“Imogen Says Nothing’s” title character Imogen is based on a potentially accidental character in two scenes in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” without saying anything.
The 2017 play was written by Aditi Brennan Kapil, a television and theatre writer, director and performer. “Imogen Says Nothing” is just one of Kapil’s plays. Some of her other notable works include “Marrow” and “Love Person.”
The play follows Imogen, a woman in Elizabethan England who performs in “Much Ado About Nothing” as the first female to perform on stage. The play combines the opportunity to re-write history and hilarious characters to create a unique opportunity to see Shakespeare, feminism and a bear revolt headed by Imogen herself.
In an interview with the Yale Repertory Theatre, Kapil states wanting to “write her a play as a way to think about and examine all the voices that are absent from our canon.” One of the characters in the play describes Imogen as a “rare one” while the play overall was labeled by the Hartford Courant as “a fierce feminist fable.”
From Nov. 30 to Dec. 3, students and community members are able to experience “Imogen Says Nothing” at the Power Center for the Performing Arts. The performance put on by SMTD is directed by University of Michigan professor and director Malcolm Tulip. The University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance is offering reserved seating for $29-35, with student ticket pricing at $13.
Tickets will be sold at the box office with the remaining inventory of tickets available, but can also be purchased at SMTD’s website.
Purchase tickets for SMTD’s production of Imogen Says Nothing at the SMTD website.
