Queen Goneril
A prequel to Shakespeare’s King Lear
Virgilia Griffith, Vanessa Sears, Helen Belay; Costumes by Judith Bowden; Set by Ken MacKenzie; Lighting by Kimberly Purtell; Photo by Dahlia Katz
Philip Riccio, Jordan Pettle, Sheldon Elter, Oliver Dennis, Tom MacCamus, Virgilia Griffith, Vanessa Sears, Helen Belay, Jonathon Young, Nancy Palk, Damien Atkins, Breton Lalam; Costumes by Judith Bowden; Set by Ken MacKenzie; Lighting by Kimberly Purtell; Photo by Dahlia Katz
Virgilia Griffith; Costumes by Judith Bowden; Set by Ken MacKenzie; Lighting by Kimberly Purtell; Photo by Dahlia Katz
Virgilia Griffith, Nancy Palk, Tom McCamus; Costumes by Judith Bowden; Set by Ken MacKenzie; Lighting by Kimberly Purtell; Photo by Dahlia Katz
Sheldon Elter, Jonathon Young, Virgilia Griffith, Tom McCamus; Costumes by Judith Bowden; Set by Ken MacKenzie; Lighting by Kimberly Purtell; Photo by Dahlia Katz
Vanessa Sears, Oliver Dennis, Sheldon Elter, Jordan Pettle, Tom McCamus; Costumes by Judith Bowden; Set by Ken MacKenzie; Lighting by Kimberly Purtell; Photo by Dahlia Katz
Philip Riccio, Vanessa Sears, Sheldon Elter; Costumes by Judith Bowden; Set by Ken MacKenzie; Lighting by Kimberly Purtell; Photo by Dahlia Katz
Helen Belay, Vanessa Sears, Virgilia Griffith, Nancy Palk, Breton Lalama; Costumes by Judith Bowden; Set by Ken MacKenzie; Lighting by Kimberly Purtell; Photo by Dahlia Katz
“This whole thing. This whole world is against us. Either we tiptoe through it, smiling so as not to disrupt anything, or we push against it, knowing we will be pushed back, or we disguise ourselves within it, trying to convince one another that it also belongs to us. But it doesn’t. This world wasn’t built for us.”
Set seven years before King Lear, Queen Goneril illuminates the struggles of Lear’s three daughters as they try to make space for themselves in a patriarchal system that was not built for them. In Goneril, we find a natural born leader. In Regan, a boundary pusher. And in Cordelia, a reluctant peacekeeper. As the three work to crack open their rigid world, the world pushes back and they themselves in a storm of inner reckoning. Queen Goneril brings the background into focus, and a previously deafening silence to a thunderous crescendo.
Drama - 5 acts, 2 hours / Cast - 4 cis f; 1 trans m; 7 cis m; (script for cast of 9 available upon request)
Production History:
Queen Goneril was directed by Weyni Mengesha and commissioned by Soulpepper Theatre under the Artistic Direction of Weyni Mengesha and Executive Direction of Emma Stenning and Gideon Arthurs.
Soulpepper Theatre - Baillie Theatre: August 30th - October 2nd 2022.
Reviews
“Filled with biting humour and even bitterer truths.”
— My Gay Toronto
“Delicious plot twists.”
— The Globe and Mail
“Exhilarating, inspiring and crushing.”
— Sesayarts Magazine
“Shields knows how to caress words, to finesse ideas and to use language to stir the imagination,”
— The Hamilton Spectator
