Folger Theatre: Measure for Measure

Scholar Ruben Espinosa explores all we gain when we build a bigger bookshelf—one that includes Shakespeare and the many different voices that have followed. He sees this work as crucial to shaping our world today and in the future.

On October 1, 2026 the Folger’s virtual book club returns with a discussion of Diavola by Jennifer Thorne. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to Italy, poison, and past book club “spooky” picks.

We’re previewing fall 2026’s new Shakespeare projects and there’s a lot to look forward to—from film to literature to opera and dance, and, of course, the theater.

In this Q&A, Helen Hayes Award-winning director Psalmayene 24 shares his first thoughts on directing Folger Theatre’s upcoming production of Measure for Measure, set in the American South in the 1950s, and how he approaches Shakespeare’s text like a new work.

How do you write a “complete” life of Shakespeare when very little complete information about his life exists? Paul Menzer manages to do just that—while throwing some “wobbles into the orbit” of well-trenched folk wisdom.

In the theater and classroom, scholar Jean E. Howard explores how to develop “democratic practices that embrace the thoughts and talents of multitudes and recover the joy of participating with others in generous, life-affirming humanistic inquiry.”