First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare – Tennessee

First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare was a touring exhibition from the Folger Shakespeare Library that visited one location in all 50 United States, Puerto Rico, and Washington DC in 2016 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.


This article provides highlights from the exhibition’s visit to Tennessee.

Exhibition Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Exhibition Venue: The Parthenon

Exhibition Dates: November 10, 2016 – January 8, 2017


Partner Organizations:

  • Montgomery Bell Academy
  • Nashville Shakespeare Festival
  • English Speaking Union-Nashville Branch
  • Nashville Public Library


Event List:

  • August 11, 2016 – September 18, 2016 – Shakespeare in the Park: Macbeth and The Comedy of Errors
  • August 31, 2016 – September 3, 2016 – Performance of Return to the Forbidden Planet by Montgomery Bell Academy
  • September 3, 2016 – Shakespeare Allowed: Much Ado About Nothing at the Nashville Public Library
  • October 1, 2016 – Shakespeare Allowed: As You Like It at the Nashville Public Library
  • November 5, 2016 - Shakespeare FOLIOS, Family Program - Come explore and compare the parts of Greek and Shakespearean plays, then make a feelings mask like used by the Greeks
  • November 5, 2016 – Shakespeare Allowed: Julius Caesar at the Nashville Public Library
  • November 6, 2016 - Shakespeare Dinner at Montgomery Bell Academy: Sonnet & Soliloquy
  • November 10, 2016 – First Folio opening day
  • November 12, 2016 – January 8, 2017 – First Folio weekend programming – every weekend the Nashville Shakespeare Festival presents monologues and short scenes, and students from Montgomery Bell Academy and Harpeth Hall provide Shakespeare games, improve, and karaoke.
  • November 12, 2016 – Create a Folio Family Program
  • November 17, 2016 – Lecture by Dr. Katherine Hayes, Remembering Shakespeare or What He Hath Left Us: the Remarkable Rise of the First Folio
  • November 17-19, 2016 – Hamlet: a Nashville Public Library Puppet Theatre production
  • November 17 – 20, 2016 – Performance of Volpone by Ben Johnson presented by Montgomery Bell Academy
  • November 19, 2016 – Shakesprov (Shakespeare-Inspired Games) with Montgomery Bell Academy
  • November 19, 2016 – Shakespeare-Inspired Games
  • December 3, 2016 – Hamlet Day – with Montgomery Bell Academy
  • December 3, 2016 – Have Fun With Hamlet, Family Program
  • December 3, 2016 – Shakespeare Allowed: Henry V at the Nashville Public Library
  • December 4, 2016 – The Tempest Read-Through with the cast from Montgomery Bell Academy
  • December 10, 2016 – Romeo & Juliet Day – with Montgomery Bell Academy
  • December 10, 2016 – Create a Folio, Family Program, and printing demonstrations by Sawtooth Printing
  • January 7, 2017 – Words, Words, Words, Family Program
  • January 7, 2017 – Shakespeare Allowed: Hamlet at the Nashville Public Library
  • January 8, 2017 – The Seussification of Romeo & Juliet read-thru with the cast from Montgomery Bell Academy


Click here to learn about the First Folio that visited Tennessee.