Performing Arts Center
Folger Theatre
Capitol Hill
Neighborhood
Capitol Hill
Website
Now at Folger Theatre
30 shows
Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era
Oct 4, 2025 – Aug 2, 2026
If you're interested in literary history, Romantic-era aesthetics, or how canonical works get reinterpreted by different generations, this is essential. It's less essential for those seeking straightforward character studies or plot illustrations, but valuable for anyone curious about the visual culture surrounding Shakespeare and the politics of artistic adaptation.Get Tickets
On View: Mandy Cano Villalobos
Feb 20, 2026 – Apr 5, 2026
This is essential for viewers who appreciate conceptual rigor and aren't looking for decorative art. If you're interested in how contemporary artists engage with colonialism, environmental justice, or the politics of domestic space, this will reward close looking. Skip it if you prefer work that declares its meaning upfront.Get Tickets
Blackwork Embroidery with Heidi Henderson
Mar 7, 2026 – Mar 13, 2026
This is ideal for people who want to actually *do* something rather than passively observe—bring comfortable clothes and expect to sit for a while. It'll appeal to embroidery enthusiasts and fiber artists, but also to anyone curious about early modern women's history who learns best with their hands. Skip it if you're looking for a polished performance; come if you want conversation, concentration, and a tangible keepsake.Get Tickets
As You Like It
Mar 10, 2026 – Apr 19, 2026
If you love language-forward comedy and don't need everything spelled out for you, Rosalind's disguise plot will delight. This is ideal for Shakespeare-curious audiences who've been put off by heavier tragedies; it's also perfect for anyone who appreciates seeing gender roles interrogated through wit rather than lecture.Get Tickets
All the Folger’s a Classroom: Teacher Weekend Intensive on Shakespeare’s Comedies
Mar 13, 2026 – Mar 14, 2026
Essential for high school and middle school English teachers who regularly teach Shakespeare but want to deepen their understanding of comedic technique and classroom engagement strategies. Skip this if you're looking for entertainment; attend if you're responsible for making *Much Ado About Nothing* come alive for teenagers.Get Tickets
Coming Soon
Folger Gala
Opens Apr 24, 2026
Perfect for serious theater supporters who want to fund the work they care about while enjoying an elegant evening, and for those new to the Folger who'd like to understand what makes this institution tick. Skip it if you're looking for a casual night out rather than a meaningful investment in local arts infrastructure.Get Tickets
Coming Soon
Teacher Weekend Intensive: Exploring the New Folger Guides to Teaching Shakespeare
May 1, 2026 – May 2, 2026
Essential for high school English teachers and middle school educators looking to refresh their Shakespeare curriculum with contemporary teaching methods. If you've felt stuck in the same approaches to *Macbeth* or *Romeo and Juliet*, the Folger's institutional knowledge applied directly to classroom practice makes this worth your time.Get Tickets
Coming Soon
An English Garden
May 8, 2026 – May 10, 2026
If you're drawn to early music but find traditional concerts static, this literary-musical hybrid offers genuine novelty. It's ideal for anyone curious about how Elizabethans actually experienced their gardens—neither a botanical lecture nor a music recital, but something more textured. Skip it if you prefer straightforward narrative or need a concert that prioritizes virtuosic display.Get Tickets
Folger Book Club: 'Queen Hereafter' by Isabelle Schuler
This is ideal for readers interested in Shakespearean reinterpretations who want historical grounding over fantasy wish-fulfillment, and for anyone who enjoys book club conversations that dig into women's agency in pre-modern contexts. Skip it if you're looking for a straightforward escape—this demands engagement with moral ambiguity.Get Tickets
Folger Book Club: 'The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf' by Isa Arsén
If you're drawn to metatheatrical examinations of artistic life—the kind that don't sentimentalize the theater world—this is essential. Skip it if you're looking for a straightforward relationship drama; Arsén is more interested in how ambition and performance corrode intimacy than in conventional emotional beats.Get Tickets
Folger Salon with Debbie Finkelstein, Yunah Kae, and Austin Raetz
This works best for people genuinely curious about how scholarship happens, particularly those interested in Renaissance literature, history, or material culture. If you find archival work fascinating or want to understand what living scholars actually spend their time thinking about, come prepared to ask questions. Skip this if you prefer fully formed arguments and formal presentations.Get Tickets
Gallery Talk: Mandy Cano Villalobos
Essential for anyone interested in how contemporary artists engage with historical archives and environmental justice—particularly those who find traditional museum lectures too passive. Skip this if you want a polished presentation; this is thinking-in-real-time, and that's precisely the point.Get Tickets
Our Shakespeare Exhibition
Essential for scholars and serious Shakespeare students, but equally rewarding for people skeptical of Shakespeare's relevance who want to understand why his work remains contested cultural territory. This isn't a traditional biography—it's curatorial thinking about canon, legacy, and power.Get Tickets
Out of the Vault
Ideal for Shakespeare enthusiasts and book collectors who want to move beyond passive reading, and for theater patrons curious about how productions are researched and staged. Skip this if you're looking for a polished, narrative-driven exhibition—the appeal here is in the intellectual depth and the conversations between objects and ideas.Get Tickets
Shakespeare's Birthday Celebration
Ideal for families with children old enough to sustain attention through demonstrations (roughly ages 6+), but equally valuable for adults who want a different angle on Shakespeare—one grounded in historical craft rather than canonical interpretation. Theater-school students and educators will find the printing and combat demos particularly useful reference material. Skip this if you're seeking polished performances; come for tactile, museum-quality engagement.Get Tickets
Shakespeare's Birthday Lecture with Dr. Emma Smith
If you're someone who actually reads Shakespeare or catches productions around town and finds yourself wondering *why* we keep interpreting these plays so differently, this is essential. Skip it if you're looking for entertainment rather than intellectual engagement—Smith assumes an audience comfortable with textual analysis and literary argument.Get Tickets
Shakespeare's Globe Richard II
Essential viewing for anyone tired of "colorblind" Shakespeare productions, or those curious about how casting choices can fundamentally reshape a play's political resonance. If you've never considered what Richard II might mean through a woman-of-color perspective, this production will reorient your entire relationship to the play.Get Tickets
Staged Reading: Macbeth
Seek this out if you're drawn to Shakespeare performed with intellectual rigor rather than pageantry, or if you're curious about how Andoh's directorial sensibility shapes her approach to the text. Skip it if you need elaborate staging and spectacle—the power here is in the words and the thinking behind them.Get Tickets
Tell Out My Soul: What’s The Story and Who’s Telling It?
