I love commemorative stamps, so I was happy to see that the Royal Mail is celebrating both Shakespeare and the 50th anniversary of the Royal Shakespeare Company (which is today, April 12) with six handsome new stamps, each featuring a quote from a different play–A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Henry VI, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest–alongside an image from one of the RSC’s productions. The stamps come with a “mini sheet of exclusive artwork depicting the most famous RSC theatres, such as the Swan Theatre and the …

The Coriolanus edition: movie poster, new production stills, and an essay from the film’s developers on why Coriolanus matters and candidates for a modern-day Coriolanus.

The Royal Shakespeare company announces the makeup of their repertoire for NYC in summer 2011; and suspected Folio thief Raymond Scott gets 8 years in jail, though acquitted of theft…

A week of about times: Miramax is purchased and a release date for Julie Taymor’s Tempest starring Helen Mirren; plus Kenneth Branagh’s new movie; Pacino’s Merchant goes to Broadway; and Kevin Kline does grunting Shakespeare…

Sarah Palin compares herself to Shakespeare, reviews are in for the short film Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead, and the Instant Shakespeare Company in Manhattan puts on free Shakespeare performances in libraries…

A French novel based on King Lear by South Vietnamese author Linda Le is translated into English for the first time; a travel agency offers Shakespeare-inspired tours of Italy; and a show by Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer about Shakespeare’s heroines, Women of Will.

Teams from 32 countries have gathered in South Africa to compete for the World Cup–the ultimate championship of soccer (the United States) or football (the rest of the world). Before every match each team’s coach will speak to his players, trying to find just the right words to motivate them. Some coaches might even draw on Shakespeare’s plays for inspiration…

Folger director Gail Kern Paster announces retirement in 2011, and John Updike archive reveals a letter from the young writer to his parents calling for the need for a new Shakespeare…

This summer’s oddest Shakespeare productions; and scalping tickets for Shakespeare in the Park…

More news on the Miramax purchase from Disney; Shakespeare productions in NYC this summer; new photos from the Ralph Fiennes Coriolanus film.