A Filmed Play
Duchess! Duchess! Duchess!
Written by Vivian J.O. Barnes
Directed by Weyni Mengesha
Steppenwolf NOW
ABOUT THE SHOW
A Royal Wedding is looming. The Duchess and The Soon-to-be-Duchess are meeting face-to-face for the first time to go over everything you ever needed to know to become a duchess. There are rules. There’s a way of doing things. Remember, everybody is watching. And you don’t want to know what happens if you step out of line. Duchess! Duchess! Duchess! looks at the hidden costs of being the “luckiest girl in the world.”
Loosely inspired by Meghan Markle and the royal family, Duchess! Duchess! Duchess! uses the monarchy to investigate how society’s institutions of power affect Black women. “The play explores the bigger question of what it means to be a Black woman entering institutions that seem eager to have you but aren't necessarily built to support you, how you start to adapt in order to survive once you're inside of them, and the impact of bringing other people like you along,” shares playwright Vivian J.O. Barnes.
Additional Staff: Martha Wegener (Sound Engineer), Matthew Chapman (Remote Capture Support), Daisy Lindas (Costume Support), Jenny DiLuciano, Jay Tollefsen (Properties Support), Shannon Higgins (Wardrobe Support), David Chu and Captioning Coalition (Captioning) and Bridget Melton (Audio Describer)
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for nonprofit professional theater.