Advertise on podcast: The State of Shakespeare

Macbeth; Act 1, Scene 5 Lady MacbethAugust 16, 2026 "Oh for a Muse of Fire!" The Santa Cruz Shakespeare Festival is rising! The true Repertory Company is expanding - a rare feat in this day and age. Charles Pasternak and Paige Lindsey White climb the brightest heaven of invention in this season with a Macbeth for the ages. And the plan is to continue to on your imaginary forces work. Click here for information about Santa Cruz Shakespeare Click here to follow along with the Macbeth text. Click here for a Scanned version of Macbeth Click here for a First Folio version of Macbeth. Click here to follow along with the Henry V text. Click here for a Scanned version of Henry V Click here for a First Folio version of Henry V.

Prague Shakespeare Festival Coriolanus: Act 3, Scene 3July 15, 2026 “There is a world elsewhere.” Guy Roberts came to the Czech Republic, a country literally ‘born in theatre', with the dream of creating an English language theatre company in the heart of Europe. After nearly two decades of experience living and working in a city with over eight centuries of theatre history, the founder and Artistic Director of Prague Shakespeare Company presents an “old-world” model with lessons for the theatre makers of tomorrow. "Change your life, change the world, Speak Shakespeare." Click here for information about The Prague Shakespeare Festival Click here for Guy Roberts Ted Talk. Click here to follow along with the text. Click here for a First Folio Version.

Macbeth; Act 5, Scene 5 MacbethJune 24, 2026 For a poor player, strutting and fretting on the stage, sometimes words and verse can spell the difference between life and death.  Jacob Ming-Trent stars in his original, multimedia, one-person play, How Shakespeare Saved My Life, the autobiographical story of how a troubled youth found salvation in poetry.  Playing through July 5 at the Folger Theatre in DC, and coming to the Public and Red Bull Theatre in October. Click here for information about How Shakespeare Saved My Life Click here to follow along with the text. Click here for a Scanned version Click here for a First Folio version.

Othello; Act 2, Scene 1 IagoJune 17, 2026 Who says, "I have to bring my truth to the part I'm playing": Ben Turner or Iago? In the Shakespeare Theatre of DC’s new production of Othello, Ben Turner reveals the humanity and heart beneath Iago’s machinations, transforming Shakespeare’s most overtly “evil” creation into something much more recognizably (and terrifyingly) human. The production runs until June 28. Click here for information about Othello Click here to follow along with the text. Click here for a Scanned version Click here for a First Folio version.

Othello May 19, 2026 “What’s he, then, that says I play the villain?” Few questions more clearly reveal where each of us stands in today’s deeply polarized society. Recorded on the eve of a profoundly tense moment in global geopolitics, we speak with Eric Tucker and Bedlam discussing their critically acclaimed four-person production of Othello, running through May 31 in New York City. Click here for information about Othello

Titus Andronicus; Act 5, Scene 1 AaronApril 29, 2026 “I have done a thousand dreadful thingsAs willingly as one would kill a fly,And nothing grieves me heartily indeedBut that I cannot do ten thousand more.”   Director Jesse Berger and actor McKinley Belcher III dish up their critically acclaimed Titus Andronicus, now in an extended run with Red Bull Theater in New York City. Together, we carve into why Shakespeare's notoriously blood-soaked tragedy serves the moment. Click here for information about Red Bull Theater Click here to follow along with the text. Click here for a Folio Version Click here for a scanned version

As You Like It Folger TheatreApril 20, 2026 How should an actor approach Shakespeare’s language? Is the focus on rehearsing delivery, or on cultivating presence in the moment? Director Timothy Douglas credits the teachings of Tina Packer and Kristin Linklater for shaping his approach to helping actors “own” Shakespeare. His latest collaboration, As You Like It, at the Folger Theatre in Washington, DC runs through April 19. The quote we talk about in the interview: As You Like It; Act 4, Scene 1: (spoken by Rosalind, disguised as Ganymede to Jacques in Act 4, scene 1) 24. I fear you have sold your own lands to see other men's; then 25. to have seen much and to have nothing is to have rich eyes 26. and poor hands. Click here to go to the Folger Website.

