The Folger welcomes everyone to connect in their own way—from communities throughout Washington, DC, to communities across the globe. Following a multiyear building renovation, the Folger’s historic Capitol Hill home reopened to the public on June 21, 2024. Learn more at www.folger.edu

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