Avant Bard | theatre on the edge
Scripts in Play: Every Single Ophelia Written by Ryan Stevens, Directed by Kathleen Akerley
Friday, October 2 at 7:30 pm – Ballston Quarter, Level 2
Sunday, October 4 at 2:00 pm – Mason Exhibitions
When Ophelia stumbles offstage after her final scene in Hamlet, she suddenly becomes aware of the play’s entire plot, the fact that she is a fictional character, and the thousands of interpretations, performances, and reimaginings she has experienced since Hamlet was first performed.
She’s every Ophelia. She’s only one Ophelia. Who the hell is she?
A one-woman exploration of gender, purpose, and the pain of being interpreted, Every Single Ophelia asks what it means to live as a side character—and what these centuries-old characters can still mean to us. Through a modern examination of the gender and sexual politics of Hamlet, the play considers how Ophelia has been used as a prism for women’s experiences across generations.