Portraits in Hamlet: ‘Look here upon this picture, and on this’
One of the oldest theatrical legends about Shakespeare is that he played the ghost in Hamlet. We know that Shakespeare was both an actor and a playwright, but we have no idea whether he acted this small, but memorable role.…
King and Country: Shakespeare treasures from the Folger
A special exhibition of rare quartos, promptbooks, and other treasures from the Folger collection accompanies the Royal Shakespeare Company staging of King and Country: Shakespeare’s Great Cycle of Kings at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York this month. Director Gregory…
David Garrick and the cult of bardolatry
David Garrick and George Anne Bellamy in Romeo and Juliet. Based on a painting by Benjamn Wilson engraved by Ravenet. Enamel, ca. 1765. Folger Shakespeare Library. The leading actor-manager of the 1700s, David Garrick revolutionized English theatre with a lively,…
Hamlet wasn't always the prince with the common touch
When we think about Shakespeare on the stage we usually imagine two different historical moments: ‘then’ and ‘now’. ‘Then’ is Shakespeare’s lifetime, when Richard Burbage, the original Hamlet, first spoke ‘To be or not to be’ from the stage of…
'Sweetly Writ': King Lear and the First Folio in Oregon
Barry Kraft as Lear in King Lear, produced by Southern Oregon University, Oregon Center for the Arts. (Credit: Prechtel photo) What can we learn from Shakespeare’s revisions to his plays, and what does that mean for the actors and directors…
Shakespeare Live: How Shakespeare plays are being staged across America
Get a glimpse of how different theaters and festivals around the United States are staging Shakespeare. Featured in this gallery are Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and…
Shock of the New, or a Ploy from the Past? Thoughts on OSF's Play "Translations"
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Allen Elizabethan Theatre. Featured is the set of OSF’s 2013 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Photo by T. Charles Erickson. Much ado about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which has announced plans to ‘translate’ all of…
As You Like It in Esperanto: Washington, DC, 1910
Folger Finds delivers delightful and insightful moments with the Folger collection. Sarah Hovde, a cataloger at the Folger Shakespeare Library, shares the story behind a 1910 Esperanto edition of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Heard any Esperanto lately? Designed by…