Exploring the obstacles that females face might seem centuries beyond Shakespeare. Suffragettes and coffee klatches do not form the stuff of Elizabethan plays.

But "Women of Will" playwright and star, Tina Packer, says the Bard's sensitivity and empathy enabled him to uncover the depths of the female psyche.

"Shakespeare actually saw the predicament women were in," says Packer, founding artistic director of Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, Mass.

"Women of Will," July 20 - Aug. 3, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, is Packer's attempt to explore how Shakespeare's writing of female characters evolved through the course of his career.

The play, which Packer created with the help of a Guggenheim fellowship, combines excerpts from Shakespearean dialogues, background on the plays and Packer's commentary to trace the development of female characters from the stereotypical to the fully dimensional.

"Will" in the title refers not only to Shakespeare but also to the female characters' drive to gain power. In addition, "will" was an Elizabethan term for sexuality. Packer portrays such heroines as Katherina, Juliet, Joan of Arc and Desdemona, opposite co-star Nigel Gore.

The play opens with commentary on "The Taming of the Shrew," in which Petruchio uses sleep deprivation and the threat of starvation to subdue his strong-willed wife, Katherina. Petruchio also forces Katherina to re-christen the sun at his command. A "tamed" Katherina eventually offers a speech about the generosity and kindness of husbands and the virtue of meekness in wives.

Of all the offenses Katherina has suffered, losing her language is the worst, Packer, playing herself, says in the overview to the five-part show.

"You can't express who you are," Packer says in a recent phone interview, adding that conquerors typically force their subjects to abandon their native tongues.

"'So by this point in the play, I think that Kate would either be manic or gone to baby-doll cuteness to avoid the whole issue, or she'd be clinically depressed,'" Packer says in the overview.

The play offers contemporary audiences unfamiliar with Shakespeare a fun introduction, Packer says, adding that his work remains politically and personally relevant.

"It's for all times. It's very alive now," says Packer.

"Women of Will," July 20 - Aug. 3: opening night post-show champagne toast, July 24; two-part extended version: "Force and Heat: The Early Plays," 2 p.m. July 20; "Chaos and Redemption: The Later Plays," 7:30 p.m. July 20; post-show actor talk-back, July 31; "Savoring Shakespeare" dinner, 5:30 p.m. Aug. 2, 3, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Schubert Theater, Labuda Center for The Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley. pashakespeare.org, 610-282-WILL