Thy Woman’s Weeds

By Erin Shields

Lady Capulet fights to stay relevant next to her fresh-faced Juliet, while Goneril clamours for a role as juicy as King Lear’s. Hermia laments the dress code that prevents her from wearing whatever “woman’s weeds” she pleases; Desdemona desperately needs an intimacy coach. As the director asks Lady Macbeth to sexualize her unsexing, Ophelia rails at the patriarchy from beyond her early grave. Meanwhile, the chorus of actresses playing each of these classic characters are finding it more and more difficult to hold their tongues about what they’re going through on- and off-stage.

*NOTE ON CASTING - The number of actors is very flexible due to the large number of characters presented in the play. For example, seven actors played (on average) six characters each in the original production. Therefore, it is also possible to have a bigger cast with each actor portraying less characters.