Folger Shakespeare Library

Our Mellon Curator of Rare Books and Prints aarontpratt.bsky.social answers a few questions! Learn his Folger origin story, what he's discovering in the Folger collection, and research projects in the works. www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

What books would an English Royalist gentleman bring with him if he were emigrating to Virginia in the 1650s? “A List of Mr Edward Dales Books,” gives us a good idea. Thirty-four titles are listed, including a copy of Shakespeare’s Second Folio (1632). www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

From the women who lived and worked alongside Shakespeare to the modern artists, scholars, and everyday people who have used Shakespeare's words to tell their own stories, "To Hear Her Speak" explores the longstanding connection between Shakespeare and Black women. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

On the blog, scholar Marissa Greenberg talks about themes in "Measure for Measure" and how they resonate today in both art and life. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

“This exhibition is both what you didn’t know about the 16th century, and also what you didn’t know about Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Ida B. Wells, Phillis Wheatley and Rosa Parks,” says Folger Institute Director Patricia Akhimie of "To Hear Her Speak." www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

"There's a great act of discovery and celebration happening at the Folger," says "To Hear Her Speak" exhibition chair, Shakespearean actor, and "Bridgerton" star Adjoa Andoh. Andoh and exhibition curator Dr. Patricia Akhimie spoke with @fox5dc.com.web.brid.gy: www.fox5dc.com/video/fmc-sv...

"It’s a performance [and theater] history but it’s also an intellectual history about Black women as writers and artists,” says Dr. Patricia Akhimie, exhibition curator for "To Hear Her Speak." More from "The Guardian": www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

Black women have explored Shakespeare’s characters, language, and ideas for hundreds of years, yet too often their stories have not taken center stage. Try our quiz about some of the Black women encountering Shakespeare’s works and world: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Opening Day! Congratulations to Folger Institute Dr. Patricia Akhimie on her first exhibition here @folger.edu

Theaters are time machines, and William Shakespeare knew it. @austintichenor.bsky.social explores on the blog. Read now: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Patricia Akhimie, curator of the Folger exhibition "To Hear Her Speak," asks: “What do Black women and Shakespeare have to do with each other?” Read the full excerpt at the link below and visit the Folger to see "To Hear Her Speak," opening Oct. 16! www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Earle Hyman. Known to generations of TV viewers as Cosby’s dad, he had a significant theatrical career, including a variety of landmark Shakespeare roles. We're honored to have his papers as part of the Folger. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Renea S. Brown (Isabella), Nathan Darrow (The Duke), and Lee Osorio (Angelo) stopped by Good Morning Washington to talk about "Measure for Measure," how the production came together, why it's set in the 1950s American South, and what audiences will leave thinking about. wjla.com/good-morning...

"To Hear Her Speak" (opening Oct 16 at the Folger) explores how Black women have engaged with Shakespeare’s work over hundreds of years through literature, performance art, fashion, and activism. Take an early look at the exhibition courtesy of @washingtonian.com: washingtonian.com/2026/10/05/a...

Now on the podcast, acclaimed actors and real-life spouses Brian Cox and Nicole Ansari-Cox share stories from their extraordinary careers on stage and screen, including their current roles as Johann Sebastian and Anna Magdalena Bach in "The Score" www.folger.edu/podcasts/sha...

Banning books goes back thousands of years, almost as long as people have been writing. For Banned Books Week (Oct 4-10), Aaron T. Pratt, the Folger's curator of rare books and prints, looks at one of 15 books that James I went beyond banning to publicly burn: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

This week at @folger.edu Artistic Research Fellow, award-winning clown, & playful co-conspirator Chase Brantley is doing an interactive conversation about his research connecting contemporary clowning to the pre-Restoration history of the practice.

After seeing Psalmayene 24’s staging of "Measure for Measure" at the Folger, John Stoltenberg of DC Theater Arts left the theater, "overwhelmed by the brilliance and power of his production concept: setting the play in the segregated American South in the 1950s." dctheaterarts.org/2026/10/02/p...

In "Measure for Measure," Shakespeare’s setting of 16th-century Vienna was a stand-in for his own London. @austintichenor.bsky.social writes that recent productions updated to the 20th century give fresh historical specificity to the play’s ethical dilemmas. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Scholar @ruben-espinosa.bsky.social explores all we gain when we build a bigger bookshelf—one that includes Shakespeare and the many different voices that have followed. Read his blog, part of our America's Next 250 blog series: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Please contact our box office for more information.

Director Psalmayene returns to the Folger to tackle "Measure for Measure." In this Q&A, he shares his first thoughts on the production, set in the American South in the 1950s, and how he approaches Shakespeare’s text like a new work. www.folger.edu/blogs/folger...

In the theater and classroom, scholar Jean E. Howard explores how Shakespeare can help us to develop "democratic practices that embrace the thoughts and talents of multitudes..." More in our America's Next 250 blog series at the link in our bio! www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Who doesn’t like the occasional dip into someone else’s personal correspondence? The Folger’s collection of 16th and 17th century letters gets us up close and personal with some of the period’s most famous and infamous people. Today we take a look at John Donne: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Go behind the scenes with costume designer Mika Eubanks (@mika_eubanksdesigns) who is creating the 1950s looks for Folger Theatre's "Measure for Measure."

