GERUTHA AND MARGARET

by Judy Lea Steele

In an undetermined place and time, Gerutha (Gertrude of Hamlet fame) invites Margaret (Henry VI trilogy, Richard III fame) to coffee as they “share more than they know” and she wants Margaret’s help. The two women, who mirror each other in the duality of their external public persona and internal actual persona, establish a kinship through their shared anger over Shakespeare’s hijack of their lives and the...

In an undetermined place and time, Gerutha (Gertrude of Hamlet fame) invites Margaret (Henry VI trilogy, Richard III fame) to coffee as they “share more than they know” and she wants Margaret’s help. The two women, who mirror each other in the duality of their external public persona and internal actual persona, establish a kinship through their shared anger over Shakespeare’s hijack of their lives and the subsequent erasure of their actual life stories. Via a spiraling conversational, confrontational journey, their actual stories are revealed, shifting their external and internal duality and forcing them to confront the grim price paid for taking agency in a world designed, dominated and controlled by the patriarchy.

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GERUTHA AND MARGARET

Recommended by

  • Steve Nordmark: GERUTHA AND MARGARET

    Just saw the staged reading of this compelling play last night. Gerutha and Margaret offers great dynamic range for actors that play the title roles. One could sense the impact it had on the audience as the play exposed and challenged the mental frameworks that encompass women in drama, history, and current thought. It is sure to be doubly powerful in a full production.

    Just saw the staged reading of this compelling play last night. Gerutha and Margaret offers great dynamic range for actors that play the title roles. One could sense the impact it had on the audience as the play exposed and challenged the mental frameworks that encompass women in drama, history, and current thought. It is sure to be doubly powerful in a full production.

Development History

  • Type Workshop, Organization Wisteria Root Productions, Year 2022
  • Type Reading, Organization Chicago Dramatists, Year 2021
  • Type Reading, Organization Chicago Dramatists, Year 2020

Awards

  • National Playwrights Conference
    Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
    Semi-Finalist
    2022
  • New Works Festival
    Garry Marshall Theatre
    Semi-Finalist
    2021