“We Are Seen.” Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Merry Wives Depicts Community

Rebecca Celeste, a 2024 Howard alumna making her first opening since graduation, recalls looking at herself in the mirror and thinking, “You’re actually doing it.” 

Celeste stepped into the ensemble role of Nafi, who plays both the hair braider and an employee at the laundromat, in last Friday’s debut production of “Merry Wives,” Jocelyn Bioh’s Harlem-set adaptation of a Shakespeare comedy at The Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) in Northwest D.C..  

Directed by Taylor Reynolds, the Production of “Merry Wives,” adapted from Shakespeare’s play, “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” follows the main antagonist, Falstaff, as he sets out to seduce two sharp-witted West African wives, only to be outsmarted when they and their proud husbands devise a plan to expose and shame him. 

The theatre company describes its production as a celebration of joy and community set against the problems of today’s world. Inside the theater, vibrant colors, laughter and music created an atmosphere removed from the heaviness outside.

Although Celeste once felt distant from Shakespeare’s work, this adaptation bridged the gap, making the story feel accessible, enjoyable and vibrant for her. The experience was also profoundly personal, she said.

“The world is heavy right now, even if it’s an hour and forty minutes, just having a breath to relax. That’s why I fell in love with acting,” Celeste said. 

Celeste credits her Howard training with sharpening her ability to analyze scripts and discover the small details that bring characters fully to life. 

“I was able to come to a conclusion of who my characters were faster than before I attended Howard University,” Celeste said. “I made discoveries earlier and created the character from the mold that the script gave me.” 

Emily Steimhardt, a New York University student who was invited to the show by a friend, said she knew STC was known for strong productions, but the performance exceeded her expectations and turned out to be a fantastic evening of theatre. 

“It is so wonderful to see a celebration of Black excellence, joy, exuberance, humanity, humility, love and support,” Steimhardt said. 

She said the Harlem-set, New York City staging thrilled her with its contemporary energy and vibrant characters, giving Shakespeare’s centuries-old story a pulse that felt current and alive. 

“It was so digestible and understandable and brought Shakespeare to life in a way that makes it easier for a modern audience to connect to. We just have a harder time digesting it because he wrote it in a way that only audiences 400 years ago knew how to take,” Steimhardt said. 

The performance was paired with an art exhibition curated by Uche Ezimah, creating a dialogue between the stage and gallery walls. Together, they reframed Shakespeare’s words through the lens of Harlem, West African culture and contemporary Black life.

Ezimah designed the exhibition with intention, she said, weaving the world of “Merry Wives” into the gallery itself. Fabrics, fragmented paintings and artworks hung from clotheslines echoed the play’s laundromat setting, while engagement stations with postcards and polaroids invited guests to carry conversation beyond the walls of the theater. 

For Ezimah, the show was as much about bridging gaps as it was about celebrating art. She said it brought West African contemporary work into closer view to D.C. audiences and spotlighted its identity, color and storytelling power. 

“Identity is everything,” Ezimah said. “As Black people, as West African people, make sure that you are identifying what you believe, the things that you are and where you aspire to be.” 

Beyond representation, Ezimah ensured that proceeds from the exhibition flowed back to the artists, enriching communities at home.

Aisha Sidibe, who works in the education department of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, is developing a curriculum centered around “The Merry Wives of Windsor” for students throughout the DMV area. She believes that the play’s core message is that community is the solution to conflicts related to gender, love or identity and that resolution is achieved when people come together.

“We can all self-correct and go towards the thing that we know is good, deeply good,” Sidibe said. “Being able to explore that with other people who aren’t like you, now we’re in community. And now we get to go into our own communities and talk about this production.” 

That same spirit was present throughout the rehearsal process, which she described as full of joy, laughter and an unshakeable sense of collective resilience.

“There’s so many things going on that exhaust us and stress us out,” Sidibe said. “But I think it’s about facing it together, being in community.”

Howard alumna Leenanet Noble, now a senior staff member at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, praised Bioh’s adaptation for its inventive blend of Shakespearean prose with AAVE and a chorus of African dialects — Ghanaian, Nigerian, Senegalese, Liberian — as well as Harlem inflection. The result, she said, was a melodic layering of voices that felt both authentic and expansive. 

Under the director’s guidance, individuality was encouraged. The percussionist created his own path, weaving rhythm and dance through the show, while the cast broke the fourth wall to draw the audience directly into the story.

Noble believes the performance carried a joyful yet urgent message.

“We are seen. We are here. We are meant to be seen and here,” she said. 

For Noble, the play underscored themes of acceptance and shared experience, a reminder of live theater’s power to connect people in the same space, in the same moment.

“It allows us to have shared experiences together. You know that’s the unique part where we’re not on screen, separated. We’re in the same space,” Noble said.

After the play, the audience, cast and production gathered outside the theatre amongst the exhibit, celebrating the community they have built together. 

“This play will play over and over again, but it’ll never be the same because you have human beings on stage expressing themselves. I think it’s important for us to know we can come together, connect, and laugh at the same things,” Noble said. 

The production will run until Oct. 5. 

Copy edited by Damenica Ellis