"All the world’s a stage/ And all the men and women merely players." We're delighted to announce *our* players for "As You Like It." Envisioned by Folger Theatre Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels and directed by Timothy Douglas, it's on stage March 10-April 12. 🎫 : folger.edu/AYL

We often pigeonhole people as either a "maths " or an "arts“ person, but in Shakespeare’s time this divide didn’t exist. I spoke with @Folger.edu about why looking at Shakespeare through the eyes of a mathematician can help students to appreciate both disciplines. www.folger.edu/podcasts/sha...

19th-century American actor Ira Aldridge is remembered as a pioneering performer who refused to let racism keep him from his passion for Shakespeare, first in New York and then abroad. Explore more on our blog: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Is your feeble Latin keeping you from finding the right early modern cure for what ails you? Look no further than "John Ward’s Latin," a 17th Century glossary of Latin medical terms and ingredients. Bob Tallaksen and @sbschliep.bsky.social explore: www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

In our most recent blog, reference Associate Erika Giddens, who manages the Folger’s Ask a Librarian service, takes us behind the scenes to share some of the most asked questions. Any guesses what they are? www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

We’re sharing some of the stories about Shakespeare from the news in December and January, including filmmakers continued fascination with the “To be or not to be” speech; the similarities actor Luke Thompson finds with Shakespeare and "Bridgerton," and more: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

In the new Collation blog series Folger Faves, Folger staff introduce you to unexpected items from the Folger vaults. William Davis, Senior Photography Associate, who just retired after nearly 33 years at the Folger, shares some of his favorite finds: www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...

How sweet to learn that the 15th Century songs being performed in this Valentines Day tribute came from a heart shaped manuscript-- Click the link to read the preview in the Picture This Post Music section-- @folger.edu #FolgerConsort #WashingtonDCMusic #DCMusic #PictureThisPostMusic #MedievalMusic

Shakespeare's poetry, plots, and characters have inspired dozens of musicals, as well as comic songs and even special cameos. @austintichenor.bsky.social explores the musical theater that keeps us brushing up our Shakespeare: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

While Shakespeare was reshaping English drama, Spain's Golden Age was producing its own theatrical revolution. Barbara Fuchs discusses the innovations of Lope de Vega and others and Diversifying the Classic's mission to bring plays in Spanish to new audiences. www.folger.edu/podcasts/sha...

Shakespeare’s "Cymbeline" combines tragic and comic elements in an improbable, plot-tangled tale in a mythic world filled with unusually powerful emotions. Check out are some of the most well-known lines: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, we're exploring the larger-than-life role played by an English playwright from more than 400 years ago in American entertainment, education, and history. Here's our round-up of blogs and podcasts on Shakespeare's influence: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

The Folger is pleased to announce Adjoa Andoh MBE as the inaugural resident in its new Director’s Residency program. The Director’s Residency aims to connect a prominent artist or thinker with the resources of the Folger in order to engage with Shakespeare and the humanities in innovative ways.

John Douglas Thompson of HBO's "The Gilded Age" joins the cast of our Reading Room Festival's LEAR! The Tony Award nominee is the recipient of 2 Drama Desk Awards, 3 Obie Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Lucille Lortel Award. See LEAR Sat, Jan 24, at 8pm. www.folger.edu/whats-on/lea...

Folger Artist Fellow Dominick Porras drew inspiration from our collection’s 16th-century books about the colonization of the Americas for his new triptych, "de Bry’s Slipsteam." Read our our blog for more about Porras' exhibition at the Folger, on view through Feb 15. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Do you ever hear a famous quotation and wonder who said or wrote it? If someone does not know the answer, they sometimes credit it to Shakespeare—even if the person who came up with the line is a well-known figure who may have lived centuries after Shakespeare. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

CfA 📢Folger Institute Short-Term Fellowships for 2026-2027 @folger.edu 🏦Folger Shakespeare Library |🌍Washington DC ⏰Deadline: 15 January 2026 🔗 www.folger.edu/research/the... #callforpapers #Fellowships

Folger Fellows, staff, program participants, and undergraduates contributed to another great year on our Collation blog. Explore the top five posts here: www.folger.edu/blogs/collat... @heatherwolfe.bsky.social @leahhampton.bsky.social

Why does Samuel Pepys's diary still matter today, 200 years after its publication? Historian Kate Loveman @samuelpepys.bsky.social shares how Pepys's diary illuminates life in Restoration England and how his diary has been edited over the centuries. Listen now: www.folger.edu/podcasts/sha...

It's not too late to revisit the best of 2025. Here are our top five "Shakespeare and Beyond" blogs of last year: www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Shakespeare’s tragedy "King Lear" explores power, loyalty, and betrayal though some of Shakespeare’s most memorable language. On the blog, explore some of the most well-known lines, in order of their appearance in the play. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

Happy Twelfth Night! 🥳 Shakespeare didn't write any plays about Christmas, but he did write one for the festive season. www.folger.edu/blogs/shakes...

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...