Overview
After their in-performance deaths, six Shakespearean characters find themselves in a holding area until the play they are a character in gets revived by another Shakespeare company so that they can (re)live their tragedy over (and over) again. It’s a comic romp that evokes Jean-Paul Sartre’s “No Exit” meets Luigi Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author” meets “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.”
Casting & Production
Casting
HAMLET — From the play Hamlet. Teens to 40s. Impassioned, serious. Bleeding from his shoulder because of a rapier wound; sickly complexion from poison. Still has his rapier.
CAESAR — From the play Julius Caesar. 30s to 60s. Prim, judgmental. Numerous knives (as few as 8, as many as 23) sticking out of his back from the assassination. Has an interdental lisp. Carries an ornamental staff to indicate his leadership.
DIRECTOR — 20s to 60s. Affected, British accent. Pretentious and lofty. Carries a clipboard and pen.
OTHELLO — From the play Othello. 30s to 60s. Grandiose, remorseful. Sword through his belly of his own doing. Carries a handkerchief with strawberries embroidered on it.
ROMEO — From the play Romeo and Juliet. Teens to 30s. Dashing, idealistic. Sickly complexion from poison.
RICHARD — From the play Richard III. 30s to 60s. Whiny, petulant. Sword in his back. Still has his own sword.
MACBETH — From the play Macbeth. 30s to 60s. Regretful, humiliated. Decapitated by Macduff. Carries his head cradled in his hands which he operates as a puppeteer would.
