About us
The Twin Cities Shakespeare Readers had its first meeting in April 2022. We meet once a month to discuss a play by William Shakespeare, the greatest writer who ever lived.
We usually meet on the last Monday of every month, 6-8 p.m., at the Minneapolis Central Library in downtown Minneapolis, usually in Room N-202.
We also post other events that may be of interest to our members.
We would be happy to send you a pdf file that tells you more about our group and also lists upcoming performances of Shakespeare plays in Minnesota. You can contact us by email at: TCSR.MINN@gmail.com.
Upcoming events
3
“Cymbeline” Discussion
Minneapolis Central Library, room N-202, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, mn, USMonday, August 31, 2026, 6-8 pm
Minneapolis Central Library
(Downtown Minneapolis)
300 Nicollet Mall - Room N-202
Minneapolis, MN 55401There is underground parking beneath the library, off 4th St. S., for about $6. There is also paid parking at parking meters.
Go in to the Library lobby and then in to the book stacks area. Take the elevator or stairs up to the 2nd floor, then go all the way to the left.
This is a discussion about the play, not a reading or showing of it.
SYNOPSIS OF PLAY (from the Folger Library)
• Cymbeline, which takes place in ancient Britain, is filled with hidden identities, extraordinary schemes, and violent acts. Long ago, the two sons of King Cymbeline were abducted, leaving Cymbeline with a daughter, Imogen. Cymbeline’s stepson, Cloten, is now his heir, and Cymbeline expects Imogen to marry him. She secretly marries Posthumus Leonatus instead.
• Banished from court, Posthumus makes a foolish bet on Imogen’s chastity, which leads to false evidence that she has betrayed him. He plots to have her killed, and starts by sending her on a journey. Meanwhile, still angry about Imogen’s marriage, Cloten plans to find and rape her.
• Imogen – now disguised as a boy, “Fidele” – unwittingly encounters her brothers, who have grown up in a mountain cave unaware of their princely origins. The brothers kill Cloten, but Imogen, horrified, believes they have slain Posthumus.
• Cymbeline, meanwhile, refuses to pay a tribute to the Romans, who invade Britain. After the Romans are repelled in battle, Cymbeline agrees to the tribute, his sons are restored, and Imogen and Posthumus are reconciled.FAMOUS QUOTES FROM THE PLAY
• Folger Library
• Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)FREE VIDEOS - FULL PLAY (YOUTUBE)
• Shakespeare & Company (2012) (1:29)
• Shakespeare by the Sea (2016) (1:56)
• Montana Shakespeare in the Parks (2021) (2:03)FREE VIDEOS - OTHER (YOUTUBE)
• Tim Nance: Cymbeline: Summary and Discussion, part 1 (17:41)
• Tim Nance: Cymbeline: Summary and Discussion, part 2 (15:16)
• Harvard ENGL E-129, Lecture 10 [Marjorie Garber]: Cymbeline (1:42:06)ARTICLES
• Wikipedia: Cymbeline
• SparkNotes: Cymbeline - Overview
• SparkNotes: Cymbeline - Character List
• SparkNotes: Cymbeline - Full Book Summary
• SparkNotes: Cymbeline - Full Book Analysis
• About Shakespeare’s Cymbeline by Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine
• A Modern Perspective: Cymbeline by Cynthia Marshall
• Shakespeare & Beyond: “Shakespeare in Bloomsbury” by Marjorie Garber. The young Virginia Woolf encounters Shakespeare’s Cymbeline (2023)
• Further Reading: CymbelinePODCASTS & TRANSCRIPTS
• Approaching Shakespeare (Emma Smith): Cymbeline
• Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 18:
Rarely Performed Shakespeare (2015)
• The Play’s the Thing: CymbelineGENERAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
• The Folger Shakespeare Library has free and paid (includes notes) downloadable texts of all of Shakespeare’s plays.
• The Folger Library: Shakespeare Documented has copies of original documents from Shakespeare’s time.
• No Sweat Shakespeare
• PlayShakespeare: The Ultimate Free Shakespeare Research
• Podcast: “Approaching Shakespeare”
• Podcast: “Shakespeare Unlimited” Play by Play
• Play On Podcasts
• SparkNotes 101: Shakespeare [Excellent synopses of all the plays.]
• Book: Shakespeare After All by Marjorie Garber [Excellent analysis of all the plays.] Kindle edition only $5.99!
• Prima Facie: An End to Doubt: Shakespeare’s Authorship is a FactFACEBOOK PAGES
• The Official William Shakespeare Page
• Shakespeare Study Group
• William Shakespeare: His Works and His WorldAPP
• Shakespeare AppBEST SHAKESPEARE USED BOOK SELECTIONS IN THE TWIN CITIES
• Midway Books, St. Paul
• The Book House, Minneapolis
• James & Mary Laurie Booksellers, Minneapolis
• Magers and Quinn, Minneapolis
• Half Price Books8 attendees
Theatre In The Round Players: "The Great Gatsby" ($5)
Theatre in the Round, 245 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USThursday, Sept. 10, 2026, 7:30 pm.
