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Shakespeare & Beyond

Shakespeare & Beyond

The Shakespeare & Beyond blog features a wide range of Shakespeare-related topics: the early modern period in which he lived, the ways his plays have been interpreted and staged over the past four centuries, the enduring power of his characters and language, and more.

Q&A with director Raymond O. Caldwell on Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare and AI, and his “love letter to DC”
Shakespeare and Beyond

Q&A with director Raymond O. Caldwell on Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare and AI, and his “love letter to DC”

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In a Q&A, director Raymond O. Caldwell explores divisive politics, youth-related issues, and how Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet is a “love letter to DC.”

“Th’ unruly camp”: The savage Shakespearean beauty of Deadwood
Shakespeare and Beyond

“Th’ unruly camp”: The savage Shakespearean beauty of Deadwood

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor dives deep into the Shakespearean character of the HBO Western Deadwood, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Sebastian and Antonio's hidden queer lives
Illustration for Twelfth Night. Wright's illustrations in this series include many characters from a given play in a tableau, based on the fifth act. This one centers on the twins, Viola and Sebastian--both still dressed as male figures--with many other characters around them.
Shakespeare and Beyond

Sebastian and Antonio's hidden queer lives

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Shakespeare & Beyond

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.

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in September
Shakespeare and Beyond

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in September

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Shakespeare & Beyond

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

Q&A: Greg Prickman on Imprints in Time, a dazzling special exhibition
A detailed papyrus artwork featuring two Egyptian figures. On the left is a human figure, while the right figure has a human body with a jackal head. Both are adorned in traditional garments, shown in a sideways profile, engaging with each other.
Shakespeare and Beyond

Q&A: Greg Prickman on Imprints in Time, a dazzling special exhibition

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Greg Prickman discusses Imprints in Time, the first special exhibition in the new space, including Tolkien’s edits and an ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.

How popular was Shakespeare in his day?
Shakespeare is seated at a desk and is writing, but looking up; the open window behind him has a vista of the city
Shakespeare and Beyond

How popular was Shakespeare in his day?

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Shakespeare & Beyond

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

Quiz: What do you know about "Romeo and Juliet"?
Colored image of the actors onstage in the tomb scene, with Romeo lying prone and apparently lifeless and Juliet leaning over him but looking up in despair, surrounded by stone walls.
Shakespeare and Beyond

Quiz: What do you know about "Romeo and Juliet"?

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Challenge yourself with a quiz about Romeo and Juliet; Folger Theatre’s production is beginning performances on October 1.

The roles of the river in early modern times
Shakespeare and Beyond

The roles of the river in early modern times

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Shakespeare & Beyond

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.

Q&A: Peggy O’Brien on a fantastical Shakespeare map
Peggy O'Brien, wearing the
Shakespeare and Beyond

Q&A: Peggy O’Brien on a fantastical Shakespeare map

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Shakespeare & Beyond

Peggy O’Brien helps us explore a giant, richly detailed fictional map filled with Shakespeare’s characters, newly created for the Folger’s exhibition spaces.

“The purpose of playing”: Working with Shakespeare in Sing Sing and Ghostlight
Still from movie with Colman Domingo in foreground at left, Clarence Maclin to his right.
Shakespeare and Beyond

“The purpose of playing”: Working with Shakespeare in Sing Sing and Ghostlight

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor explores how the films Sing Sing and Ghostlight show the power and healing of theater and Shakespeare, in both forceful and amusing ways.

Environmental history and the muckhill fine for Shakespeare's father
Shakespeare and Beyond

Environmental history and the muckhill fine for Shakespeare's father

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Shakespeare & Beyond

New research casts a more positive light on why Shakespeare’s father was fined for building a muckhill.

What’s onstage at Shakespeare theaters in August
Detail of a production photo from As You Like It, with Duke Seena at left and Rosalind at right looking at each other in a warm, kindly way, with Duke Seena's hands extended to touch Rosalind's face.
Shakespeare and Beyond

What’s onstage at Shakespeare theaters in August

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Author
Colleen Kennedy

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

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