Wed - Jan 22, 2025 - 7:30 PM
Half Price Preview Performance | YP Preview Night
Thu - Jan 23, 2025 - 7:30 PM
Half Price Preview Performance
Fri - Jan 24, 2025 - 7:30 PM
OPENING NIGHT | Audio Description Service Available
Sat - Jan 25, 2025 - 7:30 PM
Thu - Jan 30, 2025 - 7:30 PM
Fri - Jan 31, 2025 - 7:30 PM
Sat - Feb 1, 2025 - 7:30 PM
Sun - Feb 2, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Thu - Feb 6, 2025 - 7:30 PM
Fri - Feb 7, 2025 - 7:30 PM
Sat - Feb 8, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Sign Language Interpreted
Sat - Feb 8, 2025 - 7:30 PM
Sun - Feb 9, 2025 - 2:00 PM
A Room in the Castle Based on the Women of "Hamlet." By Lauren M. Gunderson
January 24 - February 9, 2025
In this parallel retelling of Hamlet from Ophelia and Gertrude's perspectives, the focus shifts to their emotional journey amidst the chaos of the Danish court. Ophelia’s narrative begins with the blossoming of a secret romance with Hamlet, filled with promise and youthful passion. As the intrigue in the court deepens, Ophelia and Gertrude find themselves ensnared in a web of political machinations and familial expectations, struggling to maintain power and agency. Will their ending be a confirmation of Shakespeare's original or a liberation from it? Find out in the world-premiere of Lauren M. Gunderson’s A Room in the Castle.
Co-Produced with Folger Theatre
Run Time: 85 minutes, no intermission
Content Advisory: This production contains brief discussions of mature topics and the use of flashing lights.
This season, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company embarks on PROJECT Hamlet, presenting a trio of productions that explore the timeless tragedy of "Hamlet." The series began with a FREE production of "Hamlet" in the parks across the tri-state area, followed by the Cincinnati premiere of James Ijames' Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fat Ham," which reimagined the story of "Hamlet" as a backyard BBQ in the South. The series concludes with the World Premiere of Lauren Gunderson's "A Room in the Castle" which is based on the women of "Hamlet." This play was commissioned by CSC and is co-produced with Folger Theatre in Washington DC.
Lauren M. Gunderson has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list thrice including 2022/23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is a playwright, screenwriter, musical book writer and children’s author who lives in San Francisco. She graduated from NYU Tisch as a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. LaurenGunderson.com
I’m terrifically excited to finally bring 'A Room in the Castle' to Cincy Shakes. Since they boldly commissioned the idea years ago, I’ve been filled with gratitude and eagerness to tell this untold part of the most iconic Shakespearean play and bring the women of Hamlet out from the shadows and into their own truths. What a gift to be trusted, commissioned, and—now—produced at Cincinnati Shakespeare!
The award-winning Folger Theatre in our nation’s capital bridges the arts and humanities through transformational performances and programming that speak inclusively to the human experience. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels, Folger Theatre continues its legacy through exciting interpretations and adaptations of Shakespeare and expands the classical canon through cultivating today’s artists and commissioning new work that is in dialogue with the concerns and issues of our time. Folger Theatre thrives both on its historical stage and in the community, engaging audiences wherever they happen to be.
Folger Theatre has been the recipient of 158 nominations and 31 awards for excellence in acting, direction, design, and production. Recent productions of Measure for Measure, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, and Sense and Sensibility have all received the Outstanding Resident Play Award.
Folger Theatre is a part of the Folger Shakespeare Library, home to the largest collection of Shakespeare’s works in the world.
A Room in the Castle is co-produced with Folger Theatre and will travel to Washington D.C. for a run following this production. Learn more online here.
Design Sponsor
Judge Mark and Sue Ann Painter
New Play Development Sponsor
The McElroy Family
Burgess Byrd*
Anna
Oneika Phillips*
Gertrude
Sabrina Lynne Sawyer*
Ophelia
Directed by Kaja Dunn**
Scenic Designer: Samantha Reno
Costume Designer: Nicky Smith+
Lighting Designer: Max Doolittle+
Sound Designer: Sarah O’Halloran+
Projections Designer: Robert Carlton Stimmel^
Associate Projections Designer: Rainy Edwards
Casting Director: Daryl Eisenberg
Assistant Director and Dramaturg: Shana Laski
Stage Manager: Hope Villanueva*
Assistant Stage Manager: Rowan Rozzi
For cast and creative team biographies and more information on the production, visit the mobile program:
+Members of USA 829
^Artist Sponsored by Judge Mark Painter
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre, the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
**Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)
