What We May Be
A new play in development by Robin Odorici,
exploring grief, autonomy, and redemption through the voices
of Shakespeare’s most iconic women.
Six Heroines (and Anti-heroines) in Limbo
Ophelia, Juliet, Desdemona, Miranda, Lady M, and Katherine (the Shrew) find themselves adrift in limbo after their untimely deaths, compelled to reckon with their scripted fates.
A disembodied voice with an uncanny corporate polish guides them through group therapy, presenting each with the golden quill to rewrite their endings.
Yet none can foresee what rewrites cost or what becomes of those left behind.
Modern banter meets classic tragedy
Crafted especially for teenage and young adult performers, the play pairs a deep reverence for Shakespeare with snappy contemporary dialogue and absurdist humour.
Without shying away from poignant themes such as domestic abuse, institutional power, and agency, it creates a vivid, emotionally resonant platform for emerging actors to explore their craft.
Inquire and read the opening scene
At its heart, What We May Be asks what happens when we are given the chance to rewrite the stories that have defined us, and whether changing the ending can ever change what came before.
Through humour, conflict, and unexpected connection, six women confront the versions of themselves that Shakespeare left behind and the possibilities of who they might still become.
As this project continues through developmental workshops in Cork, drama educators, youth theatres, and directors are welcome to get in touch to sample the opening scene and follow its journey to the stage.
LADY M There goes another one.
DESDEMONA Leave her be. We've all been through it at her age.
KATHERINE. Speak for yourself. At fourteen I had better things to do than marry the first boy who danced with me.
LADY M That's because no one danced with you, sour-face.
KATHERINE Well, I wouldn't have wanted them to, anyway.
from Act I, scene 1
OPHELIA Pirates.
MIRANDA I beg your pardon?
OPHELIA I think the answer is pirates. They sure could have changed your story, couldn’t they? Think about it. You are sailing from the island to Naples, when suddenly a ship flying a black flag approaches, fast. Before you realise what’s happening, the first cannonball is shot. (Dramatically) Boom.
JULIET (sarcastically) And they all died happily ever after.
from Act 1, scene 3
DESDEMONA: If you are still in the darkness, you can’t ask them to sit into the abyss with you forever. You have to find your own way out, accept that you lost them. At least, that version of them. And wait for others to come, and learn with you, and go away again.
JULIET: What is the point then? If when we move on we forget the people who walk with us, what is even the point of this place?
OPHELIA: I think the point is not being alone. Nobody grows, alone.
From act 2, scene 1