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About the Play:
On the eave of her coronation, Queen Elizabeth I commissions the notorious necromancer John Dee to play matchmaker in order to find her a very particular suitor. After 30 years, the Queen returns demanding results. But when John Dee presents her with an Automaton, a man made completely out of wood, the Queen laughs in his face and leaves the newly made creation unable to fulfill his purpose. Unsure what to do, the Automaton stumbles into the theatre, almost literally. As he gains popularity upon the stage, tensions arise with his creator, and he sets out to forge his own destiny.
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Part satirical critique of the anti-Stratfordian authorship debate, part coming of ages story, Wonder of Our Stage blends historical details with Shakespearean quotations.
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“The Wonder of Our Stage” is a play that will charm the most dedicated Shakespeare nerds, science fiction geeks and those who have struggled to find their identity. -- The Herald Tribune
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Unapologetically smart, unabashedly literate -- The Observer
Production History:
Originally performed at Players Centre for the Performing Arts in 2019 as part of the Backstage Summer Sizzlers Series.
It was also the winner of the New Play Festival at Players Centre for the Performing Arts in 2018.
For this play, Monica Cross received the John Ringling Towers Individual Artist Award in Performing Arts in 2019.
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There was a reading of Wonder of Our Stage at the New College Conference on Medieval & Renaissance Studies in 2022.
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