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Overview
Synopsis
We all know William Shakespeare as a brilliant, imaginative, funny, trendsetting playwright whose work has held up the test of time better than any other. We know he lived in the 16th century and that he performed plays for the Queen, but how did Shakespeare become the Shakespeare we know today? In this exciting play by Lee Hall, adapted from the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, we get to witness a version of what might have been. Did Shakespeare have writer’s block from time to time? Did he need a muse to write his famous tragedy Romeo and Juliet? Lee Hall’s version of this successful screenplay follows the same story of Shakespeare meeting and falling in love with a aristocratic woman named Viola De Lesseps who wishes she could be an actor, and transforms it for the stage, just as Shakespeare did with stories in his day. It is funny, clever, filled with references to Shakespeare’s work, and a delight for theater goers of all ages.
Show Information
- Book
- Lee Hall
- Based on the Play/Book/Film
- Shakespeare in Love by Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 2014
- Genres
- Comedy, Romance
- Time & Place
- London, 1593
- Cast Size
- large
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, Ensemble Cast, Large Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Regional Theatre, Includes Adult, Young Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly, Early Teen, Late Teen Characters
Context
The film Shakespeare in Love, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, premiered in 1998 to rave reviews. The screenwriters were interested in exploring “How did Shakespeare become Shakespeare?” a question that had not yet been explored despite the world’s fascination with the famous playwright. The story is fiction and imagines circumstances which may have led a young Shakespeare to write his most famous play Romeo and Juliet. The story is populated with characters who were actually alive
to read the context for Shakespeare in Love and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Act 1, Scene 1 - Will’s Garret
William Shakespeare sits at his desk surrounded by the entire ensemble. He is trying to write a sonnet but is suffering from writer’s block. Christopher Marlowe, referred to by Shakespeare as Kit, steps out of the ensemble and asks Shakespeare why he isn’t writing a play. Will reveals that his play is a month overdue to Henslowe, the theatre financer, and that he cannot seem to write anything good. Marlowe, on the other hand, has just finished a play and is
to read the plot for Shakespeare in Love and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Female |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Supporting |
Male |
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Featured |
Female |
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Featured |
Male |
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Featured |
Female |
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Ensemble |
Either Gender |
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Ensemble |
Either Gender |
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Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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