Lisa Wolpe Brings One-Person Show to Notre Dame

Shakespeare at Notre Dame has announced Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender, an extraordinary one-person show from internationally-renowned Shakespearean actor and director Lisa Wolpe, performing at Notre Dame December 5, 6 and 7, 2024.

Wolpe, who has likely played more of the Bard’s male roles than any woman in history, created Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender as a means to explore sexism, domestic abuse, suicide, and the Holocaust through a deeply personal lens. "Shakespeare’s words facilitate the exploration of the mystery of the afterlife, the frailties and consequences of human behavior, and seem to name a cosmic interconnectedness that touches and informs humanity," she notes. "I’ve woven my own memories together with thoughts about my father’s life, adding fragments of some of my favorite texts from Shakespearean characters, male and female. I’m hoping to generate work that bodies forth empathy, understanding, and remembrance."

Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender has played at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; San Francisco Shakespeare Festival; Utah Shakespeare Festival; Colorado Shakespeare Festival; Orlando Shakespeare Festival; Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust, The Rose Theater, King’s College, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, U.K.; Bremer Shakespeare, Bremen, Germany; SpringWorks Festival, Ontario; Vancouver, B.C.; H.E.R.E. NYC; Whittier College, UC Santa Barbara; UC Irvine; Prague Shakespeare Company; and more. 

“Lisa is undoubtedly one of the foremost voices in the global Shakespeare community,” says Scott Jackson, Mary Irene Family Executive Artistic Director of Shakespeare at Notre Dame. “Her leadership in the field has redefined the potential of Shakespeare’s works in the 21st century, bringing insight and inspiration everywhere she goes. We are incredibly lucky to bring her groundbreaking work to the Notre Dame and wider Michiana communities.”

Fearless, uplifting, and deeply personal, this vivid and emotional experience comes to Notre Dame this December 5-7 at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. Co-sponsored by the Gender Studies program and the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at the Universtiy of Notre Dame. Tickets, showtimes, and more information at shakespeare.nd.edu. 

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