Born With Teeth at Richmond Shakespeare

An aging authoritarian ruler, a violent police state and a restless, polarized people seething with paranoia: It’s a dangerous time for poets. Two of them — the great Kit Marlowe and the up-and-comer William Shakespeare — meet in the back room of a pub to collaborate on a history play cycle, navigate the perils of art under a totalitarian regime and flirt like young men with everything to lose. One of them may well be the death of the other.

Born With Teeth was developed at the Alley Theatre as part of their All New Reading Series and had its world premiere on the Alley stage in May 2022. The play depicts a fictional faceoff between playwrights Christopher “Kit” Marlowe and William Shakespeare.