This summer visitors to D.C’s National Building Museum will be transported back to Elizabethan England. The museum announced that its summer exhibit will transform its Great Hall into a Shakespearian theater.
The exhibit Shakespeare’s Playhouse will feature a stage inspired by the open-air theaters where the bard’s work would have originally been staged. In the evening, Shakespeare’s Playhouse will host the Folger Theater’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. During the day, the museum will offer workshops on topics like stage fighting and costume-making and allow visitors to explore the theater.
The University of South Carolina has partnered with the National Building Museum to design and build the stage. A University of South Carolina professor, Robert Richmond, will also direct the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The National Building Museum closed in December for renovations to the building’s floor and will reopen in March.