Theater makers, directors, and actors who want to understand how creative vision gets built over time—this isn't a celebrity memoir, but a working artist's honest reckoning. Also essential for anyone interested in how British theater has evolved to include more diverse storytelling.Get Tickets
The 2026 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize Reading
Essential for serious poetry readers and anyone curious about what contemporary emerging poets are exploring right now. If you value discovering writers before they're widely anthologized, or you follow Shane McCrae's work, this is intimate and direct access to the current literary conversation.Get Tickets
The 2026 Eudora Welty Lecture: Kate DiCamillo
Essential for readers who cherish DiCamillo's work and anyone curious about the living lineage of American letters—this isn't a passive lecture but a conversation between two writers separated by time. Skip this if you're looking for a casual evening; come if you want to understand how storytellers think about their work and their influences.Get Tickets
The 2026 O.B. Hardison Poetry Series Finale Reading
This works best for readers already engaged with contemporary poetry who want to understand a living poet's intellectual genealogy—not an entry point for newcomers to the form. If you've ever wondered what poets read to become poets, or you're curious about the specific artists who influenced someone whose work you admire, this intimate gathering offers genuine insight.Get Tickets
The Humanities Lab: As You Like It
This is for people who want to understand *why* a play matters, not just experience it passively. If you've ever left a Shakespeare production wishing you'd caught more layers, or if you're the type to linger in museum galleries reading every placard, this Capitol Hill intensive will satisfy that hunger. Skip it if you prefer entertainment divorced from intellectual engagement.Get Tickets
As You Like It: Finding Joy, Freedom, and Voice
This is essential for high school and middle school English teachers who want to deepen their own relationship with Shakespeare before bringing it to students. If you're a teacher who's exhausted by the standard lecture-and-worksheet approach and hungry for fresh ways to unlock joy in literature, this gives you both the experience and the strategies to take back to your classroom.Get Tickets
Community Workshop: Seven Ages of Music
This works beautifully for families with musically curious kids, but don't discount it if you're an adult who's curious about the intersection of language and music. Skip it if you prefer finished performances to process-based experiences; this is about discovery, not polish.Get Tickets
Director’s Talk: As You Like It with Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper
Ideal for Shakespeare readers and the production's audiences who want context beyond the text itself, or for anyone curious how institutional scholars think about relevance and interpretation. Skip this if you prefer experiencing theater without analytical framework—it's designed for the intellectually curious, not the casually curious.Get Tickets
Family Workshop: An Ode to the Gardens
Ideal for families with children old enough to engage with Shakespeare excerpts (roughly 8+) and parents who want their kids to experience poetry as something they *make*, not just consume. Skip this if your family prefers passive performances, but if you want a morning that genuinely teaches literary thinking while getting outside, this hits differently than a typical kids' workshop.Get Tickets
Family Workshop: Celebrations - Shakespearean Style
This works best for families with children ages 6-12 who aren't intimidated by Shakespeare and parents who want their kids to experience literary classics as living, playful things. Skip it if your family needs highly structured, performance-focused activities; this is exploratory and messy in the best way.Get Tickets
Family Workshop: From Print to Paint
This works best for families with kids who already have some exposure to Shakespeare (or who are curious about it) and enjoy hands-on art projects more than sitting still. If your child lights up at the idea of making something that will be displayed publicly, or if you want to demystify the connection between theater and visual art, this is worth your Saturday morning.Get Tickets
Family Workshop: My Shakespearean Monologue
This works beautifully for families with kids ages 8-14 who are curious about language but might find traditional Shakespeare daunting. Skip it if your family needs passive entertainment, but if you want your kids to actively play with words and discover that Shakespeare's vocabulary can express *their* voice, this delivers exactly that.Get Tickets
Getting There
Metro
The nearest Metro station is Union Station (Red Line), located about a 10-minute walk away. The Blue and Silver Lines also serve Union Station, making it accessible from multiple directions across the city.
Parking
Street parking on Capitol Hill is limited and competitive, especially during evening performances. Several parking garages are located within a few blocks of the venue, and valet parking may be available; check with the Folger directly for current options.
Seating
The Folger Theatre is an intimate venue with a capacity of around 250 seats, creating a close connection between performers and audience. The theater features a thrust stage design, so seat selection can significantly impact your view—ask about sightline information when booking if you have concerns about stage visibility.
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