The 30-Minute Shakespeare

Bringing Shakespeare from Page to Stage

Planning a school or amateur Shakespeare production? The best way to experience the plays is to perform them, but getting started can be a challenge: The complete plays are too long and complex, while scene selections or simplified language are too limited.

The 30-Minute Shakespeare is a new series of abridgements that tell the “story” of each play from start to finish while keeping the beauty of Shakespeare’s language intact. Specific stage directions and character suggestions give even inexperienced actors the tools to perform Shakespeare with confidence, understanding, and fun!

Latest News!:

Click here for a recent 3-minute interview on WBAL Radio in Baltimore (2/1/12):  Nick Newlin discusses his work as a Folger Shakespeare Library Teaching Artist working in DC Public Schools:

Fall 2010 Series

See all plays in the series >

Now Available via the Folger Shakespeare Library

All six Spring 2010 plays plus As You Like It and Love's Labor's Lost are available in the Folger Shakespeare Library's online store for pre-order and purchase.

Visit the Folger Shakespeare Library store >

See all videos from The 30-Minute Shakespeare >

Praise for
the Series

“Newlin’s The 30-Minute Shakespeare series is an invaluable resource for teachers of Shakespeare, and for all who are interested in performing the plays.”
—Robert Young, PhD, Director of Education, Folger Shakespeare Library

“Nick Newlin’s 30-minute play cuttings are perfect for students who have no experience with Shakespeare. Each 30-minute mini-play is a play in itself with a beginning, middle, and end.”
—Michael Ellis-Tolaydo, Department of Theater, Film, and Media Studies, St Mary’s College of Maryland