The Merry Wives of Windsor; Act 2 Scene 2 Mistress QuicklyApril 2, 2026 Which female character became such a fan favorite that Shakespeare featured her in four different plays? Award-winning actor Nancy Voigts brings this famously bawdy mischief-maker and mistress of misinformation to life in a vibrant new production of The Merry Wives of Windsor at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. Click here for more information about the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Click here to follow along with the text. Click here for the First Folio version of the text.

A Truant Dispostion: Hamlet and HoratioMarch 4, 2025 Is Horatio the villain?  A literary stand-in for the murderously opportunistic “friends” who stalked the halls of power in Elizabethan England?  Carol Grieb imagines a Hamlet in which Hamlet’s so-called best friend is anything but. Click here to go to the book website. Click here to purchase the book.

The Merchant of Venice; Act 3, Scene 1 ShylockNovember 10, 2025 The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.” Actor and storyteller Saul Rubinek takes us inside his one-man show Playing Shylock, now on stage at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in New York City. Rubinek explores Shylock’s confounding genesis and reveals why one of Shakespeare’s so-called “minor” roles continues to be one of the most groundbreaking, misunderstood and controversial characters in theater history. Click here to see the Folio Version. Click here for a Modern Version of the Text. Click here for more information about Playing Shylock. Click here for Saul's book, All in the Telling. Click here for a transcript of "The Stranger's Case" by Thomas More.

Measure for Measure; Act 2, Scene 4 AngeloOctober 20, 2025 If the goal is to be a working actor, is training optional? Terry Knickerbocker offers his perspective on the purpose of actor training. And in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, we confront a timeless dilemma: is it better to perish for the sake of principle, or debase yourself and survive? Click here to follow along with the text. Click here to see the Folio Version. Click here for a scanned version of the text.

Romeo & Juliet; Act 1, Scene 4 RomeoSeptember 3, 2025 From forth the fatal loins of civil strife springs a bold new Romeo and Juliet. The Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey presents this re-envisioned classic, starring Isaac Hickox-Young and directed by Bonnie J. Monte. Is it love, lust, or something more sinister that propels the star-crossed lovers to their untimely end? Romeo and Juliet runs from September 10th to October 5th at the Shakespeare Theater of NJ. Click here to follow along with the text. Click here to see the Folio Version. Click here for a scanned version of the text. Click here for information about Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey.

King John; Act 3, Scene 1 ConstanceAugust 5, 2025 Words, words, words. A love of words makes Tracy Michelle Arnold the perfect candidate to run the Language Project at American Player's Theater. With the focus on language, words, syntax, punctuation, Arnold is the perfect guest for the State of Shakespeare. The Language Project is the latest innovation that this gem of theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin has brought us. Click here to follow along with the text. Click here to see the Folio Version. Click here for a scanned version of the text. Click here for information about American Players Theater and The Language Project.

Twelfth Night Folger TheaterJune 18, 2025 “Most wonderful!” Olivia’s (ahem) climactic outburst isn’t just a line, it’s the line that catches the spirit of director Mei Ann Teo’s current production of Twelfth Night at the Folger Theatre. Teo, who also serves as Artistic Leader at Ping Chong and Company, teases how to treat Shakespeare’s classic as if it’s a new love (er… play.) Click here to follow along with the text. Click here to see the Folio Version. Click here for information about Twelfth Night and the Folger Theater https://www.folger.edu/whats-on/twelfth-night

Shakespeare, Appreciated Hamlet; Act 5, Scene 2May 29, 2025 Gideon Rappaport, author of Appreciating Shakespeare, has released a newly annotated edition of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Can modern readers and actors truly grasp Shakespeare’s work as he intended? Rappaport believes they not only can, but they must. Click here to follow along with the text. Click here to see the Folio Version. Gideon's Media Connections: Appreciating Shakespeare Shakespeare's Real Take Gideon's podcast