The Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington DC, is expanding the scope of its annual celebration of Shakespeare's birthday with new installations in its exhibition halls, performances, lectures, and a family-friendly birthday party. The April line up of programming will also include a staged reading of Macbeth directed by and starring Adjoa Andoh MBE as a part of her residency at the Folger.
"Shakespeare's Birthday Festival is a beloved tradition here," said Folger Director Dr Farah Karim-Cooper. "It shows how Shakespeare and the humanities invigorate communities, and we want to expand on this success with programs that provide entry points for new audiences. Adjoa's reputation as a popular actor and as a brilliant Shakespearean will do precisely this, and the Folger is incredibly excited to offer access to her work through the Director's Residency at a moment when people are celebrating all things Shakespeare."
The staged reading of Macbeth commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Federal Theatre Project's wildly successful production of the play, which was one of the first in the United States to feature an all-black cast. Andoh's adaptation honors the skill of the Black classical actors and musicians involved in the 1936 production. She will perform alongside a full cast of actors on Saturday, April 25th, in the culminating event of both the Director's Residency and the slate of April programmes at the Folger. Tickets are also still available for Andoh's public talk about her career as a Shakespearean director and actor on April 19.
Other highlights of the birthday season will include a new installation in the Folger's exhibition galleries tied to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Under the banner of Shakespeare and the American Story, the objects on view will present unique insights into American history with a Shakespearean focus, emphasising how Shakespeare's works are woven throughout American culture, political thought, and civic engagement. The installation will open to the public on Friday, April 17th, just in time for the key birthday events on Saturday, April 18th.
Shakespeare's Birthday Celebration, a longstanding tradition celebrated near Shakespeare's observed birthday, will offer free programming from 11am-4pm on April 18th, including family programming such as story times, sonnet writing, dance and stage combat demonstrations, and Shakespearean-themed crafting in the Folger's historic Reading Room and - weather permitting - on the grassy plinth outdoors. After singing happy birthday to the party's honoree, there will even be a celebratory sweet treat for attendees.
In the evening of April 18, Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford University, author of This is Shakespeare, and frequent guest on the BBC's popular history podcast In Our Time, will give the annual Shakespeare Birthday Lecture in the Theatre. She will discuss Shakespeare's migration to the US - including to the Folger Shakespeare Library - alongside stories of migration within his works, focusing on a key passage in the play Thomas More, the sole play extract believed to be composed in Shakespeare's own hand.
Finally, the Folger is extending its popular production of As You Like It to run through Sunday, April 19th. Tickets are now on sale on the Folger's website.
