About Theatre on Castle Hill: Ada and the Engine

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“Genius girl” will shock and delight audiences

Women’s History Month stage play celebrates a pioneering woman of science

You’ll flunk this quiz: Who wrote the first computer program?

Believe it or not, it was a brilliant young woman in the U.K.

Now guess when.

Answer: the 1850’s. That’s right: long before computers were even invented.

And if you remember the classic poet Lord Byron, here’s a bit you’ll really love: That young girl, Ada Byron Lovelace, was the poet’s only daughter — and he abandoned her.

All of which somehow makes for a funny, heartbreaking, inspiring stage play, Ada and the Engine, by Castle Hill Productions, at the Crane Estate in Ipswich February 27 through March 9.

Featuring some of the North Shore’s most beloved actors, Ada reveals a tangle of family tensions and an intriguing glimpse into the mind of a child genius who produced revolutionary scientific work in spite of rigid Victorian-Era attitudes about women.

“It’s the perfect production for Women’s History Month,” says director Kristina Grundmann, who founded the theatre company for The Trustees, the non-prof that owns and operates the Castle Hill property. “A girl haunted by her absent celebrity father, partnering with a male inventor but mentored by a female scientist, navigating her mother’s anger — it’s a whirlwind. But a beautiful whirlwind, because it’s such a brilliant, delightful script.”

Ada and the Engine was written by Lauren Gunderson, one of the theatre world’s most popular new playwrights.

The play will be presented in the intimate ballroom of the Crane Estate’s grand mansion. As a result, seating is extremely limited.

Ada and the Engine stars Stanis Ames (of Salem) as Ada, along with Karen Dervin (Billerica), Chris DeStefano (Ipswich), Conor Burke (Somerville), Julie Butters (Salem), and Gary Ames (Salem).

Staged in the Great House Ballroom, Ada and the Engine has a run time of approximately 2 hours including one intermission.

Space is limited. Advance reservations are strongly recommended.