First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare – Washington

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 Washington.

Exhibition Location: Seattle, Washington

Exhibition Venue: Seattle Public Library

Exhibition Dates: March 21, 2016 – April 17, 2016


Partner Organizations:

  • Lead Shakespeare content partners were:
    • Seattle Shakespeare Company
    • University of Washington, English Department
    • English Speaking Union
    • Young Shakespeare Workshop
  • Community Partners/Program Producers
    • Backyard Bard
    • Bard in the Bar
    • Creative Justice
    • Early Music Youth Academy
    • 4 Culture
    • Ijo Arts
    • Interagency Academy
    • Intiman Theater
    • Ladies Musical Club of Seattle
    • Park Place Retirement Home
    • Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
    • Recess Monkey
    • Sawhorse Revolution
    • Scarecrow Video
    • Seattle Historical Arts for Kids
    • Seattle Immersive Theatre
    • Seattle University
    • Society for Creative Anachronism
    • Solid Ground
    • Stone Soup Theater
    • The Byrd Ensemble
    • The Juliet Project
    • The Zine Project
    • Theater of Possibility
    • Youth Speaks Seattle


Complementary Exhibition:

  • Shakespeare in Seattle, March 21, 2016 – April 17, 2016
By the time Seattle was founded in 1852 by the Arthur Denny Party, theater productions of Shakespeare were more common throughout the country. Actors and acting companies followed the settlers west and the first documented professional theatrical engagement in Seattle was dramatic readings of Shakespeare in Plummer’s Hall in 1864. Touring companies arrived in the following decades to give performances of complete plays for Seattle audiences. Shakespeare would be performed by professional and amateur companies, read by book clubs and women’s clubs, memorized by school children and quoted by local notables. As the plays were adapted for opera, ballet, music and film, Seattle audiences were eager to experience the well-known plots and characters in these interpretations. The exhibit includes highlights from this history and presents the wide variety of ways in which Shakespeare was part of Seattle’s cultural life.


Event List:

  • March 19, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: Roman Polanski’s Macbeth
  • March 20, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: Taming of the Shrew
  • March 21, 2016 – Bard in a Bar Measure for Measure
  • March 26, 2016 – Community Day: Celebrate Shakespeare
  • March 26, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: North By Northwest
  • March 27, 2016 – Byrd Ensemble Concert
  • March 28, 2016 – Bard in a Bar Henry IV Part 1
  • March 28, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: Orson Welles’ Macbeth
  • March 29, 2016 – The Juliet Project
  • March 30, 2016 – Seattle Historical Arts for Kids: Elizabethan Instrumental Music
  • April 2, 2016 – First Folio: Educator Workshop
  • April 2, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: The Tempest
  • April 3, 2016 – Theater of Possibility
  • April 3, 2016 – Seattle Historical Arts for Kids: Renaissance Music and Dance
  • April 3, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: 10 Things I Hate About You
  • April 3, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: Forbidden Planet
  • April 3, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: Gnomeo & Juliet
  • April 3, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: West Side Story
  • April 4, 2016 – Bard in a Bar Much Ado About Nothing
  • April 4, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: Gnomeo & Juliet
  • April 6, 2016 – Backyard Bard: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  • April 7, 2016 – Seattle Shakespeare Company: Romeo and Juliet
  • April 7, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: My Own Private Idaho
  • April 9, 2016 – Seattle Shakespeare Company: Romeo and Juliet
  • April 9, 2016 – Scholar Talk: Shakespeare in Seattle with Ann Ferguson
  • April 9, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: She’s The Man
  • April 10, 2016 – Backyard Bard: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  • April 10, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: West Side Story
  • April 11, 2016 – Seattle Immersive Theatre: Romeo and Juliet
  • April 11, 2016 – Byrd Ensemble Concert
  • April 11, 2016 – Bard in a Bar Hamlet
  • April 12, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: Gnomeo & Juliet
  • April 13, 2016 – Music Inspired by Shakespeare
  • April 13, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
  • April 14, 2016 – Scholar Talk: Shakespeare Here and Now with Jeffery Todd Knight and Allison Meyer
  • April 14, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: 10 Things I Hate About You
  • April 16, 2016 – ShakesQueer
  • April 17, 2016 – Music Inspired by Shakespeare
  • April 17, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: Much Ado About Nothing
  • April 17, 2016 – Shakespeare on Screen: Kiss Me Kate


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