N.C. Museum of History and Burning Coal Theatre Present SHAKESPEARE MARATHON: 38 Plays in 5 Days

The N.C. Museum of History and Burning Coal Theatre Company will present the SHAKESPEARE MARATHON: 38 PLAYS IN 5 DAYS.

Honoring the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, theatrical groups from across North Carolina will present a major event: a round-the-clock reading of all 38 plays by Shakespeare. From noon today, April 23, through Thursday, April 28, at the N.C. Museum of History, the groups -- professional, college and amateur -- and celebrities will perform stage readings of the Bard's plays, from his first to his last, with minimal costumes and props. The event is free.

Thirty-eight theatre companies will participate in the SHAKESPEARE MARATHON. The theatrical groups will range from PlayMakers in Chapel Hill to Flat Rock Playhouse in Flat Rock and Chickspeare in Charlotte. The marathon will be produced by Burning Coal Theatre in Raleigh.

On Wednesday, January 20 at 10 a.m. at the N.C. Museum of History, Susan W. Kluttz, Secretary of N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, will announce the lineup of theatre company names and the Shakespeare play that each company will present in the marathon. The 38 staged readings will be presented by companies from across the state.

The 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death will be commemorated on a grand scale in the United States, England and many other countries. The SHAKESPEARE MARATHON is a statewide effort that celebrates the playwright's extraordinary legacy.

The SHAKESPEARE MARATHON will precede the exhibit First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare, on tour from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. The exhibit will run from Saturday, May 7, through Monday, May 30, at the N.C. Museum of History.

The exhibit will feature the 1623 First Folio of Shakespeare, which is on a national tour for the first time from the Folger Shakespeare Library. The N.C. Museum of History has been selected as one of 52 stops -- one in each U.S. state, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. -- and the only stop in North Carolina for First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare. The Folger Shakespeare Library organized the 2016 tour to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

The 1623 First Folio, one of the most influential books in history, was published seven years after Shakespeare's death and includes 36 of Shakespeare's plays. Eighteen of those plays had never been printed before. Without the First Folio, plays such as Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, The Tempest and As You Like It might have been lost forever. For information, visit wonderofwill.folger.edu.

The First Folio will be accompanied by colorful panels that highlight the power of Shakespeare's language, characters and influence on our world, as well as the history of the First Folio. To complement the exhibit, the museum also will feature special programs.

The exhibit is produced in association with the American Library Association and Cincinnati Museum Center. First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare, on tour from the Folger Shakespeare Library, has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor, and by the support of Google.org, Vinton and Sigrid Cerf, and other generous donors.

For information about the N.C. Museum of History, a Smithsonian Affiliate, call 919-807-7900 or access ncmuseumofhistory.org or follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ or YouTube. For details about Burning Coal Theatre Company, contact Managing Director Simmie Kastner at 919-834-4001 or visit www.burningcoal.org.

The N.C. Museum of History is located at 5 E. Edenton Street in downtown Raleigh. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The museum collects and preserves artifacts of North Carolina history and educates the public on the history of the state and the nation through exhibits and educational programs. Each year more than 300,000 people visit the museum to see some of the 150,000 artifacts in the museum collection. The Museum of History, within the Division of State History Museums, is part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Burning Coal Theatre Company is an intimate, professional theatre located in downtown Raleigh. Currently in its 19th season, Burning Coal has grown over the years to become one of the most influential and respected professional theatres in the southeastern United States. Its mission calls for the creation of art that is literate, visceral and affecting. In November 2014, Burning Coal toured David Edgar's Iron Curtain Trilogy with its company of 38 mostly North Carolina-based artists to London's Cockpit Theatre for a three-week run, garnering a four-star review from The Guardian's Michael Billington, considered the dean of London theatre critics. Burning Coal has also toured to New York City, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C., and cities across North Carolina. Its education program WillPower! is among the most active and respected in the state.

The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state's natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan Kluttz, NCDNCR's mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state's history, conserving the state's natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.

NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, two science museums, three aquariums and Jennette's Pier, 39 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C. Zoo, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, along with the Division of Land and Water Stewardship.

Image Credit: Shakespeare First Folio, 1623. Folger Shakespeare Library

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