TOFANA
"To have a woman’s body is to be haunted.
To have a woman’s body is not to fear ghosts but to be full of them.
There is nothing in my nightmares as haunting as the endless scream that comes out silent
We should all be screaming, all of us, all the time. I cannot believe we ever stop screaming."
In 17th century Italy, women had three options: get married, join a convent, or become a prostitute. Unless, of course, you consider the fourth option:
become a widow.
Giulia Tofana, hand-in-hand with her mother, daughter, and a web of women across Rome, created an untraceable poison disguised as makeup. Aqua Tofana was behind the murder of 600 men…and the agency of 600 women.
In a world without choice, how far will women go to help each other build their collective power? Tofana explores women’s anger, their fear, and their desire to keep loving.
Tofana was created and developed as part of Sisters Freehold's Horticulture Playwrights Cohort, and through Avant Bard's Scripts in Play. It was a semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center's National Playwright's Conference, and is currently in development with the DC Construction Crew playwright's group.