Gender Play, or what you Will

About the Show

Gender Play is an immersive solo show that reimagine’s Shakespeare’s most iconic characters through a gender-imaginative lens.

In it, a trans actor named Will has been seeking purpose and belonging, despite not seeing their story reflected in media or history. In their most desperate hour, they hold a seance to summon one of the oldest and queerest playwrights of the English language - William Shakespeare!  The two are becoming total besties and Will invites you to an impromptu party to celebrate this new friendship. Join Will & Will as they reclaim the Bard’s old plays in all of their original homoerotic, cross-dressing, genderfluid glory. But to meet the guest of honor, we must perform the seance again, together.

Gender Play, or what you Will promises a mystical journey of queer joy, laughter, tarot, and self-discovery through the classics.

Upcoming Performances

Award Nominations

Nominated for three 2023 Jeff Awards for Excellence in Chicago Theatre

  • Best Solo Performance (Will Wilhelm)

  • Best New Work (Will Wilhelm & Erin Murray)

  • Best Lighting Design (Gabrielle Strong)

Trailer

Reviews

A tour de force and a must-see! …a forceful and captivating performance ★★★★★
— Around The Town
Wilhelm, who is trans, can make Shakespeare sing. It doesn’t matter if you’re a scholar of Elizabethan literature or if you had bad teachers and were forced to conclude Shakespeare is basically algebra on stage. There’s exquisite emotional clarity in Wilhelm’s delivery.
— Chicago Reader
A glimmering tour de force through some of Shakespeare’s most compelling characters and real-life lovers… Gender Play, or what you Will is an exuberant celebration of the potential of storytelling, filled with decadent costume reveals, surprise dance parties, a robust mastery of Shakespeare’s work, and the talent that is Will Wilhelm.
— Rescripted
Emily Tarquin’s whimsical direction is a perfect counterpoint to Will Wilhelm’s seemingly boundless stage energy... this show is quintessentially Shakespeare as manifest in a delicious deconstruction perfect for our time right now. I was beyond blown away by the incredibly sophisticated puckishness of it all.
— A Seat on the Aisle
Clever and fascinating ... spending the better part of two hours in Wilhelm’s company is worth your time all by itself.
— Chicago On Stage
Delightfully, unapologetically queer… It’s not an easy task to recontextualize a set of plays and poems that have been infinitely recontextualized over the course of more than four hundred years, but ... Wilhelm and Murray have managed to do just that. Whether you’re a Shakespeare devotee like me or would normally pass on his work, do yourself a favor and come see this show. It’s something truly special.
— Splash Magazine
Gender Play is a humorous, heartfelt, and unpredictable remix of Shakespeare’s greatest hits... It shakes the dust off the often elitist and exclusionary world of Shakespeare and throws a glitter bomb of inclusivity and joy right in the center.
— A Seat on the Aisle
This incredibly original theatrical production isn’t exactly a play. It’s more like a Happening or an Event… filled with fun, festivities and flights of fantasy. RECOMMENDED
— Chicago Theatre Review
This frank discussion comes wrapped in a fabulous amount of fun... It’s an event with gay overtones that feels “gay” in the archaic joyful sense.
— Plays with John & Wendy

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