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.
Shakespeare & Beyond
![Shax_beyond_small_banner](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2022/11/Shax_beyond_small_banner.jpg?resize=1200%2C400&gravity)
Shakespeare & Beyond also explores the topics that shape our experience of Shakespeare today: trends in performance, the latest discoveries and scholarship, news stories, pop culture, interesting books, new movies, the rich context of theater and literary history, and more. As the word “beyond” suggests, from time to time Shakespeare & Beyond also covers topics that are not directly linked to Shakespeare.
Questions or comments? You can reach us at shakespeareandbeyond@folger.edu.
![127318 recipes](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/09/127318.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Toil and trouble: Recipes and the witches in 'Macbeth'
Shakespeare’s witches, like nearly all witches of Shakespeare’s time, have their roots in the kitchen more than in the study.
![Sarah Harlett as Richard III. Seattle Shakespeare Company's all-female production.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/09/Richard-III-10_sm-e1536950355671.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in September
Find out what’s onstage at Shakespeare theaters across the United States in September.
![A Midsummer Night's Dream Titania and Bottom](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/09/Midsummer-finished-drawing-Paul-Glenshaw.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Drawing Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Artist Paul Glenshaw takes a close look at Titania and Bottom as he draws the scene from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” depicted on a Folger bas-relief.
![The Shakespeare Requirement cover image The Shakespeare Requirement cover image](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/08/Shakespeare-Requirement-cover-image.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Excerpt - 'The Shakespeare Requirement' by Julie Schumacher
In her new novel “The Shakespeare Requirement,” Julie Schumacher continues her satirical commentary on the humanities in academia.
![Imagining Shakespeare's Wife cover Anne Hathway](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/09/imagining-shakespeares-wife-cover-image.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Mary Baker and the legacy of Anne Hathaway's Cottage
This excerpt from a new book by Katherine West Scheil explores the 19th-century transformation of the Anne Hathaway Cottage into a tourist destination.
![Macbeth Ian Peakes and Kate Eastwood Norris as the tragically ambitious Macbeths. Photo by Brittany Diliberto.](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/08/DSC06350_750x500.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Quiz: Shakespeare's Macbeth? Or William Davenant's 17th-century adaptation?
Take this quiz to see if you can identify lines from Shakespeare’s Macbeth or the Restoration-era version as adapted and amended by Sir William Davenant.
After Sarah Bernhardt: Frances de la Tour's 1979 performance as Hamlet
Jonathan Croall writes about Frances de la Tour’s 1979 performance as Hamlet, the first woman to do so on the English stage since Sarah Bernhardt.
![Paul Glenshaw](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/08/PaulGlenshaw_2018-07-20_01_crJulieAinsworth.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Drawing the Folger's Shakespeare bas-reliefs
Paul Glenshaw writes about drawing the Folger’s Shakespeare bas-reliefs, which were created by John Gregory and depict scenes from nine plays.
![Wenceslaus Hollar engraving Summer](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/08/034638-Aestas-Summer.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Summertime in the Folger collection: Sunshine, youth, and harvest
Slip into the Folger collection with me and connect with sweltering people from summers past in their quest to beat the heat or rhapsodize summer’s charms.
![Ellen McLaughlin Ellen McLaughlin translated Pericles](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/08/playwright-ellen-mclaughlin.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Play on! Q&A: Ellen McLaughlin on translating 'Pericles'
Ellen McLaughlin writes about translating ‘Pericles’ for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and what she learned about this less frequently produced play.
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What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in August
This month might be your last chance to catch some of that sweet, sweet summertime Shakespeare before the weather starts to cool down and it’s time to head back to school. See what the Folger’s theater partners have onstage this…
![William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged) William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged)](https://images.folger.edu/uploads/2018/08/RSC-LongLost-crTWood.jpg?fit=10%2C10)
Discovering Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play
Austin Tichenor of the Reduced Shakespeare Company writes about the creation of William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged).