Alice in Bed by Susan Sontag

Lewis Carroll’s mad teaparty is the surreal setting for Sontag’s Alice in Bed in which Alice James, the brilliant, invalid sister of William and Henry James, is counseled by Emily Dickinson, Margaret Fuller and other historical and literary predecessors. The play’s combination of bitterness, resignation, wit, morbidity, and longing directly invokes the self-representations in Alice James’ diary, forcefully raising questions about the social and familial constraints that bind intelligent women and limit their scope of achievement. The reading will be directed by Dado, the recipient of the 2005-2006 Michael Maggio Directing Fellowship at The Goodman Theatre, and performed by Trap Door Theatre, a company widely acclaimed as one of Chicago’s finest particularly with respect to experimental work.

This event is coproduction between The Society, University Theater and FOTA, and is supported by a UChicagoArts grant from the Arts Planning Council. This performance is FREE and open to the public.