Viragos

by Katherine E. Norman

Women didn’t act in plays in Shakespeare’s England.
For that, they had to go to France.

"Viragos" follows a group of young Englishwomen as they rehearse a play at The Institute—Mary Ward’s school for girls founded in France, 1609. Through their rehearsals, the girls test the boundaries of art, science, love, and politics, as the shadow of the Inquisition looms.

Verbatim text illuminates this factually...

Women didn’t act in plays in Shakespeare’s England.
For that, they had to go to France.

"Viragos" follows a group of young Englishwomen as they rehearse a play at The Institute—Mary Ward’s school for girls founded in France, 1609. Through their rehearsals, the girls test the boundaries of art, science, love, and politics, as the shadow of the Inquisition looms.

Verbatim text illuminates this factually-inspired fiction of a true story too-long buried by history.

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Viragos

The size of the cast is intentionally flexible. It can be performed with as few as 6 actors with doubling, or as many as 30+ without doubling and by adding ADDITIONAL STUDENT characters

Development History

  • Reading, SUNY New Paltz, 2025
  • Reading, Wisconsin Wrights New Play Festival, 2022
  • Reading, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre - Montgomery Davis New Play Development Series, 2022

Production History

  • High School, Interlochen Arts Academy, 2026