The Playhouse Theatre Autumn-Winter 07 Season begins with the visit of one of Britain’s greatest actors as Mark Rylance co-directs and stars in “I Am Shakespeare”. This ground-breaking new comedy brings the question of who actually wrote the Shakespeare plays into the spotlight as Victorian England collides with modern-day Maidstone in riotous fashion.
“I Am Shakespeare” arrives at the Playhouse from Tuesday 9 to Saturday 13 October 2007 as part of a nationwide tour.
On a dark and stormy night in a garage in Kent, disgraced former academic Frank Charlton prepares for his daily broadcast. Through his subversive internet show, Frank continues to explore the obsession that cost him a promising career as he questions the authorship of the Shakespeare plays. Today, however, via the dramatic interaction of a lightning storm and the collective unconscious of the world-wide-web, Frank finds himself confronted with the real William Shakespeare… and the real Francis Bacon… then Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford… and finally the real Mary Sidney. Can Frank take advantage of this historic opportunity to discover the answer to the question that has plagued him all his adult life?
Mark Rylance, playing the hapless Frank Charlton, was Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre from 1995 to 2005, where he appeared in more than a dozen leading roles. He will be joined onstage by Sean Foley, co-actor and director of the Morecambe and Wise smash-hit The Play What I Wrote, and will co-direct with Lord of the Rings and Art director Matthew Warchus. -- www.everymanplayhouse.com
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