The She-Wolves
Written & Directed by Kate Mueth with added text by William Shakespeare
as part of the Femme Collective
The Theater at the 14th Street Y at 344 East 14th Street, New York, NY 10003
January 9th - February 1st, 2025
Photos by Owen Benfield
“What do you know of a woman’s loneliness? Do you ever ponder her miles of despair?” - Ophelia.
Perhaps Shakespeare never had Ophelia utter those words onstage, though he had a 5-hour play in which to do it, but surely those of us who have portrayed her and fleshed her out have wondered this in some variation.
“She-Wolves” has been the term used to describe England’s early queens, both those who ruled from the throne and from the sidelines. Seen as greedy and predatory, the term was used to disparage. But this phrase has been easily salvaged from the annals history. The She-Wolf now denotes an unmatched fierceness to protect and prevail second only to the Mama Bear. The Neo-Political Cowgirls’ The She-Wolves have been plucked from Shakespeare’s works and given new life. This dance theatre collective has brought together 8 characters, not unlike Six which brings together Henry VIII’s six wives, to compete to be the replacement for Sycorax, the unseen, much maligned mother of Caliban in The Tempest.
Through dance, song and monologue, new light is shed upon Lady Macbeth, Juliet Capulet, Kate Minola, Ophelia, Margaret of Anjou, Lavinia, Portia, and the Dark Lady of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. With standout performances by Mariama Conde and Annika Helgeson as Juliet and Ophelia respectively, we a re reminded of the extreme innocence of these characters and how they were used as pawns by the men in their lives.
When we think of the women in Shakespeare, they standout because they are few and far between. Those who do exist are either maids, martyrs or murderers. Some, like Celia in As You Like It, start off as the brains of the operation only to be reduced to driveling idiots by love. One of Shakespeare’s most tragic figures, Lavinia from by far one of his bloodiest plays, Titus Andronicus, portrayed here by Colleen Edwards in an absolutely gut-wrenching performance delivered with haunting beauty, epitomizes the role of women in Elizabethan Europe – property. Her rape and mutilation are dealt with in terms of how it affects her father, not her. The etymology of rape being “to snatch, to grab, to carry off” as if one were stealing a sack of potatoes. Ultimately, her own father puts her to death to reduce his own suffering.
The She-Wolves is in its second iteration and will continue to develop according to director, choreographer and Founding Artistic Director, Kate Mueth. With long stretches of voiceover narration providing structure, I felt withdrawn from the action in front of me no matter how striking the performances. Also, have these particular characters not suffered enough? Now, they need to compete against one another, too? The poor Dark Lady of Shakespeare’s sonnets never even gets her moment in the spotlight as she’s disqualified by a literary technicality. Hath she not suffered enough?
As part of the Femme Collective, The She-Wolves, January and Broken Thread each bring compelling new works to the stage. Their model of pooling resources and expenses makes such sense in what has always been an expensive medium. And, like the Femme Collective itself, I’d love to see the she-wolves united instead of competing. We are stronger together.
Click HERE for tickets.
Reviewed by Nicole Jesson.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on January 16th, 2025. All rights reserved.