Rose Napoli is once again delving into the realm of historical fiction with her new play Mad Madge. Like her stunning performance in WILDWOMAN, Napoli is bringing to life author, poet, and would-be empress Margaret Cavendish to life. I asked Rose about what it’s like to write and star in a play, how Cavendish’s writing affected how she wrote her story, and what it’s like playing these incredible and powerful women.

1. Could you please introduce yourself to my readers and tell us a bit about your role with Mad Madge?

I’m Rose Napoli. I wrote and will be playing the title role in Nightwood Theatre’s production of Mad Madge.

2. What in particular about Margaret Cavendish’s story inspired you to write Mad Madge?

Margaret Cavendish was a 17th century unicorn! She didn’t have the advantage of formal education and yet she was able to accomplish a bevy of firsts. She wrote under her own name when women writing at the time were expected to use male pseudonyms. She was the first woman invited into the Royal Society of London (a woman would not be extended an invitation for another hundred years after her). She unabashedly pursued fame and yet was deeply shy. I think this is the most compelling aspect of Margaret for me. Her fashions were eccentric. She bared her breasts at an opening night in the theatre! And yet she was socially anxious. I really connect to this part of her, the extroverted introvert. She was an early drag queen. She took the things that scared her and leaned into them, creating a persona that empowered her. She was extra.

But what inspired me to write this play was the fact that Margaret’s ambition coupled with her idiosyncrasies led to her being nicknamed, Mad Madge. Before I was writing a play about Margaret Cavendish, I was writing a comedy about female rage, which was initially inspired by the woman who threw the chair off the condo balcony onto the Gardner. While researching our history of attaching madness to enterprising women, I happened to be reading Danielle Dutton’s book, Margaret the First. It was one of those synchronous moments. I had initially picked up the book because I was behind on my GoodReads Challenge for the year and needed to read something short to make up ground. It just so happened to be the thing that also blew up my work. I continued to research Margaret and realized that this habit of calling ambitious women mad was something we were doing long before Britney Spears. And so, I went back to the 17th century to write my contemporary play.

3. You performance as Catherine de Medici in Kat Sandler’s WILDWOMAN was incredible, and she’s another fierce woman craving power, like Cavendish. What draws you to these powerful, and historical, female characters?

Thank you! I LOVED being in Wildwoman. Funnily enough, I had no clue Kat was working on it. A few years back, I had just had a first reading of Mad Madge and shortly after, got a request from Soulpepper to come in for a workshop of a play by Kat Sandler. We weren’t given the draft before so we were all going in cold. I remember texting Andrea (Donaldson, Mad Madge director) after reading the first act and asking, “is this going to be a problem?” And it’s been anything but. With Margaret, I get to play the opposite journey I played with Catherine. I remember discovering this in rehearsal for Wildwoman. Though the plays are very different tonally, there is a fork-in-the-road moment in both, a point of no return. Catherine goes one way. Margaret goes the other. I’m so lucky to play both of these women.

Originating a role is a special thing. As a playwright, I understand that you are creating the show with and for the actors. Kat and I share so many qualities. It doesn’t surprise me that we were in the same zeitgeist. There is easily another version of this story where she and I become competitors. Instead, we were vulnerable with one another. I committed myself to that show entirely. And Kat texts me to check in all the time. I’m proud of that. Catherine and Margaret are two larger than life women. So are Kat and I. And our theatre world is certainly big enough to hold it all.

4. Some of Cavendish’s writings are practically sci-fi; they’re very advanced and different for her time. Was any of that an influence in writing this play?

Margaret’s book, The Blazing World, is actually argued to be the first work of science fiction! And it is wild! Both prophetic and nonsensical. The utopian world of the title is accessed through the North Pole. She wrote herself into the novel. She made her own rules. Which inspired me to do the same. We’re in the 17th century but the climax of the play is a television interview. Nancy Palk plays my eleven year old sister. Izad Etemadi is our mother. The ladies of the court are two mean girls called Trudy and Judy and they’re played by men. Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist and naval officer, is played by a woman. The Blazing World is also described by scholars as a romance. I’ve embraced that, too. Mad Madge, among other things, is a romantic-comedy. Margaret’s work has released me completely from any pressure to be correct. I’m going for truth and entertainment not accuracy. I took Margaret’s lead on that.

5. What has been your favourite moment in the rehearsal process thus far?

Oof, that’s tough. We’re making each other laugh a lot in rehearsal. But at this point, I have to say it’s holding Nancy Palk as Queen Henrietta’s hand while she’s on the toilet.

I want to thank Rose for taking the time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing Mad Madge this month! On from April 9 – 21 at The Theatre Centre. For more information and tickets, visit: https://theatrecentre.org/event/mad-madge/

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