In need of a great pod to listen to while you travel this holiday? 🎧 From actor Simon Russell Beale on "Hamlet" and "Titus" to director Rosa Joshi on "Julius Caesar," here are our most popular podcasts of 2025. Find them all here: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

A 1915 postcard written by Scottish-born actor Robert B. Mantell unlocks Jamaican history for scholar and Folger Fellow Jareema Hylton. New on the Collation blog: www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

Under the leadership of Patricia Akhimie, the Folger Institute has embraced flexibility and inclusion as guiding principles, expanding the reach of its programs and fellowships to a broader community of researchers and artists. More about the exciting possibilities: www.folger.edu/blogs/folger...

The Boydell Gallery was visited by everyone who was anyone, from Jane Austen to the Prince of Wales. Its walls were hung floor to ceiling with paintings of pivotal scenes from Shakespeare’s plays. But why make a gallery devoted to Shakespeare? And who was Boydell? www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Today, holiday favorite mince pies are filled with dried fruit, but in Shakespeare’s time they included meat. Food historian @mrssbilton.bsky.social thinks the savory version is due for a comeback. She shares a recipe from her new book, "Much Ado About Cooking." www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

There's still so much to do at the Folger this winter! Join us for a family sing-along, a walk-up tour, or a day of shopping and gift wrapping. 🎁 Details at: folger.edu/frostfair

Interested in being a successful "true" widow in early modern England? Leave behind the music and singing for sighing and mourning, for one. @mariacannon.bsky.social investigates guidelines for widows in the Folger collection and beyond. #skystorian #bookhistory www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

Celebrating our "seductively cheeky" production of "Twelfth Night," which made the Washington Post's top 10 plays and musicals of 2025! 🎉 👯 We adored this production and we're glad you did too. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Holidays, feasts, and celebrated events are sprinkled throughout Shakespeare’s plays. Get in the spirit and try our quiz about holidays in Shakespeare’s life and in his plays. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

As we near the end of 2025, we want to share a first glimpse at ideas for the upcoming year from a few members of the Folger’s leadership team. David Kilpatrick, the new Director of Learning and Education Programs, shares his hopes for education at the Folger. www.folger.edu/blogs/folger...

HAMNET opened yesterday and you should all see it. I shared my thoughts over @folger.edu, but suffice to say Jessie Buckley is a force of nature and I can’t wait to see it again. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

We’re sharing some of the Shakespeare stories in the news this fall, including "Hamnet" on the big screen, a new discovery in "Shakespeare Quarterly" about a manuscript long attributed to Shakespeare’s father, remembering writer Tom Stoppard, and more. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Folger Shakespeare Library director Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper joined @reduced.bsky.social podcast to discuss her new book "All the World’s Your Stage, her surprising favorite Shakespeare play, Shakespearean mythbusting, and more! www.reducedshakespeare.com/2025/11/fara...

"Hamnet," Maggie O'Farrell's acclaimed novel, is now a major film. On the podcast, O'Farrell and director Chloé Zhao discuss adapting the story of Shakespeare's son, reimagining Shakespeare as a husband and father, and building the film's vivid world: www.folger.edu/podcasts/sha...

Shakespeare's era was abuzz with mathematical progress. On the Folger blog, @robeastaway.bsky.social uncovers the many surprising ways math shaped Shakespeare's plays -and his world - in an excerpt from his book "Much Ado About Numbers." www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

THIS WEEK: Farah Karim-Cooper, director of the @folger.edu, discusses "All The World's Your Stage," her new book that explores Shakespeare's life and times through eight of his most famous plays, for readers of all ages. HEAR HERE (or wherever you get your podcasts)! @americantheatre.org

Next Friday I'll be virtually present (or actually absent) at DC again for a (very) brief presentation of my current research at the Virtual Folger Salon of @folger.edu www.folger.edu/whats-on/vir...

The Folger Frost Fair made @washingtonpost.com's list of best things to do in DC this weekend! Join us for crafts, pop-up talks, printing press demos and so much more Nov 28 - Jan 4. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Find the perfect gift for everyone on your list in this special guide to some of our favorite things from the Folger Shop. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

What are you doing this weekend? We've got an expanded 23 (!) picks from @ilechelm.bsky.social, including: 👵 @metrobardc.bsky.social's Golden Girls party 🥾 Hike with @washingtonwalks.bsky.social ❄️ @folger.edu's Frost Festival 🎤 Punk rock karaoke at the @blackcatdc.bsky.social

Actress Sarah Siddons was 18th-century London's best known tragedienne, most famous for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth. An assortment of objects from our collection show her rise as an early star of modern celebrity culture. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Preparing to see "Hamnet" this Thanksgiving? We invite you to read @smithsonianmag.bsky.social's fascinating article on what scholars really know about Shakespeare and his family, including thoughts from Folger Director Farah Karim-Cooper.

Announcing the plays and playwrights for the fourth annual Reading Room Festival, a four-day festival of staged readings, panel discussions, workshops, and community celebrations! 🎉 www.folger.edu/about-us/pre...

Got a PCRS book project? Looking for community and guidance in the process? The RaceB4Race First and Second Book Institutes are here for you! Run by @folger.edu the institutes connect scholars with readers and experts. First book: forms.gle/ht75W13xphDj... Second book: forms.gle/gMSuCSjUj9dH...

