Staging Shakespeare
Making BEDLAM: Creating a Shakespeare mash-up series
Production crew of BEDLAM: The Series. Photo by Ashley Garrett. Eric Tucker is an off-Broadway director and Artistic Director of Bedlam Theatre. Musa Gurnis is an early modern theater scholar and actor. When we pitched our Shakespeare mash-up series BEDLAM…
What's Onstage at Shakespeare Theaters in December
In December, many of our theater partners take a break from Shakespeare to celebrate the holidays with their communities! We reached out to them to hear about holiday productions including “Cinderella,” “The Gift of the Magi,” “A Christmas Carol,” “It’s Christmas, Carol!” and…
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in November
If you’re looking for a side of Shakespeare to go with that Thanksgiving turkey, check out the plays that the Folger’s theater partners have cooking this month!
Folger Finds: Edwin Booth's royal tunic
Marking the anniversary of actor Edwin Booth’s birth on November 13, 1833, we explore a stunning historical costume from the Folger collection: an embroidered-velvet tunic that Booth wore onstage as King Richard III.
Helena Modjeska, a shining Polish-American star
Born on October 12, 1840, the Shakespearean star Helena Modjeska shone bright in two very different theatrical worlds, first becoming a leading lady in Warsaw and then, after moving to Anaheim, California, launching a second career as a leading actress…
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in October
October brings a bumper crop of productions from the Folger’s theater partners, including a ‘King Lear’ performed in Original Pronunciation, ‘Romeos and Juliets’ galore, and a new adaptation of ‘As You Like It’ featuring the music of the Beatles.
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in September
This September, there’s still time to catch the final performances of some of this summer’s outdoor Shakespeare productions. Plus, watch performances online from the American Players Theatre, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and Shakespeare in…
Shakespeare's late romances on summertime stages
What’s behind the unusual number of Shakespeare’s romances onstage this summer? We talked to the artists behind them to find out.
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters this summer
Summer Shakespeare is back. Take a look at the plays that the Folger’s theater partners have onstage this July and August.
What's your favorite Shakespeare play?
(left-right) Joshua David Robinson, Matt Dallal, Zachary Fine, and Jack Schmitt in Love’s Labor’s Lost, Folger Theatre, 2019. Photo by Brittany Diliberto. You’d think I’d have a better answer to the question, “What’s your favorite Shakespeare play?” — but it’s…
Excerpt - "A Short History of Shakespeare in Performance" by Richard Schoch
How have directors sought to make Shakespeare productions relevant to contemporary political issues? What is it about these plays that makes them so politically resonant? Richard Schoch (Queen’s University Belfast) explores these questions in the excerpt below, taken from A…
Where to find Shakespeare in June
This month, Shakespeare theaters across the country are bringing live theater back! Take a look at what the Folger’s theater partners have onstage this month, along with virtual talks, online streaming shows, and audio productions.