Audiences today continue to debate the questions that "Measure for Measure" raises. While it may be one of Shakespeare’s less frequently performed works, several quotes from it are well known. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

"The Bard in the Borderlands" (@acmrs.bsky.social), a three-volume anthology of plays by Chicanx and Indigenous playwrights, explores the possibilities of retelling Shakespeare through the culture, language, and traditions of “the borderlands.” More on the podcast: www.folger.edu/podcasts/sha...

Shakespeare lived through climate change, too. Scholar Harry R. McCarthy says characters in the plays—from Titania to Viola to the courtiers in "The Temptest"—show the power in catastrophic times of turning "our thoughts to the collective over the individual." www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

One of Shakespeare’s most appealing yet perhaps underpraised talents is his ability to readily coin insults that fit the moment and the mood. Try our quiz about a few of the many memorable insults in Shakespeare’s plays. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Now on the blog, Assistant Curator of Collections Johnna Champion explores a variety of collection items that show the mixed responses to "Measure for Measure" over the centuries. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Scholar Paul Menzer remembers Dolly Parton (1946-2026) and the Shakespeare play that inspired her as a singer-songwriter. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Why is it important for lawyers to brush up their Shakespeare? On the podcast, University of Michigan Law professor and author Len Niehoff @lenniehoff.bsky.social discusses what Shakespeare can teach lawyers about looking at problems from every possible angle. www.folger.edu/podcasts/sha...

What were readers of Shakespeare thinking about in 1776 as the US was forming? Scholar Brandi K. Adams @bkadams.bsky.social looks at a critical edition of "Antony and Cleopatra" published in England that year and why its editor didn’t believe the play had a future. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

It's our most popular question! ❌ 🧤 @wtopnews.bsky.social and Matt Kaufax are are on the case as to why we don't wear gloves when handling books: wtop.com/matt-about-t...

Actress Ellen Terry was most famous for her Shakespearian roles. But in addition to being an actress, Terry was also a dog lover. In honor of International Dog Day, our Collation blog looks at some of the many pups found in her photo album in the Folger's collection. www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

Matt Kaufax and @wtopnews.bsky.social investigate the question of "Why Shakespeare?" and why the Folgers amassed such a large collection of Folios. wtop.com/matt-about-t...

Tomorrow is the anniversary of Richard III's death at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard is one of Shakespeare's most famous and popular villains. But how much of Shakespeare's depiction is truth and how much is theatrical invention? Let's explore! www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Announcing the cast of "Measure for Measure"! Power, desire, and morality take center stage in this production directed by Psalmayene 24 and running September 22–November 1, 2026. Tickets at folger.edu/mfm

Arts administrator, writer, and advocate @hesherman.bsky.social recently saw "The Winter's Tale" for the first time. On the blog, he shares his approach to seeing Shakespeare after decades of theatergoing and the rewards of letting the production speak first. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

The Folger is open this weekend (August 22-23). More info at folger.edu.

Our conservators work hard to preserve and restore our collection. Thanks to @wtopnews.bsky.social for highlighting!

On our "Collation" blog, scholar Brandi K. Adams @bkadams.bsky.social, an assistant professor at Arizona State University, explores the first use of the words "artificial intelligence" and what they meant then and now. www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

As he wraps up his final season as Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival @stratfest.bsky.social, Antoni Cimolino discusses revisiting "The Tempest," the power of forgiveness, and the "rough magic" that makes theater possible. 🎙️ Listen on the podcast: www.folger.edu/podcasts/sha...

Americans have conscripted Shakespeare in causes all the way back to Jamestown's founding. Looking ahead, might Shakespeare's talent for giving "us pause" unite us in a new consensus? As part of our "America's Next 250" series, scholar Paul Menzer explores: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

It's us! So looking forward to this continuing series from @wtopnews.bsky.social and Matt Kaufax about the work of the Folger.

Now on the blog, curator @heatherwolfe.bsky.social shares heavily annotated books in the Folger collection from early modern readers who knew the power of underlining words, adding notes in the margin, and even putting the occasional doodle in what they were reading. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

William Shakespeare’s plays—and plays and musicals inspired by him—are always a feature at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s largest performing arts festival, and this year is no exception. @austintichenor.bsky.social explores the Shakespearean offerings: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Now on the podcast, scholar @carolinebicks.bsky.social talks about how Stephen King's "The Shining" was inspired by "Hamlet" and why the author ultimately chose a different fate for his characters. The full podcast is available here: www.folger.edu/podcasts/sha...

As part of our America's Next 250 series, scholar Gail Kern Paster explores the meanings of the word happiness in use when Jefferson was writing the Declaration of Independence. Those different definitions also appear in Shakespeare, a writer whom Jefferson admired. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

When scholar @carolinebicks.bsky.social gained unprecedented access to Stephen King's personal archives, she discovered that the Bard of Avon and the King of Horror have more in common than you might think. More on the "Shakespeare Unlimited" pod: www.folger.edu/podcasts/sha...