Shakespeare in Texas

Yesterday, the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin launched a major new exhibit, Shakespeare in Print and Performance. Drawing on the Ransom Center's immense collection of Shakespeariana--performance materials, set designs, and printed books--the exhibit will mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death by examining his legacy as the most venerated English playwright. Highlights include three copies of the First Folio, John Wilkes Booth's promptbook for his staging of Richard III, and Robert Greene's Groats-worth of Wit (1592), the first contemporary reference to Shakespeare in print.



Look for an exclusive essay about the exhibit by curator Gerald W. Cloud in our forthcoming Winter 2016 issue, which will be landing in mailboxes in early January. As Cloud commented in a recent press release, "We think we know so little about Shakespeare, when in fact there's quite a lot that's known just from these rare printed books. With this exhibition we bring visitors closer to Shakespeare."

The exhibit will be up through May 29.