Macbeth
Speaking what we feel: Shakespeare’s plague plays
How do Shakespeare’s plays reflect a life filled with plague outbreaks, asks Austin Tichenor — and do we see his plays in new ways now?
Up Close: The voodoo Macbeth that generated jobs for Black Americans during the Great Depression
A spectacular 1936 Federal Theatre Project production of “Macbeth” in New York City employed hundreds of black actors and theater technicians. It was financed by the Federal Theatre Project, a controversial part of the federal government’s New Deal programs to…
This Post Stinks, or, ‘I hope that the stuff will not smell too vilely’
John Masefield has a burning question he needs answered. Literally. Writing from his home Hill Crest in Boar’s Hill, Oxford, the Poet Laureate asks theater production veteran Allan Wade a crucial question about staging his home theatrical production of Macbeth.1…
ENCORES: ‘Blood Will Have Blood’ from ‘Macbeth’ produced by Folger Theatre and Two River Theater (2008)
Folger Public Programs is pleased to present ENCORES, a weekly online series highlighting past performances and recalling the rich history of programming on the historic Folger stage. See our special feature ‘Blood Will Have Blood’ from Folger Theatre/Two River Theater’s…
ENCORES: ‘Davenant’s Macbeth’ produced by Folger Theatre and Folger Consort (2018)
Folger Public Programs is pleased to present ENCORES, a weekly online series highlighting past performances and recalling the rich history of programming on the historic Folger stage. See a clip of ‘Davenant’s Macbeth’ from Folger Theatre/Folger Consort’s 2018 production.
Strange Shakespeare: Macbeth and the even weirder sisters
Shakespeare’s witches haven’t always terrified audiences. For a century and more – from the late 17th to the early 19th centuries – actors played these parts for laughs. During the period in which Shakespeare became “the Bard”, the witches in…
Order It: Macbeth’s “Out, out, brief candle!”
As the play’s climactic battle approaches, Macbeth is told of his wife’s death. He responds, “She should have died hereafter. There would have been a time for such a word.” And then he launches into one of Shakespeare’s most famous…
Excerpt – ‘Lady Romeo’ by Tana Wojczuk
American actress Charlotte Cushman was a 19th-century theatrical icon, known for playing traditionally male roles like Romeo and Hamlet. She was not the only actress of her time to play these parts, but her style was uniquely assertive and athletic.…
Teller on his magical 'Macbeth' at Folger Theatre
Ian Merrill Peakes (Macbeth), Macbeth, conceived and directed by Teller and Aaron Posner, Folger Theatre in a co-production with Two River Theater Company, 2008. Carol Pratt. “Our premise is that Macbeth is Shakespeare’s supernatural horror thriller, and should be done…
"Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen": Hedgehogs in Shakespeare's plays and the early modern imagination
Edward Topsell. The historie of foure-footed beastes. 1607. FOLGER STC 24123 copy 1 While the global population of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) is stable, their numbers have been rapidly declining in the UK for decades, especially in rural areas. This…
Possets, drugs, and milky effects: A look at recipes, Shakespeare's plays, and other historical references
Shakespeare’s plays are full of references to food and cookery, but they’re not always very appetizing. In Hamlet, the ghost of elder Hamlet describes the effect of the poison that Claudius pours into his ears, how it winds its way…
Verdi's Macbeth: "The opera without a love affair!"
Macbeth posta in musica da Giuseppe Verdi e per grata memoria dedicato al suo amatissimo suocero Antonio Barezzi Riduzione per Pianoforte solo de E. Muzio. . 1847. FOLGER 266549“L’opera senza amore!” That was the Italians’ reaction to Verdi’s Macbeth when…