The Silent Woman

by Lydia Blaisdell

The strange, true tale of a painter (Oskar Kokoschka) living with an effigy of his ex-lover in 1919 Europe. Because the doll cannot dress herself, the painter enlists a young maid to help him, resulting in an intricate, erotic game of pretend. A fierce, funny look at ambition, art, and those who exist just beyond the frame of history.

The Silent Woman is the winner of the 2015 Kentucky Women’s Playwriting...

The strange, true tale of a painter (Oskar Kokoschka) living with an effigy of his ex-lover in 1919 Europe. Because the doll cannot dress herself, the painter enlists a young maid to help him, resulting in an intricate, erotic game of pretend. A fierce, funny look at ambition, art, and those who exist just beyond the frame of history.

The Silent Woman is the winner of the 2015 Kentucky Women’s Playwriting Prize. The play was also a 2016 honorable mention on The Kilroys List. The research creation of this play was made possibly by a Jerome Travel & Study Grant in 2013.

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The Silent Woman

Recommended by

  • Jess Hutchinson: The Silent Woman by Lydia Blaisdell
    “

    I thought I knew what I was getting into with this play - and I was most delightfully wrong. This is feminist historical reimagining at its sexiest, most frank, and hilarious. And you'll do your prop designer a portfolio-making solid by producing this fantastic play.

    I thought I knew what I was getting into with this play - and I was most delightfully wrong. This is feminist historical reimagining at its sexiest, most frank, and hilarious. And you'll do your prop designer a portfolio-making solid by producing this fantastic play.

    ”
  • Joanna Garner: The Silent Woman by Lydia Blaisdell
    “

    I saw a production of The Silent Woman while it was in development at The University of Texas at Austin. This play is bold and smart, funny and sad, with incredible, meaty roles. Lydia is a FORCE, and her writing on this piece is stunning. Highly recommend.

    I saw a production of The Silent Woman while it was in development at The University of Texas at Austin. This play is bold and smart, funny and sad, with incredible, meaty roles. Lydia is a FORCE, and her writing on this piece is stunning. Highly recommend.

    ”

Development History

  • Reading, UT Austin, 2014
  • Reading, Youngblood's Bloodworks Series, 2012

Production History

  • University, UT Austin UT New Theater Festival, 2016
  • Workshop, Kentucky Women Writers Conference, 2015