Island Shakespeare Festival’s 2025 season invites audiences to experience two dynamic productions that celebrate wit, passion, and resilience.
In partnership with Expand the Canon, Anima (Her Soul) by Amelia Roselli transports us to 1890s Rome, where painter Olga de Velaris stands at the crossroads of passion and propriety. Surrounded by women balancing reputation, desire, and survival, Olga’s journey reveals the delicate tension between self-determination and the longing for connection. This powerful, rarely staged drama offers a vivid exploration of love, identity, and what it truly means to be seen.
Paired with Shakespeare’s sparkling comedy Much Ado About Nothing, the season promises both humor and heart. In this beloved play, words are weapons and wit is a shield. Beatrice refuses to be anything but fiercely independent—until she’s caught in a battle of the heart with the equally sharp-tongued Benedick. Meanwhile, her cousin Hero’s gentle strength is tested by a society obsessed with female purity, making a whole lot of “ado” over nothing. This lively tale of deception, honor, and unexpected love showcases women carving their own paths amid a world eager to define them.
