A Midsummer Night's Dream
W. Heath Robinson: Shakespeare Illustrated by "Britain's Rube Goldberg"
Known for his complex imaginary contraptions, W. Heath Robinson also produced exquisite illustrations for editions of Shakespeare’s works.
America's Shakespeare: The Bard goes west to Hollywood
“The Bard Goes West” showcases two ways that Hollywood adapts Shakespeare: staying fairly true to the play, and using the plots but not his language.
Reading ahead for "Will & Jane"
As you’ve seen on this blog already, the next Folger exhibition, Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity (August 6 to November 6), will be a fascinating look at the posthumous celebrities of William Shakespeare and Jane…
Midsummer Illustrated Quotes
Check out these beautifully illustrated quotes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream! You can find more images of quotes from Shakespeare’s plays on the Folger Pinterest page. A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Folger, now extended though March 13!
A Midsummer Night's Dream Costume Design
Costume Designer Devon Painter previously designed productions of Cyrano, Macbeth, and Measure for Measure at the Folger before turning her talents to A Midsummer Night’s Dream this season. You can see costume renderings from her past Folger productions on her website. From Devon – From the…
A Midsummer Night's Dream Set Design
Set Designer Paige Hathaway previously designed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Folger, and returns this season with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Learn more about her design for Shakespeare’s sylvan romance below. From Paige – My design process for the set of Midsummer started…
Midsummer Dramaturg's Notes
Folger Dramaturg Michele Osherow. There’s a fascination with dreams in Shakespeare, though Midsummer is the only play to announce one in its title. What’s odd is that aside from Hermia’s unnerving vision in the forest, no dreams are dreamt. Instead,…
Midsummer Synopsis
Purchase a Folger edition of Midsummer at the Gift Shop. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, residents of Athens mix with fairies from a local forest, with comic results. In the city, Theseus, Duke of Athens, is to marry Hippolyta, Queen…
Midsummer Cast
Working with Aaron Posner
I met director Aaron Posner in a Las Vegas casino. I honked out bits of Bottom and pieces of Puck alone on a 3000 seat Vegas showroom stage to Aaron Posner and Aaron Posner alone. We had both been working on…
Wagner and Shakespeare meet in Bayreuth
Back in August, I posted about a unique artists’ book from 1995. Today, I’d like to showcase an example from the other end of the twentieth century, an artists’ book created in 1908 by American painter Pinckney Marcius-Simons (1867–1909). In…