October 16, 2018

On Monday, 15 October, the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. officially opened “Churchill’s Shakespeare,” a new exhibition exploring the influence of William Shakespeare on the thought, writing, and statesmanship of Winston Churchill. The exhibition is a joint endeavor of the Folger and the International Churchill Society that features documents and artifacts from the Churchill Archives Centre, Chartwell, and the Folger.

The opening reception featured remarks by Folger director Michael Witmore and International Churchill Society executive director Michael F. Bishop. There followed a discussion with director of the Churchill Archives Centre Allen Packwood and curator Georgianna Ziegler moderated by Robert Costa, Washington Post political reporter and host of Washington Week on PBS. Costa received his MA from Cambridge University, where he studied Churchill and the Anglo-American relationship.

In his remarks, Bishop observed that “‘Churchill’s Shakespeare’ is an historic opportunity to bring these great British icons under one roof.” He continued by noting that Churchill declared: “The Bible and Shakespeare stand along on the highest platform.” “But I think,” Bishop concluded that “most of us will agree that the works of Churchill—who after all won the Nobel Prized for Literature—stand nearly as high.”

After the formal presentation in the Folger Theatre, attendees gathered in the Great Hall for a reception and a look at the exhibition. Among the guests were ICS Chairman Laurence Geller CBE, Jennie Churchill, and Dean of Libraries and Academic Innovation at the George Washington University Geneva Henry.

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The exhibition runs through 6 January 2019. For more information, please CLICK HERE.