But did you know that women have acted in traditionally male roles in Shakespeare's plays for three centuries?
These were referred to as "breeches roles," or when a female actor performed the part of a male character.
- Actress and novelist Charlotte Charke is recorded as the first woman to play the title role of HAMLET in the early 1700s. She performed in various male roles over the course of her theater career, and even wore traditionally male clothing in her daily life.
- Other notable British actresses who played the role of Hamlet during the 18th century included Fanny Furnival (1741) and Sarah Siddons (1775-1805), who played the role for over three decades.
- In 1899, Sarah Bernhardt portrayed Hamlet at the Théâtre de Ville in Paris (later renamed the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt when she acquired it). This was the first performance of an actress playing the role captured on film. You can see a video clip of the recording HERE.
Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet, 1899.
- More recently, actresses who have performed as Hamlet include Angela Winkler at the Edinburgh Festival (2000), Maxine Peake at Manchester's Royal Exchange (2014), and Michelle Terry at Shakespeare's Globe (2018).
- An all-female production of JULIUS CAESAR, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, was staged at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in 2012.
- In the 2010 movie THE TEMPEST, directed by Julie Taymor, the part of Propero was changed to Prospera and performed by Helen Mirren.
Alison Vesely as the lead in MACBETH at Footsteps Theater, 1995.
- First Folio Theatre founder Alison C. Vesely performed the lead in Footsteps Theater's 1995 production of MACBETH, for which she won an After Dark Award for her performance.
First Folio Theatre's 2019 summer production of HENRY V starred stage and television actress Diana Coates in the title role.
- Our 2020-2021 season is sponsored by Alan and Susan Becker
- First Folio's programs are sponsored in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council (a State agency) and the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.
- First Folio Theatre is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
- All performances take place on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate, which is owned and operated by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Indoor shows are presented in Mayslake Hall, a 30-room Tudor Revival style mansion originally built by coal baron Francis S. Peabody. Completed in 1922, the mansion is on the National Registry of Historic Places.
- First Folio Theatre is fully accessible with reserved ADA seating available and assisted listening devices available for all indoor performances. To request ADA seating, please contact the Box Office at 630-986-8067.