For Shakespeare has lost his mojo, relying on his friend and fellow writer Kit Marlowe for help and inspiration. Or at least waiting for him to finish the sentence "Shall I compare thee…".
Not that it stays dark for long as the cast surround the man himself hanging off his every word. 'Tis a dark and dimly-lit stage that greets audience at the theatre this week, not surprising as the only lighting around in the days of William Shakespeare would have been candles. ★★★★★ “A riotously enjoyable evening in the theatre” Sunday TimesĪ fantastic play - one definitely not to be missed. ★★★★★ “An absolute joy from beginning to end” Daily Express ★★★★★ “The best British comedy since One Man, Two Guvnors” Daily Telegraph ★★★★★ “Deliciously funny… makes you grateful to be alive” Independent Pierro Niel-Mee will star as Will Shakespeare with Imogen Daines as Viola, Rob Edwards as Fennyman, Geraldine Alexander as the Queen, Edmund Kingsley as Kit Marlowe, Bill Ward ( Coronation Street, Emmerdale) as Wessex, Ian Hughes as Henslowe, Giles Taylor as Tilney and De Lesseps, Edward Harrison as Burbage and Phillip Labey as Sam. This new production will be directed by Phillip Breen, director of the highly acclaimed recent Royal Shakespeare Company productions of The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Hypocrite. Viola is prepared to do anything – including risking the frosty disapproval of Queen Elizabeth I – to fulfil her illicit dream of performing on the London stage and pursuing a passionate affair with the greatest playwright of the age. Then he meets the beguiling Viola de Lesseps, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant. Young Will Shakespeare has writer’s block…the deadline for his new play – a comedy called Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter – is fast approaching, he’s struggling to finish the first line of a sonnet and he’s in dire need of inspiration. Adapted by Lee Hall for a triumphant West End run, this epic Elizabethan extravaganza is exuberant, witty, funny, and a beautiful homage to love, art, and theatre itself. Winning no fewer than seven Academy Awards, including Best Screenplay, the film of Shakespeare in Love, starring Judi Dench, Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow, became an instant classic. Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Theatre Royal Bath Productionsīy special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Group and Sonia Friedman Productions present Shakespeare in Love THE HIT FILM NOW A HIT PLAY!