This folio, as well as the exhibition and digital space that accompanies it, tells the story of young people using their heritage to understand who they are, where they come from, and what they might become.
With the support of the Heritage Lottery fund, we were able to work with local schools and colleges to continue conversations around history, heritage, and the impact of the First Folio.
In sessions facilitated by Charlie Dupré, students have learned about the First Folio’s making, history, and impact, including the role of Isaac Jaggard. Some students have researched a person from the 1600s who has been an inspiration. Young people have reflected on 17th century worker’s rights, witchcraft, persecution, and gender relations throughout history. Some students even took part in a book-binding workshop where they hand-bound their very own book!
Most importantly, as seen in this collection, they’ve used their own creative voices and created a 21st century written response to the first folio, platforming their new learning and their own heritage.
The main body of this folio has been divided into four sections to reflect the different ways in which young people chose to explore their heritage; Question, Asking for Help, Inheritance, and Admiration. There is a fifth section where a selection of work from the first workshops series has been included. Care has been taken to emulate the First Folio as much as possible in our version, from formatting, to illustrations, from preliminaries, and to hand book-binding.
Each school who participated in this project received a copy of the folio, and one copy will remain at Omnibus Theatre in Clapham, London. It is available to view online on the Omnibus Theatre website, and in-person at the Our Heritage: Unbound exhibition at Omnibus Theatre, opening in March 2024-2025. A preview of this additional content is featured in this folio’s preliminary pages, so read on to check out blogs by experts on Shakespeare and the First Folio.
Thank you to the Heritage Lottery Fund, Charlie Dupré, Emma Smith, Chris Laoutaris, Mylyn McColl, and Shepherds London for supporting this project.