Imogen Says Nothing

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Imogen Says Nothing

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  2w, 7m

Aditi Brennan Kapil

A feminist hijacking of Shakespeare that investigates the voices that have been absented from our canon, and the consequences of cutting them.

Image: 2017 Yale Repertory Theatre Production (Joan Marcus)

Imogen Says Nothing

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 7m
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Shakespeare), Period
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14-18)

Details

Summary
A revisionist comedy in verse and prose featuring Imogen, a character who only appears in the first folio of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, speaks no lines, and is probably a typo. A feminist hijacking of Shakespeare that investigates the voices that have been absented from our canon, and the consequences of cutting them.
History

Imogen Says Nothing premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre in new Haven, CT in January 2017 under the direction of Laurie Woolery.

Keywords
Performing Groups

IMOGEN - a Bear passing as a human.

HUMANS (also play...)
JOHN HEMMINGES - an actor (Leonato)
HENRY CONDELL - an actor (Don John/Antigonus)
ALEXANDER COOKE - an actor (Beatrice)
NICHOLAS TOOLEY - an actor (Hero)
RICHARD BURBAGE - an actor (Don Pedro)
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE - actor & playwright (Messenger/Friar) double cast with Warden
CRIER - Owns Bears (Conrade, Benedick) double cast with Isaac
ANNA ROOS - Queen Anne's Danish maid

BEARS (double cast with humans...)
BEAR ON ICE - an escaped Bear (Anna)
HARRY HUNKS - The Blind Elder (Richard)
NED WHITING - The Noble Beast (John)

Please practice subversive, historically inaccurate, casting.

  • Time Period 16th Century/Elizabethan
  • Setting London, various dates and locations from 1598 to 1623
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Physical Comedy
  • Duration 105 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

REVIEWS 

"The playwright has spun bits of Elizabethan trivia into a profound meditation on women in society, gender roles in general, persecution, creativity, posterity and the nature of theater itself." - Hartford Courant 

"Imogen Says Nothing is beautifully conceived, written and executed." - New Haven Register 

"This is not just about women who have been left out of the canon. Nor is it just a poetic rebuttal to the overwhelming male-ness of Western history. It’s also about the whitewashing on feminism and the LGBT movement." - New Haven Independent 

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

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Videos

  • Yale Rep Cast discuss who is Imogen youtube thumbnail

    Yale Rep Cast discuss who is Imogen

  • Aditi Kapil on the impetus for Imogen Says Nothing youtube thumbnail

    Aditi Kapil on the impetus for Imogen Says Nothing

  • Reviews for Imogen Says Nothing youtube thumbnail

    Reviews for Imogen Says Nothing

Photos

  • Imogen Says Nothing

    Image: 2017 Yale Repertory Theatre Production (Joan Marcus)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Aditi Brennan Kapil

Aditi Brennan Kapil

Aditi Brennan Kapil is a writer, actress and director of Bulgarian and Indian descent. She was raised in Sweden, resides in Minneapolis, MN, and her work is produced nationally and internationally to critical acclaim.

Her play Love Person, a four-part love story in Sanskrit, A ...

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