About the Show

After a workshop run at the 2016 Dream Up Festival, Theater for the New City brings back 'Mary V,' a Pirandellian, feminist appropriation of Shakespeare's historical play.

What happens when an all-female production of 'Henry V' goes up against a concurrent traditional staging? An ensemble of female actors arrives at the theater to begin rehearsing Shakespeare's 'Henry V.' But to their surprise they discover that a male-dominant production of the same play is already in intense rehearsals in the space. The men cannot come to terms with the fact that the ladies want to run the show, and a thespian battle of the sexes ensues.

Critic Reviews (2)

"'Mary V' is a bloody, complicated struggle for the soul of modern feminism...Director Charlotte Murray uses Theatre for the New City's largest performance space extraordinarily well. The large ensemble fills the whole space, and engages the audience throughout...The talent and total investment of the large cast, the thoughtful concept, and the excellent design all combine to create a piece of theatre that is enjoyable, critical, and essentially feminist."
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"Only worth seeing as a cautionary tale. For students of the theater, you can often learn more from something that doesn’t work than from something that is seamless...Carrow has made the overachiever’s mistake of trying to multitask on her maiden voyage. Not only has she written the play, but she’s starring in it too...Trying to meld Shakespeare, Pirandello and Nietzsche into one cohesive exploration of gender and feminism as a first foray into a play is a Herculean task."
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Trailer

Creative team

Theater for the New City