Off-Broadway NewsZawe Ashton’s For All the Women Who Thought They Were Mad Opens at Soho Rep.The Betrayal star makes her U.S. playwriting debut with a play about the forces that push a woman from the everyday into free fall.
By
Olivia Clement
October 27, 2019
Bisserat Tseggai in For All The Women Who Thought They Were Mad at Soho Rep
Julieta Cervantes
Soho Rep. celebrates the official opening of for all the women who thought they were Mad, a play by writer-actor Zawe Ashton (currently starring on Broadway in Harold Pinter's Betrayal), October 27.
Ashton's play is described as a “feverish inquiry and exposé,” exploring the impact of work, expectations around childlessness and motherhood, and the chasm between the healthcare system and the mental wellness of women of color. The American premiere, directed by Whitney White, plays an extended run at the downtown theatre through November 24.
The intergenerational cast is made up of Stephanie Berry (Gloria: A Life, Sugar in Our Wounds) as Ruth, Gibson Frazier (10 out of 12, Mr. Burns) as Boss/Doctor/Tom, Sharon Hope (Two Sentence Horror Stories, Daredevil) as Margaret, Nicole Lewis (Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Hair) as Angela, Blasina Olowe (Outgrown) as Nambi, Cherene Snow (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Rolling Stone) as Rose, Bisserat Tseggai (The Jungle, Succession) as Joy, Shay Vawn (The Gods of Comedy, soot and spit) as Kim, and Kat Williams (Off-Broadway debut) as Nambi.
The production features scenic design by Daniel Soule, costume design by Andrew Jean, lighting design by Stacey Derosier, sound design by Lee Kinney, video and projection design by Johnny Moreno, hair and wig design by Nikiya Mathis, and casting by Stephanie Yankwitt and Margaret Dunn, TBD Casting. The production stage manager is Chelsea Olivia Friday.
Ashton is the author of the critically acclaimed book Character Breakdown. In addition to Betrayal, recent acting credits include the BBC/Netflix TV series Wanderlust and the Netflix feature film Velvet Buzzsaw.
Part interactive game show, part memoir, the Off-Broadway show relies heavily on audience participation to bring iconic moments in television history to life.
