BONUS: Lauren Gunderson & Kaja Dunn on ‘A Room in the Castle’

featuring an interview with director Kaja Dunn
and playwright Lauren Gunderson

What does it take for a woman to survive in Elsinore? What would Ophelia and Gertrude tell us — if only they got anywhere close to the number of lines Shakespeare gives Hamlet? This and more is explored in new play A Room in the Castle, which gives the women of Hamlet their time to shine.

A co-production of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and the Folger Shakespeare Library, A Room in the Castle is in the midst of its world premiere, onstage at the Folger through April 6.

A Room in the Castle director Kaja Dunn and playwright Lauren Gunderson join Shakespeare’s Shadows for a bonus episode delving into the origins of this satisfying new play, the significance of who gets to have soliloquies, and what happens when women are labeled “mad” — plus, we also take some time to discuss Lauren Gunderson’s new adaptation of Little Women.

Guests on this episode are:

• Kaja Dunn (she/her), whose directing credits include previous productions at the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Old Globe, and Cape Fear Regional Theatre. Her work as an intimacy professional includes productions at the Folger and A Strange Loop on Broadway. She is an associate professor at Carnegie Melon University.

• Lauren Gunderson (she/her) has repeatedly been among the most-produced playwrights in the U.S., topping the list (which excludes Shakespeare!) thrice over the past decade. Her writing credits include the plays I and You, Silent Sky, The Revolutionists, the Pemberley trilogy, and The Book of Will.

This episode contains brief discussion of assault, murder, and suicide ideation.