Overview
In this play with broken songs, Shakespeare’s Ophelia rises out of the water dreaming of reclaiming her life. She finds herself in a neo-Elizabethan Appalachian setting where Gertrude runs a brothel, Hamlet is a Rude Boy and nothing is what it seems. In this mirrored world of word-scraps and cold sex, Ophelia cuts a new path for herself.
Casting & Production
Casting
(6-12 Actors)
All roles are open casting though it is preferred if Ophelia, Gertrude, and Mina are cast with women.
OPHELIA-cracked angel for a new-fangled age
RUDE BOY-(Hamlet) Ophelia’s undisguised lover in tatters
R: (Rosencrantz) from this time and another, guardian of memory, androgynous
G: (Guildenstern) mate to R, guardian of memory, androgynous
H: (Horatio), best friend and confidante of Rude Boy
GERTRUDE: a monied madam with a pure voice
MINA: works for Gertrude, a local whore, of this world
CHORUS OF OPHELIAS: five apparitions, voices buried underwater, the chorus of Ophelia’s dreams
Setting
Water. Road. Time. Here. In the now of memory.
Reviews
“A whimsical riff on HAMLET which imagines an afterlife for Elsinore’s unluckiest lass. A twisted take on the tragedy.”
—The New York Times
“Caridad Svich’s 12 OPHELIAS is practically suffused with ghosts, much in the same way that Shakespeare’s original HAMLET asks the title character—and audiences—to believe that he’s acting upon his dead father’s dictates. In the brittle, lyrical landscape Svich constructs, whisking us off to the afterlife for Ophelia… 12 OPHELIAS may seem like a deconstructed masterstroke. In many ways, it is.”
—New York Press
Music & Materials
The chorus may be live or heard/seen as pre-recorded voices.
The required sheet music is provided digitally with all licenses to perform 12 Ophelias.
Media
Upcoming Productions
Point Park University - Pittsburgh Playhouse
Pittsburgh, PA
Smith College - Duct Tape Productions
Northampton, MA
Resources
