Interview: Evan Taylor of SHIT-FACED SHAKESPEARE PRESENTS MACBETH at Southern Theatre

BroadwayWorld: No trash cans will be safe when Evan Taylor and the cast of Shit-faced Shakespeare present MACBETH 8 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St. in downtown Columbus). The last time the Boston theatre troupe performed at the Southern, Taylor played Laertes in HAMLET.

Five things we know | Shakespeare's Life

Folger Shakespeare Library: Happy birthday month to William Shakespeare! Shakespeare was probably born on April 23, 1564, but we don’t know for sure. The earliest reference to him appears in the parish register for Holy Trinity Church in an entry for his baptism on April 26, 1564. Tradition celebrates his birthday three days before his baptism. In honor of Shakespeare’s birthday, here are five things we do know about his life.

“Thrice welcome”: The power of three in As You Like It

Folger Shakespeare Library: We all know that Shakespeare loved twins, but less talked about is how much he adored triplets. From the three weird sisters in Macbeth, to King Lear’s three daughters, to the rhetorical majesty of “Friends, Romans, countrymen,” Shakespeare understood well the power of three and deployed it, perhaps most unexpectedly, in his popular comedy As You Like It.

The power of Arden in As You Like It, then and now

Folger Shakespeare Library: In Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Rosalind and Celia are forced from court and seek refuge in the Forest of Arden—a space where hierarchy softens and imagination restores what power has fractured. Folger Theatre’s 2026 staging of the play—a love letter to Washington, DC, as envisioned by Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels and directed by Timothy Douglas—infuses the Forest of Arden with the vibe, culture, and characters of DC’s residential neighborhoods, a singular, resilient, and redemptive place of belonging.

Five questions | As You Like It

Folger Shakespeare Library: As You Like It is one of Shakespeare’s festive comedies, a sparkling story of love, hidden identity, and an escape to a world (in this case, the Forest of Arden) beyond society’s strictures. But there are also heavier themes and dangers lurking in that magical land. We asked Folger Director Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper for her take on Shakespeare’s beloved comedy. Read on for more and watch Farah discuss Shakespeare on the Folger’s Instagram and YouTube channels. She will also be speaking about the play and the Folger Theatre production at a Director’s talk on March 20.

Chapel Hill Couple In PlayMakers 'Macbeth' Talk Love and Shakespeare

indyweek.com: “We like to think of it as couples therapy,” actor Ron Menzel said with a laugh. Menzel was referencing his upcoming lead role in Macbeth alongside his partner, Vivienne Benesch, who will take the stage as Lady Macbeth during the PlayMakers Repertory Company production’s upcoming run. It is the first time the couple has acted in the same play together.

New Discovery Shatters William Shakespeare’s Biggest Mystery

www.popularmechanics.com: In the annals of William Shakespeare’s legacy, a twist has emerged that’s practically as dramatic as any of the Bard’s plays: the real “Shakespeare” behind a centuries-old family document has been revealed ... and it’s not the man we expected.

Shakespeare and Italy

Folger Shakespeare Library: The Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics got us thinking about Shakespeare and Italy. Shakespeare’s plays are well stocked with merchants of Venice, gentlemen of Verona, and other Italian characters. One-third of his plays are based, or partially based, in Italy. Florence, Milan, Padua, Rome, Sicily, Venice, Verona—these Italian settings play a crucial part in his plots, making them characters in their own right.

A new Henry V is a barometer of our times – what can Shakespeare’s war play tell us amid global chaos?

Theatre | The Guardian: I have long argued that Shakespeare’s history plays have more urgent relevance today than his tragedies. The issues they raise – such as the nature of good governance and the difficulty of deposing a tyrant – are precisely those that still haunt us. Henry V, shortly to be given a new RSC production directed by Tamara Harvey, seems especially timely as we are living in a world where the threat of war is painfully real.

“Let’s have a song:” Musicals inspired by Shakespeare

Folger Shakespeare Library: One of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, in fact, inspired the earliest example of a musical based on his works. The Boys from Syracuse (1938) infused the Greek setting of The Comedy of Errors with 20th-century American language and jokes by book writer George Abbott, including the moment when Dromio of Syracuse, after hearing an actual line from the original play, leaps out of the wings to announce, “Shakespeare!”

Shakespeare and America

www.folger.edu/blogs: Shakespeare is everywhere in America—on our stages, on our screens, and in our everyday conversations. This year, as America commemorates the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, 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.

Shakespeare By The Numbers: 64 violent deaths, 1,700 new words, 1,800 movie credits

New York Theater: William Shakespeare wrote 37 plays (10 tragedies, 10 histories, 17 comedies) and 154 Sonnets — 884,647 words in all. He is said to have invented 1,700 words in the English language

Review: “As You Like It” at Writers Theatre

www.newcitystage.com: The musical version of William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” now playing at Writers Theatre, is a lot of fun, with foot-tapping tunes and a charismatic cast. But it could have used more Shakespeare.

“I’m Lovin’ It”: Variations on Macbeth

Folger Shakespeare Library: While many productions understandably emphasize Macbeth’s crowd-pleasing supernatural aspects, a new production in Stratford-upon-Avon reminds me that I’m drawn to versions of the tragedy that focus more on the human struggle and find new and unexpected ways into Shakespeare’s tale of “vaulting ambition.”

The space between Julius Caesar and Malcolm X

Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is a play steeped in the classical canon, laden and layered with both HISTORY and performance history. Letson’s Julius X is a tale rife with much more recent collective American cultural memory, evoking images and speeches from a moment in America when people fought for the right simply to be recognized as American, and notions of equality and justice occupied the center of that that contest.

‘The language adds a whole new level’: Welsh-English version of Romeo and Juliet heads for the Globe

Wales | The Guardian: Grappling with the subtleties of Shakespeare’s poetry and prose has proved a challenge for many a theatre company but a novel linguistic challenge has been added into the mix in a new production of Romeo and Juliet.

Violence and Therapy: 29th International Shakespeare Festival in Gdańsk, Poland, 2025

The Theatre Times: The International Shakespeare Festival in Gdańsk is not the festival of masterpieces and it never has been its aim. However, if you are looking for interesting, innovative and updated voices in reading Shakespeare’s plays you should definitely follow the upcoming edition and visit Gdańsk in Poland. I am sure you will find something worth sharing with your audience.

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in September

Folger Shakespeare Library: Fall is coming and with it the return from vacation to school and work, clubs and community meetings, and a new theater season. Check out what’s playing at our theater partners across the United States this month. What do you hope to see?

Folger Finds: Women and Shakespeare

Folger Shakespeare Library: Our galleries have a fresh rotation of books, manuscripts, prints, and performance ephemera. Nearly 30 new objects are on exhibit, including a royal proclamation about the (inflated) price of wine during Queen Elizabeth’s reign, a brooding statue of Hamlet produced in Spain, and the early plan for the Folger’s theater to be shaped in the round along with the items featured below: First Folios owned by two 17th-century women, a prop dagger used by a leading actress of the late 19th century, and scripts and programs from a 20th century women’s theater in Japan that’s still performing Shakespeare today. On view in our Shakespeare Exhibition Hall through November 16, 2025.

Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks’ 18th Season Opens with ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

onStage Pittsburgh: Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream will call on the powers of magic and love as Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks’ continues its 18th year. Artistic Director Jennifer Tober steps back into the directing realm with this production.