Adjoa Andoh MBE will serve as the inaugural resident in the Folger Shakespeare Library‘s newly established Director’s Residency from April 19-25, 2026.

The British-Ghanaian actor, best known for playing Lady Danbury in Netflix’s Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, will spend the week in Washington, DC, consulting the Folger’s collection, participating in public programs, visiting other cultural centers, and working with students. She is a four-time NAACP Award nominee for her television work and has also appeared in Netflix’s The Witcher and Clint Eastwood’s Invictus alongside Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.

Andoh’s four-decade career includes leading roles at the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court Theatre, Young Vic, and The Kiln. In 2019, she conceived, co-directed, and played the lead in Richard II at Shakespeare’s Globe in the UK’s first all women-of-color production of a Shakespeare play. The Folger will screen this production on April 21 as part of the residency’s public programming. Andoh will also give a public talk on April 19.

The Director’s Residency was established by Folger Director Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper and is organized through the Director’s office. According to Dr. Karim-Cooper, the program aims to connect prominent artists or thinkers with the Folger’s resources to engage with Shakespeare and the humanities in new ways. The residency is designed to show how Shakespeare and the humanities spark curiosity, nurture critical inquiry, and equip people to meet contemporary complexities with creativity and courage.

During her week in residence, Andoh will have access to the Folger’s collection, which houses the world’s largest Shakespeare collection and rare materials from the early modern period. The residency format allows for sustained engagement between practitioners and archival materials. Andoh will also be the special guest at the Folger Gala on April 24, 2026, where Washington’s cultural and philanthropic communities will gather to celebrate the new initiative.

The Director’s Residency represents a new program at the Folger Shakespeare Library, one of the premier Shakespeare research institutions in the world. Located on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, the Folger houses 82 copies of Shakespeare’s First Folio and serves as both a research library and a cultural center with theater, music, and poetry programming. The library reopened in 2024 following a major renovation of its building and grounds.