Get ready for a hot new production that will have everyone talking this summer, and will no doubt ruffle a few quill feathers.
Born with Teeth is a new play by Liz Duffy Adams features our Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa, as Christopher Marlowe and Edward Bluemel (Killing Eve, Sex Education) as William Shakespeare in a story which takes a fresh new look at the relationship between the two playwrights.
And according to Gatwa it will certainly be fresh: “Liz Duffy Adams has written an exceptional play that is smart, dark, sexy, sharp and funny! There’s a lot to get one’s teeth into. This is like no version of Shakespeare and Marlowe that I’ve ever seen before, and I can’t wait for audiences to join us for the ride”.
New Yorker Duffy Adams wrote the off-Broadway neo-Restoration comedy Or, and this is her UK debut, which is under producers Playful Productions, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Elizabeth Williams .
The production will take place at Wyndham’s Theatre and will see RSC Co-Artistic Director, Daniel Evans make his directorial debut for the company, following previous, critically acclaimed productions of Quiz, American Buffalo, South Pacific and Our Generation.
The actual story about ‘Will’ and ‘Kit’, is pitched like so:
‘Winter 1591.
It is a dangerous time for artists: the country is full of conspiracy and paranoia. In the backroom of a pub, writing sensations Kit Marlowe and Will Shakespeare are forced together in a creative union. Alone, with the table as their stage and battlefield, they sharpen their pens – and let their genius fly.
Across three secret meetings, the rivals duel and flirt like their lives depend on it – and with spies everywhere, betrayal is so tempting.’
Edward Bluemel said, “I feel incredibly proud and excited to be working with Ncuti Gatwa and Daniel Evans on the European premiere of Born With Teeth. To be stepping into the shoes of a young William Shakespeare is a huge thrill for any actor and I can’t wait to get started. When I read Liz Duffy Adams’ script, I was instantly drawn into the high-stakes world of these two rival playwrights and the incredible, creative chemistry they share. There’s a real freshness and vitality to Liz’s writing that speaks directly to our world, and I can’t wait for West End audiences to experience it for the first time”.
Elizabeth Williams said, “Our playwright seems to have channeled directly from the 1590s this story of the intersection of the contemporary lives of these two great poets, Marlowe and Shakespeare, and it is brilliant in conception and ferociously sexy.”
Gatwa made his National Theatre debut last year as ‘Algernon Moncrieff’ in The Importance of Being Earnest, which was nominated for an Olivier Award in the category of ‘Best Revival’. He will return as Doctor Who this Saturday 12th.
Born With Teeth will play at Wyndham's Theatre for a strictly limited 11-week season until Saturday 1 November, with a first preview on Wednesday 13 August. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday 16 April 2025 with priority booking from Friday 11 April. For more information visit BornWithTeethPlay.com
