Fefu And Her Friends at James Ward Mansion

“My husband married me to have a constant reminder of how loathsome women are.”

1935, a stately home in New England gathers eight women; eight friends, all uniquely brilliant and facing some kind of spiritual reckoning… The women seek to understand themselves and each other through an unraveling of questions, games and provocative conversations. A man or two might be mentioned, briefly, but never seen.

Originally premiered by the New York Theatre Strategy in May 1977 at the Relativity Media Lab, María Irene Fornés’ Fefu and Her Friends is an unsettling, funny, joyful, stark cry to the Universe that endures because it is both deeply familiar and unknowable.

The show is immersive, but not interactive: the audience is a welcome observer and over-hearer as they roam through Stephany “Fefu” Beckmann’s home.