Phillips ’00 Performs Major Role in ‘A Room in the Castle’ at Folger Theatre

Oneika Phillips ’00 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Bachelor of Business Administration in Management) is performing the role of Queen Gertrude, one of the main acting roles, in “A Room in the Castle” by playwright Lauren M. Gunderson. The play is co-produced by Folger Shakespeare Library with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Performances are running now through Sunday, April 6, at Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C. The production has received positive reviews from Broadway World, DC Theatre Arts and other reputable critics. It was also just named one of Maryland Theatre guide’s “Top 5 Shows of the Week.”

“This story investigates the perspective of the women of Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’,” said Oneika Phillips. “It is my first meaty, all-acting play, and a role I have been working so hard on attaining.”

How does a woman survive the court of Denmark? How does anyone? “A Room in the Castle” finds Ophelia, her handmaid, and Queen Gertrude on the other end of a wild prince’s antics and realizing just how dangerous life in this castle has become. A universal thriller that explores how we help one another through harrowing times, what mothering a potential madman means, and what responsibilities generations have to each other, “A Room in the Castle” rebrands the stories of the women of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” into a hilarious and heart-rending drama with music and defiant hope for the future.

“This play dances and duels with ‘Hamlet,’ foregrounding the women in the play and re-imagining them with agency, vitality, and radical hearts eager for a new ending,” said Gunderson.