Join us for an evening of Cocktails and Conversation, hosted by Folger Director Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper. Leading American Shakespearean actor John Douglas Thompson and theater director and Shakespearean acting specialist Daniela Varon will speak on the solo performance piece they are co-creating as part of their Artistic Research Fellowships at the Folger.

This piece, with the working title Shakespeare in Sable—inspired in part by Errol Hill’s pioneering 1984 book of that name—interweaves the story of John’s unexpected and unconventional journey to becoming a classical actor with the history of Black Shakespearean actors, primarily in America and the United Kingdom, from the 19th and 20th centuries to the present day.