Shakespeare & Beyond

It’s officially Christmas Carol season! See what’s playing at our Shakespeare Theater Partners around the country this December.

2024 has been a great year for new books about—and inspired by—Shakespeare. Explore our list for gift giving or adding to your own TBR list.

In an excerpt from The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV, historian Helen Castor travels back in time to the weeks just before Shakespeare’s play begins.

Erika T. Lin studies early modern holidays and her work has yielded some surprising revelations—not only about the festivities themselves, but about the relationship between holidays and what we now think of as “theater.”

We’ve got the perfect gift for everyone on your list in this guide to some of our favorites from the Folger Shop.

Read our round-up of October performances from Shakespeare theaters across the country.

In an excerpt from Straight Acting: The Hidden Queer Lives of William Shakespeare, Will Tosh uses lines from Twelfth Night to trace Sebastian and Antonio’s relationship.

Read our round-up of September performances from Shakespeare theaters across the country.

In an excerpt from a classic Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episode, Emma Smith explores a fascinating question: how popular was Shakespeare in his lifetime?

An excerpt from Reading the River in Shakespeare’s Britain surveys some of the cultural roles of rivers, including how Shakespeare mentioned them in his plays.

Tabitha Stanmore tells the story of a 15th-century widow hiring a magic practitioner in this excerpt from her book “Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic.”

Mark the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission with a look at a fascinating Apollo 11 flight plan sheet that traveled to the Moon.