6 / 10
But this is Gatwa’s show. His boisterous Kit sweats in Zoë Thomas-Webb’s leather two-piece, his every lithe action a flirtation. He lunges towards Will first out of pure instinct, as something to shag, but he grows gentler, softened by his literary sparring partner. Beneath his restless exterior, he hides genuine admiration for his uncertain lover and unmistakable fear for the murky waters he has waded into.
6 / 10
The most interesting sections – at least if you care about Shakespeare – are those which probe the differences between the two writers. Marlowe insists on inserting his own bold personality and controversial beliefs into every line he wrote while Shakespeare’s instinct is to disappear, to lose himself in every character. The moment when the two men act out Shakepeare’s inserted scene in Henry VI showing the love between a husband and wife is remarkably tender. The play’s concluding note, that Shakespeare consistently wrote Marlowe (who died in a tavern brawl in 1593 at the age of 29) back to life is intriguing.
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.
“Does my flesh dazzle you?” a lascivious Christopher Marlowe asks a flustered William Shakespeare in what we can only describe as an exceptional example of theatrical slash fiction. For the uninitiated, “slash fiction” is a genre of fanfiction that focuses on the romantic relation between preexisting fictional characters of the same sex. Liz Duffy Adams’s Born With Teeth brings the female gaze to the West End. Directed by Daniel Evans and starring Ncuti Gatwa alongside Edward Bluemel, 90 steamy minutes of action puts two most venerated playwrights in England together like we’ve only ever found on websites like AO3 (Archive Of Our Own, the biggest fan-run fanfiction platform) and Tumblr.
You can now get a first look at Ncuti Gatwa as Kit Marlowe and Edward Bluemel as William Shakespeare in Born With Teeth, which marks its West End premiere presented by Playful Productions, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Elizabeth Williams.
Tickets are now on general sale for the West End premiere of Born With Teeth, featuring Ncuti Gatwa as Christopher Marlowe and Edward Bluemel as William Shakespeare.
