Encore for award-winning Shakespeare First Folio exhibition

Durham University’s exhibition of its copy of William Shakespeare’s First Folio is being extended following a hugely successful first six months.

The exhibition will now run until 6 April 2026, giving residents and visitors to Durham even more time to learn about this literary wonder.  

The Shakespeare Recovered exhibition explores the history of Durham’s First Folio, including its theft in 1998 and what has happened since its return in 2010.  

Since opening in April 2025, the exhibition has welcomed over 9,000 visitors and has engaged with over 2,000 school pupils and families across County Durham. It has also been used for academic study and been part of major international visits and conferences at the University.  

The exhibition has recently been recognised by the Institute of Conservation, which has awarded Durham University the Heritage Conservation in Action prize 2025 for Shakespeare Recovered. 

Durham’s copy of the First Folio has a unique history. It was stolen while on display in the University’s Cosin’s Library, on Palace Green in Durham City, in 1998.  

It reappeared ten years later at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C., USA, badly damaged, and with its cover and some pages missing.  

It was returned home to Durham in 2010 and has continued to inspire learning and debate, including about whether it should be rebound.  

Shakespeare Recovered chronicles the cutting-edge analysis and conservation work to preserve the book, and discussions about its future.  

The First Folio, published in 1623, was the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays. Among the 36 plays included are 18, such as Anthony and Cleopatra, Macbeth and The Tempest, that had not previously been published.  

Without the First Folio, these works may well have been lost to history.  

Durham’s First Folio was originally purchased by Bishop John Cosin in the 1620s and added to his library in Durham in 1669. 

While around 750 copies were originally printed, only 235 are known to have survived. Each is unique, which made confirmation of the identity of the stolen Durham copy possible.  

Since its return in 2010, Durham University’s expert conservators have worked to preserve the historic value of the book and to find ways to make it safely accessible for future generations.  

Stuart Hunt, Director of University Library and Collections and University Librarian at  Durham University, said: “We’re thrilled by the popularity and positive reception that Shakespeare Recovered has enjoyed over the last six months. It is exciting to be able to extend the exhibition and give more people the chance to come and see this iconic literary object.  

“Part of this exhibition looks at the debate around what should happen next with the Durham First Folio, in particular whether it should be rebound. It has been wonderful to see visitors engaging with this debate and sharing their views on the future of the Folio.”