First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare—on tour from the Folger Shakespeare Library—arrives October 1 at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library to become a featured part of the exhibition “Shakespeare by the Book: Four Centuries of Printing, Editing, and Publishing.” The First Folio will reside in the Harrison North Gallery, on display with UVA’s Shakespeare treasures until October 26, when it travels to its next destination, part of a celebration of Shakespeare’s life on the 400th anniversary of his death in 1616.
A UVA Today article, “Nine Things to Do With Shakespeare’s First Folio, Coming to UVA in October,” gives a schedule of events surrounding the First Folio’s arrival:
Monday, October 3, 5:00 p.m.– 6:30 p.m., at the Ruth Caplin Theater, Andrew Wade—former Head of Voice at the Royal Shakespeare Company—will lecture and take questions. The event is free and open to the public.
Saturday, October 8, 11:00 a.m.– 2:00 p.m., in front of the Harrison-Small building (the auditorium in case of rain) there will be a Family Day. Drama students will interact with the public; actors from Staunton’s American Shakespeare Center will give pointers on Shakespearean performance; craft tables will display items related to Elizabethan stagecraft; and there will be a raffle for tickets to the drama department’s presentation of The Comedy of Errors at 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 12, at 4:00 p.m., in the Special Collections auditorium, Virginia Mason Vaughan, professor emerita of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, will present the Tracy and Katherine McGregor Distinguished Lecture in American History, “Shakespeare for the American People.”
Friday, October 14, at 4:00 p.m.; Sunday, October 23, at 2:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, October 25, at 6:00 p.m. in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, UVA drama students will present a program “Vigil for the Bard!”, including sonnets, monologues, and—in time for Halloween!—the witches’ scene from Macbeth.
While the First Folio exhibition is here, the Harrison North Gallery will be open during the following hours:
Monday–Thursday, 9:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Saturday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Sunday, 1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
For more on First Folio events read the full article “Nine Things to Do With Shakespeare’s First Folio, Coming to UVA in October” (UVA Today, 9/27/2016).