Shakespeare & Beyond

John Douglas Thompson, who is playing the title role in Othello in the Royal Shakespeare Company production, shares his insights about the character and the play.

Selected by director Raymond O. Caldwell and the Folger staff, with evocative descriptions by Caldwell, rare objects resonate with the themes of Romeo and Juliet.

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

Melanie Bender Martin explores how the Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet, set in a DC metaverse, was equipped with political ads… in iambic pentameter.

Without alchemy there would be no mixology. No cocktails, no spirits, no liqueurs, no essences! Dive into the history of alchemy and distillation, with two cocktail recipes.

Jennifer Rampling, a Princeton history professor and author of The Experimental Fire: Inventing English Alchemy, 1300–1700, explores alchemy in Shakespeare’s England.

As we welcome Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet, we take a look back at some intriguing and varied highlights of our past looks at the play.

Mark the recent equinox and the start of autumn in the northern hemisphere with a look at Sonnet 73. Take this quiz to see if you can correctly order the lines.

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.”

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

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.