R+J: A Genderqueer /Female Reimagination

Directed by Molly Houlahan

Access Theater - 2018

It’s 25 years after the extermination of the male sex, and the government is still relying on martial law for order amongst the factions. The Montagues, the militaristic warmongers who executed the extermination, and The Capulets, the controllers of information and media, fight to regain dominance against the tightening grip of the Sovereign State. In this world of turmoil, the heirs of each faction stumble upon each other and fall in unexpected, passionate love.

Set in a not-too-distant future in a society that has been purged of cisgender men, R+J was a radical re-imagination of the classic Romeo and Juliet in which Director Molly Houlahan examined what happens when a new society relies upon the patriarchal structures of the past. Can a better world truly be imagined anew if it relies on old systems of power, money, and love? Houlahan uses Romeo and Juliet to explore mainstream feminism and those who are in danger of being left behind in its wake.