Theatre in the Round Players (TRP)
245 Cedar Ave S
Minneapolis MN 55454"The Great Gatsby"
Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Adapted by Simon LevyJoin us for the final dress rehearsal of "The Great Gatsby". The cost is $5.00 at the door. Cash preferred. NO LATE SEATING.
Play Description:
In this famous Jazz Age story, Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, moves to New York in the summer of 1922. As he navigates the unfamiliar social scene, he is invited to a lavish party thrown by the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby, who is trying to rekindle a relationship with Nick’s cousin, Daisy. This faithful adaptation of the novel uses theatricality to capture the lyric and poetic nature of Fitzgerald’s prose. With themes of greed, love, disillusionment, and inequality, this Great American Classic feels both mythic and familiar in a new century.There is also a Pay-What-You-Can performance on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, 7:30 pm.
PARKING:
1. Parking is NOT free at parking meters in the evening, but it is not expensive. About $5.
2. You can also park nearby in the ramp of the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, 1500 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55454. Remember your license plate and when you are leaving the theater there is a QR code you can scan with your smart phone and only pay $5.50. (Four hour limit at this discounted price.)There is always a small chance that a performance might be cancelled at the last minute, so call TRP that afternoon to check 612-333-3010, and also check Meetup messages for this event.
2 attendees
“Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett - Discussion
Minneapolis Central Library, room N-202, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, mn, USSpecial, Non-Shakespeare Meetup
Monday, September 14, 2026, 6-8 pm
Minneapolis Central Library
(Downtown Minneapolis)
300 Nicollet Mall - Room N-202
Minneapolis, MN 55401There is underground parking beneath the library, off 4th St. S., for about $6. There is also paid parking at parking meters.
Go in to the Library lobby and then in to the book stacks area. Take the elevator or stairs up to the 2nd floor, then go all the way to the left.
We expect to have a special guest from the upcoming production of “Waiting for Godot” at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Sept. 12 - Oct. 11, 2026.
This is a discussion about the play, not a reading or showing of it.
SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY (from SparkNotes)
• Two men, Vladimir and Estragon, meet near a tree. They converse on various topics and reveal that they are waiting there for a man named Godot. While they wait, two other men enter. Pozzo is on his way to the market to sell his slave, Lucky. He pauses for a while to converse with Vladimir and Estragon. Lucky entertains them by dancing and thinking, and Pozzo and Lucky leave.
• After Pozzo and Lucky leave, a boy enters and tells Vladimir that he is a messenger from Godot. He tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming tonight, but that he will surely come tomorrow. Vladimir asks him some questions about Godot and the boy departs. After his departure, Vladimir and Estragon decide to leave, but they do not move as the curtain falls.
• The next night, Vladimir and Estragon again meet near the tree to wait for Godot. Lucky and Pozzo enter again, but this time Pozzo is blind and Lucky is dumb. Pozzo does not remember meeting the two men the night before. They leave and Vladimir and Estragon continue to wait.
• Shortly after, the boy enters and once again tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming. He insists that he did not speak to Vladimir yesterday. After he leaves, Estragon and Vladimir decide to leave, but again they do not move as the curtain falls, ending the play.FREE VIDEOS - FULL PLAY (YOUTUBE)
• Waiting for Godot (2001) (Barry McGovern, Johnny Murphy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izX5dIzI2RE
• Waiting for Godot (TV “Play of the Week” 1961) (Burgess Meredith, Zero Mostel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvjoyEQZza4
• Waiting for Godot (San Quentin Workshop, 1988)FREE VIDEOS - OTHER (YOUTUBE)
• Lecture: The meaning of Godot by Dr David Pattie University, University of Birmingham, 2019
• Waiting for Godot: The Absurdity of The Human Condition
• Interview with Antoinette Nwandu, author of Pass Over (a modern adaptation of Waiting for Godot, focusing two young Black men)
• Pass Over (film) Official Trailer from Amazon Studios (a modern adaptation of Waiting for Godot, focusing two young Black men)ARTICLES
• Wikipedia: Waiting for Godot
• Wikipedia: Samuel Beckett
• Wikipedia: Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu (a modern adaptation of Waiting for Godot, focusing two young Black men)
• SparkNotes: Waiting for Godot - Overview
• SparkNotes: Waiting for Godot - Full Play Summary
• SparkNotes: Waiting for Godot - Full Play Analysis
• SparkNotes: Waiting for Godot - Themes
• SparkNotes: Waiting for Godot - Motifs
• SparkNotes: Waiting for Godot - Symbols
• SparkNotes: Waiting for Godot - Questions & AnswersPODCAST
• The Play Podcast - Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett (56:23)LIVE PERFORMANCES IN MINNESOTA
Waiting for Godot (Sept. 12 - Oct. 11, 2026)
Guthrie Theater
818 S. 2nd St.
Minneapolis, MN 55415
612.225.6000 (Administration)
612.377.2224 (Box Office)BEST USED BOOK SELECTIONS IN THE TWIN CITIES
• Midway Books, St. Paul
• The Book House, Minneapolis
• James & Mary Laurie Booksellers, Minneapolis
• Magers and Quinn, Minneapolis
• Books Against the Current, St. Paul
• Half Price Books4 attendees
Past events
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