Rare Shakespeare First Folio Comes To Georgia

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The Shakespeare First Folio (Folger copy no. 68)

On this edition of "Two Way Street," we devote our show to the Bard of Avon – William Shakespeare. There’s really never a bad time to talk about Shakespeare, but our show is pegged to the opening of the new exhibition “First Folio: The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare” at the William Carlos Museum at Emory University. The centerpiece is a book that is some 500 years old – a rare and precious First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays.  We talk with Emory University Shakespeare scholar Dr. Sheila Cavanagh, the co-director of the tour of the First Folio to all 50 states.

The exhibition runs from November 5 to December 11, and during that time Emory has scheduled a series of lectures, performances and programs for young people about Shakespeare.

Dr. Cavanagh tells us just what a First Folio is and why it has such great meaning today; and she shares stories about her work introducing Shakespeare to unlikely audiences – like the prisoners who study the Bard from behind bars. You can watch a video of the inmates of a prison near Lublin, Poland, preparing for their performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjPcCxfUkL0

In the second half of the show, we take Shakespeare from the page to the stage with actress Rachel Harker and stage director Ric Lombardo.  

Ric and Rachel share stories from their work in many productions of Shakespeare plays. When we invited them to be on the show, I asked if they would each choose a speech that they could perform. Rachel chose and recites the Prologue to “Henry V.”

Ric picked one of Shakespeare’s most famous soliloquies, the “Seven Ages of Man” speech from “As You Like It.”  

I hope you enjoy listening to the show as much as we enjoyed producing it!