Shakespeare & Beyond

Artist Missy Dunaway explores the thieving magpie’s ominous appearances in Shakespeare’s plays.

We gathered tales of onstage mistakes, errors, and whoopsies from Shakespeare theaters across the US.

Chris Laoutaris explores the Shakespearean printing mystery behind the Pavier-Jaggard Quartos, published a few years before the First Folio.

Rachel Pollack writes about early modern English embroideries and the stories they depict, such as the classical myth of Hero and Leander.

An Ayurvedic doctor explores resonances between traditional Indian medicine and an early modern English recipe in the Folger collection that prescribes coriander to “helpe the memorie.”

A YA fantasy novelist shares how she channels her acting passions for Shakespeare and stage combat into her debut book, That Self-Same Metal.

Marking the 400th anniversary of the First Folio, Austin Tichenor compares The Book of Will, Lauren Gunderson’s popular play about the Folio’s creation, with new research shared by Chris Laoutaris in Shakespeare’s Book.

In 1536 Henry VIII forbade killing partridges to ensure populations could support falconry. Shakespeare refers to the partridge twice, both as examples of slaughtered prey.

Read our round-up of performances at Shakespeare theaters across the United States this April, May, and June.

The Receipt Book of Margaret Baker, compiled in 1675, contains a recipe for a memory-potion called “Confect of Coriander Seed.”

Shakespeare’s play Richard III turns real people into fictional villains, as does a new movie about the search for Richard III’s remains, writes Austin Tichenor.