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“Frailty, thy name is man.”
Lady Capulet wants to look younger, while Goneril longs to play Lear. Viola is weary of her “woman’s weeds,” and Desdemona needs an intimacy coach. As a director tells Lady Macbeth to sexualize her unsexing, Ophelia stages her death to escape Denmark—all while a chorus of actresses get candid about what’s happening behind the scenes.
Daringly irreverent and innovative, Erin Shields doesn’t hold back in this fierce feminist examination of Shakespeare’s canon, exposing how his representation of women plays out in rehearsal halls, dressing rooms, and social dynamics behind the scenes. Neither a love letter nor a breakup text, Thy Woman’s Weeds is a collective scream giving voice to the unwritten verses of Shakespeare’s iconic characters and the women who play them.
“Shields's brilliant, deep delve into Shakespeare’s works is Thy Woman’s Weeds, a ferociously funny, irreverent yet respectful homage to his most notable female characters…Both fiercely entertaining and disarmingly educational to those who might not be Shakespeare aficionados. Those who are afraid of Shakespeare should NOT stay away.”
—Théâtralités
Erin Shields is a Canadian playwright best known for radical adaptations of classical texts that bring neglected female characters centre stage. Her play Ransacking Troy (Stratford Festival) is a retelling of the Trojan War narrative from the perspective of its female players. Erin’s illuminating and hilarious adaptation of Paradise Lost won the Quebec Writers Federation Prize for Playwriting. And her harrowing tragedy about sexual violence, If We Were Birds, won the Governor General’s Award for playwriting. Other plays include Queen Goneril (Soulpepper), Jane Eyre (Citadel Theatre), Piaf/Dietrich (Mirvish Productions/Segal Centre), and Beautiful Man (Factory Theatre). Read more about upcoming projects on her website, www.erinshields.ca.