Folger Finds
A contract for Othello
Paul Robeson as Othello Folger Finds delivers delightful and insightful moments with the Folger collection. Sarah Hovde, a cataloger at the Folger Shakespeare Library, unearths the contract between the producer, the director, and the star of the longest-running Shakespeare play…
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,…
A beautiful Twelfth Night
Folger Finds delivers delightful and insightful moments with the Folger collection. Sarah Hovde, a cataloger at the Folger Shakespeare Library, reveals a 1932 edition of Twelfth Night with beautiful engravings by Eric Ravilious. Twelfth Night, the last of the twelve…
A very special Christmas gift
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 book that belonged to the library’s founder. Many of us have probably given or received…
How Frank R. Benson helped revive Shakespeare's popularity
Frank R. Benson. Folger Shakespeare Library. Folger Finds delivers delightful and insightful moments with the Folger collection. Sarah Hovde, a cataloger at the Folger Shakespeare Library, shares the story behind the announcement of a turn-of-the-century “Shakespearean season” in London. It’s…
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…
The first new Folger Folio (Fourth Folio, that is) in over 80 years
This copy of the Fourth Folio, published in 1685, is the first Shakespeare Folio to be added to the Folger Shakespeare Library collection since the days of our founders, Henry Folger (1857-1930) and Emily Folger (1858-1936). The collection now holds…
Introducing texts&beheadings:ElizabethR
The 2015/16 season at Folger Theatre kicks off with a special engagement of texts&beheadings/ElizabethR, which heads into rehearsal next week and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to host the world premiere of this new American play (we have more than one this…
Louis Butelli: Introducing Gravedigger’s Tale
Louis Butelli Hello, dear readers of the Folger Production Diary! This is your friend Louis Butelli writing you once again. How’ve you been? The reason for this entry is to proudly announce a brand new collaboration between myself, director Robert…
Gravedigger's Tale
Gravedigger’s Tale is going on tour! Learn more and reserve for your organization today! Gravedigger’s Tale is a new interactive one-man play based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The play, developed by director Robert Richmond (Folger Theatre’s Julius Caesar, Richard III, Henry V and more), features the Gravedigger, who…
#TBT Flashback: Folger's Julius Caesar
There are just four more days to catch Julius Caesar at the Folger, as we are leaving Rome on December 7. You’ve already read Louis Butelli’s thoughts on returning to the Folger as Cassius after performing the part here in 2000, so we’ve…
Louis Butelli: Lights, Camera, Action!
Cover art for “Silent Shakespeare.” Hello once again from your pal Louis Butelli! We have completed our first full week of rehearsals for Robert Richmond’s production of Twelfth Night, beginning April 30 at the Folger Theatre. We’ve got a really…