GREENFIELD – Looky Here will host two showings of “The Lady of Shalott” on Dec. 5-6, a modern play adaption of the romantic poem of the same name, produced by Chainmail Circus, an artist collective based in Allston.
The original poem was written by Alfred Lord Tennyson, and published in two different versions in 1832 and 1842. It follows the Lady of Shalott, who is cursed to stay in a tower and weave everything she sees through her mirror, which reflects the world outside her window.
Eventually, she sees a knight named Lancelot through her mirror, causing her to stop weaving and try to leave the tower, but dies before meeting Lancelot. The full 1842 version of the poem will be available in programs that will be distributed at the show.
According to the program, the modern Lady of Shalott is “the ultimate bed rotter,” a phone-addicted, isolated internet streamer who doesn’t go outside and is “confined by the images of the ‘ideal woman’ that she sees online.” The play ultimately poses the question “what happens when we completely remove ourselves from society in the name of self-preservation? How can we distinguish between illusions and reality?”
Nicole Bates, one of the four members of the Chainmail Circus, first came across the poem in a class at UMass Amherst during the pandemic. The poem stuck with Bates for a few years due to the themes of isolation.
“I remember reading it during COVID and something about a woman being cursed to be trapped inside really resonated with me, and as a theater person I always thought it would be interesting to adapt it into a play,” Bates said. “Last January I had been living in Boston and hanging out with different artists, and I had been talking about the idea to them, and we decided to write a play.”
After performing the play at Fringe Festivals in Portland, Maine, and Providence, Rhode Island, Bates decided to bring the play to Looky Here, arts space on Chapman Street in Greenfield, because of her history in the region as a UMass student.
In Chainmail’s adaption, The Lady of Shalott’s mirror is represented as a phone, her tower is her apartment which she never leaves, and her weaving is represented by knitting while she streams. Chainmail’s adaption also explains the reason why the Lady of Shalott is stuck inside, as well as how she first sees Lancelot, but Bates wants those to be revealed as a “nice surprise” for the audience.
For Bates, the play also is a satire on modern internet culture, but she wants to leave Chainmail’s final message in the Lady of Shalott up to interpretation.
“I also very much drew inspiration from internet memes. Those internet tropes of the ‘sad girl’ who listens to Lana Del Rey and doesn’t really know what’s going on and lays in bed.” Bates said. “The play is very much a satire of the trope of ‘bedrotting’ and ‘sad girl’ aesthetics. But the play also deals with themes of mental health.”
According to Parker Halliday, another member of Chainmail Circus, this satire is achieved in part by making the modern Lady of Shalott a somewhat divisive and obnoxious character.
“The Lady of Shalott isn’t the protagonist or the antagonist. She’s kind of insufferably annoying. We made her the worst version of any influencer.” Halliday said. “There’s also themes of throwing your life away for love. I mean, the Lady of Shalott dies for Lancelot, a man she’s never met.”
Halliday points out that although the play is heavily focused on modern themes, she believes it can be viewed and enjoyed by any audience.
“I think the play is for everyone regardless of if you know the poem or not. There’s a bit of generational slang and social media lingo that we use throughout, so some jokes may not land with an older audience and will land better with a younger audience.” Regardless, Halliday said, “I think it’s a funny and enjoyable play.”
Tickets are for sale online for $15, and $20 at the door. Tickets for Friday are available at https://lookyheregreenfield.com/event/the-lady-of-shalott-saturday-2/.
Tickets for Saturday are available at https://lookyheregreenfield.com/event/the-lady-of-shalott-saturday/ .