By the Queen
By Whitney White
Directed by Nicole Brewer
Booking and details
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Dates Sat, Feb 1, 2025, 8pm
Venue Folger Theatre
Tickets $20 (or $150 for an All-Access Pass)
Please note: Children under the age of 4 are not permitted.
From her roots as a provincial princess of France, to her ascension to the throne of England and her eventual downfall, Queen Margaret is one of the most complicated, fascinating, and thrilling characters in Shakespeare’s works. She is a warrior, a wife, a politician, a mother… and this dynamic new drama, lifted and remixed from the text of Henry VI and Richard III, finally gives her story the telling it deserves.
Post-show conversation
After the staged reading, join us for a conversation moderated by Faedra Chatard Carpenter with the playwright, director, and members of the cast.
How to attend the festival
Individual events – $20
Reading Room Festival All-Access Pass – $150
Access to all staged readings, panel discussions, workshops, and community celebrations included in the Festival.
Students – Free admission to readings and conversations
Admitted free one-half hour before event start time, with a valid ID.
Who’s Who
Whitney White
Whitney White is an Obie and Lilly Award–winning director, actor, and musician based in Brooklyn, New York. She is a Tony Award nominee, a recipient of the Susan Stroman Directing award, an Artistic Associate at the Roundabout, an Associate Artistic Director at Shakespeare Theatre Company and part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Her original musical Definition was part of the 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab, and her four-part musical exploration of Shakespeare’s Women and ambition is currently under commission with the American Repertory Theater in Boston and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has developed work with: Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public Theatre, Ars Nova, The Drama League, Roundabout, New York Theatre Workshop, The Lark, The Movement, Jack, Bard College, NYU Tisch, Juilliard, Princeton, SUNY Purchase, South Oxford, Luna Stage and more. Whitney was a staff writer on Boots Riley’s I’M A VIRGO (Amazon, Media Res). Whitney is a believer in collaborative processes and new forms. Her musical discipline is rooted in indie-soul, and rock. She is passionate about black stories, reconstructing classics, stories for and about women, genre-defying multimedia work and film. Past fellowships include: New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship, Ars Nova’s Makers Lab, Colt Coeur and the Drama League. MFA Acting: Brown University/Trinity Rep, BA Political Science, Certificate in Musical Theatre: Northwestern University.
Nicole Brewer
Nicole Brewer is a proud member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. She is critically aware of the impact of racism in the industry and centers her directing practice in anti-racism. Directing credits: Shakespeare Theatre’s Academy of Classical Acting: The Winter’s Tale; Baltimore Center Stage and Long Wharf Theatre: Anna Deavere Smith’s Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities; as well as numerous projects as a guest director at colleges and universities across North America. Ms. Brewer is on faculty in the acting department at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. She earned her MFA in Acting from Northern Illinois University and her BFA from Howard University. Nicole shares her anti-racist theatre approach to theaters and institutions all over the US, Canada, and the UK. Nicole is a proud mother of three. She is grateful for her community whose support allows her to continue to pursue her artistic bliss.
Faedra Chatard Carpenter
Dr. Faedra Chatard Carpenter (Dramaturg) (Ph.D. in Drama from Stanford University, M.A. in Drama from Washington University, B.A. in English from Spelman College) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Performing Arts at American University, a professional dramaturg, and cultural critic. As a professional dramaturg, Carpenter has worked on innumerable projects at venues such as Ford’s Theatre, Round House Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth, Olney Theatre Company, Everyman Theatre Company, Baltimore Center Stage, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Mosaic Theatre Company, Theater J, Dance Place, Crossroads Theatre Company, and Arena Stage.