Folger Shakespeare Library

10/13/2026

"Measure for Measure" is officially Helen Hayes Awards recommended! 💫 Folger Theatre's dazzling take on Shakespeare's dark comedy MUST CLOSE November 1. Get your tickets now! 🎫 : folger.edu/MFM

📷 : Renea S. Brown (Isabella) and Nathan Darrow (The Duke) in Folger Theatre’s "Measure for Measure." Photography by Erika Nizborski.

10/13/2026

Patricia Akhimie, curator of the Folger exhibition "To Hear Her Speak," asks: “What do Black women and Shakespeare have to do with each other?” Quite a bit over 400 years it turns out, as she shows in the catalog's introduction. Read the full excerpt at the link below and visit the Folger to see "To Hear Her Speak," opening Oct. 16!

Catalog published by ACMRS (Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies) in collaboration with the Folger.

10/12/2026

Time is running out to see the "remarkably timely" (TalkinBroadway.com) "Measure for Measure." This production must close on November 1!

🎫 : folger.edu/MFM
📷 : Renea S. Brown (Isabella) and Lee Osorio (Angelo) in Folger Theatre’s "Measure for Measure." Photography by Erika Nizborski.

10/12/2026

This Indigenous Peoples' Day, we're revisiting our "The Bard in the Borderlands" podcast and the play "Kino and Teresa," Pueblo playwright James Lujan's take on "Romeo and Juliet." Listen to the full podcast at the link below!

10/11/2026

"Measure for Measure" is "a play full of tantalizing and uncomfortable questions" says Maryland Theatre Guide. Read the full review at the 🔗 in our comments.

🎫 : folger.edu/MFM
📷 : Renee Elizabeth Wilson (Mariana), Nathan Darrow (Duke), and Renea S. Brown (Isabella) in Folger Theatre’s "Measure for Measure." Photography by Erika Nizborski.

10/11/2026

Today marks the one hundredth 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. Explore his remarkable career: https://www.folger.edu/blogs/shakespeare-and-beyond/remembering-earle-hyman-at-one-hundred/

📷 : Carl Van Vechten. Earle Hyman (Prince of Morocco), "The Merchant of Venice," 1953 March 10. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
📷 : Carl Van Vechten. Earle Hyman (Othello), "Othello," 1953 November 17. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
📷 : Carl Van Vechten. Earle Hyman (Dunois), "Saint Joan" by George Bernard Shaw. 1956 October 10. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
📷 : Earle Hyman (Hamlet), "Hamlet."
📷 : Earle Hyman.

10/11/2026

Remembering Earle Hyman at 100. 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.

📷 : Carl Van Vechten. Earle Hyman (Prince of Morocco), "The Merchant of Venice," 1953 March 10. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
📷 : Carl Van Vechten. Earle Hyman (Rudolf), "Anna Lucasta" by Philip Yordan. 1947 February 21. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
📷 : Carl Van Vechten. Earle Hyman (Othello), "Othello," 1953 November 17. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
📷 : Carl Van Vechten. Earle Hyman (Dunois), "Saint Joan" by George Bernard Shaw. 1956 October 10. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
📷 : Earle Hyman (Hamlet), "Hamlet."
📷 : Carl Van Vechten. Earle Hyman (Autolycus), "The Winter's Tale," American Shakespeare Festival, Stratford, Connecticut. 1958 August 10. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
📷 : Clarice Taylor (Anna Huxtable) and Earle Hyman (Russell Huxtable), "The Cosby Show," NBC, 1984-1992.
📷 : Earle Hyman.
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10/10/2026

Renea S. Brown, Isabella in Folger Theatre's "Measure for Measure" and "one of our fiercest and most versatile actresses" spoke to BroadwayWorld about her career, the production, and how "no one is doing it like DC" theater.

Today’s subject Renea S. Brown is currently living her theatre life onstage at Folger Theatre playing the role of Isabella in Psalmayene 24’s reimagining…

10/10/2026

"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:

The Folger looks into some under-explored history.

10/09/2026

Renea S. Brown (Isabella), Nathan Darrow (The Duke), and Lee Osorio (Angelo) stopped by 7News DC 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.

Folger Theatre is giving Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure a bold new setting in the 1950s American South (7News).