All-Female Production Of 'Coriolanus' Coming To Stratford Library

Via the Stratford Library: STRATFORD, CT — The Stratford Library, 2203 Main St., announces that the Hudson Shakespeare Co. of New Jersey will return to Stratford on Saturday, Aug. 3, at 2 p.m. for its all-female production of “Coriolanus.” Performed outside in the library’s scenic back courtyard, the fully staged and costumed performance is free and open to the public.

Shakespeare’s exploration of military honor, corrupt politics and complicated family relations in “Coriolanus” are shifted from a traditional Roman setting to an ancient, fantasy world with an all-female cast. Based on the semi-legendary, semi-historical figure of Caius Marcius Coriolanus, this is not yet the Rome of Julius Caesar but tells a hard-bitten tale of centuries before the classical republic and eventual empire. It is a country still working itself out. Director Noelle Fair showcases an Amazonian world taking many influences from both historical (women warrior society of ancient Eastern Europe) and fantasy (Wonder Woman, Game of Thrones) sources, underscoring it with a percussive and female-driven soundtrack.

Written in 1606, “Coriolanus” marks the end of Shakespeare’s high tragedies of “Macbeth” and “King Lear” before moving on to more hopeful redemption stories of “Pericles” and “The Winter’s Tale.”

Hudson Shakespeare Co. began in 1992 and for 28 seasons has toured free Shakespeare to parks and libraries in northern New Jersey, presenting the Bard’s well known and lesser done titles in a variety of settings and periods.

The library’s back courtyard is located in the rear of the library building off the Baldwin Center parking lot. Patrons are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to spread. In the event of inclement weather or extreme heat, the play will move inside to the library’s air-conditioned Lovell Room.

For more information, call the library at 203-385-4162 or visit www.stratfordlibrary.org.