Scirocco Drama presents two plays by Jessica B. Hill: The Dark Lady, a drama about Shakespeare’s mysterious “Dark Lady of the Sonnets,” and Pandora, a solo show about hope, interconnection, and life’s biggest questions.

Emilia Bassano, believed to be the woman known as “the Dark Lady” in Shakespeare’s sonnets, was actually one of England’s first female published poets. She was also trilingual, mixed race, and a force to be reckoned with. In The Dark Lady, Shakespeare and Bassano collide as they wrestle with artistic collaboration, ambition, envy, and love–an entanglement that will profoundly shape both their lives and their work.

Pandora is sorry. It’s all her fault and she’s so sorry. From devastating natural disasters to that time you hit your shin on the coffee table, Pandora’s been carrying the burden of world chaos and human suffering since the beginning of time. But she’s starting to feel pretty suspicious…What if it was a set up? What if the box was empty all along? If there’s one thing we know about Pandora, it’s that she’s curious. That curiosity leads her on a quest across time to discover the meaning of life, but the more she searches, the more questions seem to arise!