“Shakespeare’s Famous Lovers (& Others!)”
It’s Semester 12!
the theme of the 2025-2026 season of our “Shakespeare Book Club” is “Shakespeare’s Famous Lovers (& Others!).”
We’ll talk about Lovers we know, Lovers we think we know, and Lovers we might not know very well at all!
join us in person or online!
We're celebrating the 12th anniversary of our “Shakespeare Book Club” with the West Hartford Public Library!
This season, we will examine eight of Shakespeare’s plays — and one bonus discussion in June that will focus on the two TBD plays of our 2026 Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival!
Join us in person at the Noah Webster Branch of the West Hartford Public Library or on Zoom from your own home!
Whether it’s your first Shakespeare play or you’ve been a fan your whole life, all are welcome to join this lively Book Club. Participants have been joining these discussions in person and online from as far away as Arizona and Canada. Discussions are free of charge and open to fans of all ages and experience levels. The Shakespeare Book Club is moderated by Geoffrey Sheehan, Capital Classics artistic associate and theatre professor at Housatonic Community College.
All are welcome for this free, 9-month discussion series. These events are held in person and on Zoom on the first Monday of each month from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m., through our partnership with the Noah Webster Library in West Hartford, Connecticut.
Be sure to email info@capitalclassics.org or bard@westhartfordlibrary.org to be added to the Book Club invite list. That way, you can get the monthly event details and/or Zoom login information.
2025 – 2026 DATES & TOPICS FOR DISCUSSIONS:
All evenings begin at 6:30 PM and end at 7:45 PM at the West Hartford Library and via Zoom.
Monday, October 6: Romeo and Juliet
Monday, November 3: Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice & Benedick and Hero & Claudio)
Monday, December 1: Othello (Othello & Desdemona, Cassio & Bianca, and poor Roderigo)
Monday, January 5: The Winter’s Tale (Florizel & Perdita, the Shepherd’s Son and His Ladies)
Monday, February 2: Antony & Cleopatra
Monday, March 2: Venus & Adonis
Monday, April 6: Troilus & Cressida
Monday, May 4: Cymbeline (Imogen & Posthumous)
Monday, June 1: Two TBD plays of our 2026 Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival
The Noah Webster Library in West Hartford center.
Details for In Person Participants
Your Isham Garage parking will be validated in the Library Meeting Room before the discussion. Please go directly from the parking garage (bypass the garage kiosks) to the library meeting room to validate your parking using your license plate number. Parking must be validated at the library within 15 minutes of leaving your car.
Sessions are held in the Library Meeting Room of the Noah Webster Library, 20 South Main Street in West Hartford, at 6:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month. No registration is needed to attend. You may bring your own covered beverage or quiet snack to the meeting room. Find more information by clicking here. Read Shakespeare's plays online by clicking here.
Geoffrey Sheehan is currently a professor of Theatre Arts at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport where he also serves as the Theatre Arts Program Coordinator. Prior to his work at HCC, Geoffrey taught theatre in many Connecticut schools and youth programs. Geoffrey is also the co-founder and Artistic Associate with Capital Classics Theatre Company, home of the Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival produced every summer on the campus of the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, CT. Geoffrey received his B.FA. in Drama from UCONN and his M.A.L.S. in Theatre from Wesleyan University.