Celebrating the 400th birthday of The First Folio in 2023

Update: Those who attended the LTG National Conference at Southport will recall the presentation made at the Open Forum on Folio 400.

Bringing together a distinguished cast of academics and actors, the Folio400 website aims to “arrange an array of ‘shows, pageants and sights of honour’ to celebrate the 400th Birthday of The First Folio, the first printed edition of Shakespeare’s collected plays, in 2023.”

Folio400 Website

These currently include, but are not limited to:

• An exhibition at a leading London or regional museum, looking at the role The First Folio has played in Culture and Art over the last 400 years
• A TV Documentary examining the First Folio’s birth and how it became ‘The World’s Most Wanted Book’
• A Feature Film: based on the story written by Dominic Dromgoole, and screenplay by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman
• Coins and Stamps: organisers hope to persuade the Royal Mint and the Royal Mail to commemorate the Quatercentenary of the Folio’s Publication in coinage and stamps
• A Film Festival of Black & White films, including silent ones to be succeeded, perhaps, by a Festival of Great First Folio films in Colour
• Plays: many different Shakespeare theatres around the world have diverse and ambitious plans for 2023.  Folio 400 will help promote those projects and help them link with each other
• Also involved will be Opera & Ballet; a commemorative statue of Heminge & Condell in Bronze; an International Press Conference and Gala Dinner on 8 November 2023 at Stationer’s Hall, where the Folio was born; Webinars; and the public display of all Folio owners on 23 April 2023.

Anne Gilmour