Adelaide Robineau: Breaking the Porcelain Ceiling

Adelaide Alsop Robineau, (1865-1929) is considered one of America’s preeminent studio potters. She began her ceramics career as a china painter, painting designs on porcelain blanks produced by other craftsmen. After moving to Syracuse with her husband in 1901, Robineau started experimenting with making her own porcelain forms.  She quickly became a master of the […]

2026 Annual General Meeting

The English-Speaking Union welcomes its members to NYC for the 2026 ESU Annual Conference. The conference, under the theme “United by Language, Inspired by Liberty.” The conference program will include the ESU 2026 Annual General Meeting, social events such as receptions and meals, breakout sessions, panel discussions, and local tours. We invite you to participate […]

$650

2026 ESU National Shakespeare Competition Weekend

The ESU National Shakespeare Competition returns to New York City for an unforgettable weekend of fun, education, and performance. From Saturday, April 25 to Monday, April 27, students, parents, teachers, and ESU members will gather for three exciting days in the Big Apple. Weekend package tickets go on sale soon!

Elizabeth I: in Her Own Words

The New York City Branch of the English Speaking Union invites you to join us for ESU National Board Member Mary Coleman Way in Conversation with Tamara Meneghini on Elizabeth I: in Her Own Words A critically acclaimed one-woman play, by Carole Levin, in collaboration with Tamara Meneghini and Sabin Epstein, that combines Elizabeth I’s own letters […]

The History of Shakespearean Theatre in Hawaii

Sponsored by the ESU Hawaii and Seattle Branches Did you know that Edwin Booth, brother of John Wilkes Booth (President Lincoln’s assassin), performed Shakespeare plays in the Kingdom of Hawaii in the 1850s? And he wasn’t alone. The Hawaiian Kingdom hosted many actors who came to the fabled islands to perform Shakespeare. Our guest speaker, Professor Mark […]

America: Made in Virginia

Sponsored by the ESU Richmond, VA Branch With the Commander of the American Forces from Virginia, four of the first five Presidents from Virginia, the authors of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution from Virginia, an early Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from Virginia, multiple signers of the Declaration of Independence […]