Before Shakespeare became a literary icon, he was a working writer trying to earn a living in a new industry. In "The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare," Daniel Swift explores the dream of making money from creating art. More on our podcast!

Among the many rich details of Shakespeare’s plays are numerous mentions of food and drink. Take our holiday quiz and test your knowledge on cakes and ale 🍰🍻

Spend your holidays with the Folger Consort! ❄️ This year's festive holiday concerts showcase the lush, many-voiced motets of 16th-century Portuguese composer Vicente Lusitano and lively early Spanish Christmas carols. Experience "Resplendent Joy" Dec 5 - 14. www.folger.edu/whats-on/res...

Looking to spice up your Thanksgiving menu? 🥧 The Folger - home to the world's largest collection of hand written recipe books from early modern Britain - has you covered. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Folger Artist Fellow Missy Dunaway shares what she's learning while working on "The Birds of Shakespeare," her project to paint the 65 birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

What does the language of Shakespeare have in common with the Gullah-Geechee langauage? JaMeeka D. Holloway explores on The Collation blog. www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

The Theatre, London's first purpose-built commercial playhouse, was designed for making two things: money and plays. In an excerpt from scholar Daniel Swift's new book, he explores how both were of interest to Shakespeare. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Recreation of an 1805 London museum exhibit that helped shape the enduring narrative about Shakespeare and British culture. Click the link to read the Picture This Post review-- @folger.edu @shakespeare.lol #DCMuseums #DCArt #DCTheater #Shakespeare #Paintings #PictureThisPostMuseums #theater #art

On the blog, @austintichenor.bsky.social shares threes takes on "Macbeth" that focus on the human struggle within the tragedy in new and unexpected ways, including a production at the @the-rsc.bsky.social, a novel about Lady Macbeth, and a film for streaming. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio, which went on sale to the public on November 8, 1623, changing the course of English drama and literature. But what is a First Folio and why does it matter? www.folger.edu/explore/shak...

Imprisoned for nearly 20 years by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, fought her battles through words, sending and receiving coded letters. Historian Jade Scott @huntingrebels.bsky.social uncovers the human and political depths behind Mary’s captivity: www.folger.edu/podcasts/sha...

New on the blog! In an excerpt from Sir Anthony Hopkin's long-awaited memoir "We Did Ok, Kid," he talks about the fateful Saturday night as a boy when he say Olivier's 1948 adaptation of "Hamlet" and the film sparked his passion for acting: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Imagine you’re on a wooden ship in the early modern period. The sounds of the world at sea surround you. Wait, is that a TRUMPET? As unexpected as it might be, musicians were a huge part of life at sea in the early modern period. But what were they doing there? www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

The Folger Consort returns this week with a first-ever collaboration with Folger Poetry! Ahead of "Virtuosos of Violin and Verse" (Nov 7-9), we asked our musicians, what's your favorite modern song that feels like it could have been an early modern hit? 🎵 Consort tix: www.folger.edu/whats-on/vir...

Director Les Kurbas's 1920 "Macbeth" was the first production of a Shakespeare play in Ukraine. Scholar Irena Makaryk talks about his work and the role that Shakespeare and theater played in Ukrainian culture, the Russian Empire, and the early Soviet Union: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

If you're in or around Capitol Hill this Halloween, stop by the Folger for some trick-or-treating. 🎃 👻 🍫 You can check out a full calendar of events at the Folger by visiting www.folger.edu/whats-on/

Decorated papers are a familiar sight in the Folger collection, typically used as embellishment in or on books. What can we learn from these designs? What do they tell us about the early modern book trade? More on The Collation: www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

Just in time for Halloween, we're talking poisons on the blog! ☠️ What do we know about the historical reality of Aqua Tofana and other stories of women wielding poisons? The truth is very little, but the myths are just as telling as the reality. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

I explored my King passion a year ago for the @folger.edu. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

St. Crispin's Day is right around the corner (tomorrow, October 25). We take a look at what it is and how Shakespeare shaped its legacy: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Why are libraries the site of so many murder mysteries?! ☠️ Aspiring detectives can find out during "Death Between the Pages," a murder mystery inspired by the Folger collection! Work in teams to examine clues, uncover historical artifacts, and solve the mystery. www.folger.edu/whats-on/dea...

Our director, Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper, is giving a virtual talk with Theater J this Sunday, October 26 at 11 am! Sign up by the end of the day on Saturday to join her in a lively conversation about what Shakespeare means to us in 2025. Register: www.edcjcc.org/theater-j/sh...

Congratulations to the cast and creative team of "Julius X" for being Helen Hayes Recommended! 🥳 Time is running out to catch this phenomenal new play. See it only through October 26! 🎫 : folger.edu/juliusx 📷 : The cast of Folger Theatre's "Julius X," 2025. Photography by Erika Nizborski.

Spooky season is Shakespeare season 👻 Challenge yourself with our haunting quiz about the phantoms and apparitions in Shakespeare's plays. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

You may know Anthony Burgess as the author of "A Clockwork Orange," but did you know he was also a prominent commentator on Shakespeare's life? More from @thurleyc.bsky.social on our Collation blog: www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

The Folger Book Club pick for November is "You Dreamed of Empires" by Álvaro Enrigue. Pick up this revelatory revenge story about Hernán Cortés entry into the city of Tenochtitla (today's Mexico City) and join us to talk about it on Thu, Nov 6 at 6:30 pm! www.folger.edu/whats-on/fol...