New Solutions to Old Problems: Gender Equity and the 50/50 Shakespeare Project

Abstract: Through an embedded critique of the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival’s 2023 production of Hamlet 50/50 , this article documents and interrogates the 50/50 Shakespeare Project’s adaptation process of equally distributing lines and status between male and female characters. Specifically, this article examines how the adaptation and production of Hamlet 50/50 reinterprets Hamlet ’s characters, themes, and performance potentials while claiming to remain authentic to Shakespeare’s world. Ultimately it argues that the 50/50 Shakespeare Project’s emphasis on gender equity not only reimagines Hamlet for modern audiences and performers, but also invites a deeper conversation about the role of stylistic and historical matching in modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s texts.