Prepare to be enlightened about Elizabethan England and the life and times of the world’s greatest playwright, as Shakespeare in Love commences at the Noel Coward Theatre in just four weeks’ time…
Less than a month to go until Shakespeare in Love arrives at the Noel Coward Theatre
Adapted for the stage by playwright and screenwriter Lee Hall – the force behind Billy Elliot – theatregoers eagerly await the stage production based on the Academy Award-winning film, Shakespeare in Love.
One of the largest casts ever assembled in the West End
Packed with sounds and sights of London during the Elizabethan era, this stage adaptation boasts one of the biggest casts ever to perform on a West End stage. 28 cast members will grace the Noel Coward Theatre’s stage, and let’s not forget the dog!
The 28 member cast comprises of an affable mix of old and established hands and stars on the rise. The cast is led by Lucy Briggs as Viola and Tom Bateman as Shakespeare.
A Lee Hall adaptation
When Shakespeare in Love burst onto the silver screen in 1998 it took the world by storm. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes, the film became a global sensation, winning three Baftas and seven Oscars. English playwright and screenwriter Lee Hall has adapted the original screenplay of Shakespeare in Love. Lee Hall is best known for the 2000 film Billy Elliot.
Lending a more than competent hand in the hugely anticipated production is prolific Shakespearean director Declan Donnellan, who will helm this stage production.
Discover the imagined story of how Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet
For anyone unfamiliar or requiring a recap about Shakespeare in Love’s prolific plot, it takes audiences back to 1593 when struggling playwright William Shakespeare is suffering from writer’s block. Shakespeare’s latest works, drafted with the title ‘Romeo and Ethel: The Pirate’s Daughter’, lies incomplete. Much to the young playwright’s despair his patron Philip Henslowe has already sold the rights to the play.
An intriguing plot
Shakespeare desperately seeks an actor to play Romeo. A young man named Thomas Kent shines in the auditions. The plot thickens however when Shakespeare discovers Kent is not really a man, but a beautiful young noblewoman named Viola de Lessops. Viola is determined to take to the theatre despite women being forbidden from the stage.
The drama intensifies further when the pair fall in love and embark on a love affair that defies the social and moral code of Elizabethan England. It is this love that inspires Shakespeare to finish the greatest love story he ever wrote – Romeo and Juliet.
We have just four weeks to wait until Shakespeare in Love opens its curtains at the Noel Coward Theatre on 23 July 2014. An opening gala night is even sooner, scheduled for 18 June, 2014. You can buy tickets to see the highly-awaited stage adaptation of the award-winning comedy here.
