What if Shakespeare’s Leontes had been a woman and Hermione a man? Would the story be different or, in crucial ways, the same? What can we learn about the original work, and gender attitudes then and now, by exploring a gender-switched version?
This modern adaptation transforms The Winter’s Tale into an LA fable of desperate celebrity and shallow glamour, as Nessa, a fading Hollywood diva clutching at power and consumed with jealousy, descends into obsession and revenge.
This large-cast play remains essentially true to the core emotional themes, meter, and structural bones of The Winter’s Tale while adapting its momentous leading role for a woman and supplying a contemporary twist at the end. With Nessa always surrounded by her sycophantic entourage and army of PR advisors, there are also many and varied supporting roles on offer.