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The Eternal Woman of William Shakespeare

  • SGCNZ
  • Thu 6 Sep
  • Thu 13 Sep
  • Tue 25 Sep
  • Wellington

The Eternal Woman of William Shakespeare

By Rhona Davis MBE

Delighted to be part of the inaugural New Zealand Theatre Month, Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand (SGCNZ) and Wellington Shakespeare Society (WSS) are joining forces to present a staged reading of The Eternal Woman of William Shakespeare, first written and performed some 40 years ago.

As its title suggests, it also fits in with New Zealand’s 125th Suffrage celebrations.

Linked by a Narrator, the 45 minute (approx) play features selected speeches by 21 of Shakespeare’s women (plus a couple of ‘token men’!). With a mixture of professional actors and highly proficient members of SGCNZ and WSS, this performance will be engaging and reveal aspects of the Bard’s ‘take’ on women.

The opening lines are: “Many an aspiring young actress has been known to classify our greatest dramatist as a 16th century male chauvinist of the worst order. Look at the small, and, on the whole, unsatisfactory parts he has written for the women....”

And yet Shakespeare’s works have survived for over 400 years, and are performed regularly in over 100 different languages. It is the constant re-envisaging of his characters that keeps them live, challenging and exceptionally relevant.

The performance on Thu 13 Sep is at the Wellington Club, 88 The Terrace and bookings ($40) are essential

 

Performances

DATETIMEVENUELOCATION
Thu 6 Sep 7:30 pm Te Whaea Thratre Wellington
Thu 13 Sep 5:30 pm 88 The Terrace Wellington
Tue 25 Sep 6.30pm Hannah Playhouse Bar Wellington

“Many an aspiring young actress has been known to classify our greatest dramatist as a 16th century male chauvinist of the worst order. Look at the small, and, on the whole, unsatisfactory parts he has written for the women....”

Rhona Davis