Shakespeare in Love, etc.
The many fictional portrayals of The Bard
By Joanna Horowitz |
Equivocation’s personification of Shakespeare, here as Shag (Anthony Heald).
Photo by Jenny Graham. |
William Shakespeare’s plays are widely produced around the world, but our fascination with
him goes beyond the playwright’s words. Did he really write all of those plays? What was his
relationship with his family really like? How the heck do we spell his name anyway? And if he
was able to write such beautiful poetry and love stories, he must be a great romantic…right?
The Shakespeare (or Shagspeare, as playwright Bill Cain spells his name) of Equivocation
is already established as a playwright, nearing the end of his career at the age of 40. He’s
an idealist, an insecure artist, and an imperfect father. But plays, movies, and books have
imagined the playwright in a myriad of ways. Here’s a look at some of those other fictional
accounts of the Bard.
On Stage: The Beard of Avon by Amy Freed
Freed’s play takes a look at the age-old debate as to who actually wrote Shakespeare’s
plays. And she plays “what if,” imagining that the man named Shakespere (Freed’s spelling)
wasn’t the playwright. Freed's Shakespere is extremely humble, an actor offered a silent
“spear shaker” role, a man who couldn’t possibly have captured the range of experiences,
insights and, in particular, feminine perspectives found in his plays.
On Stage: Loves Labours Wonne by Don Nigro
In this play, a drunken Shakespeare at the age of retirement longs for the quiet of Stratford
while grieving for the London theatre world that has been his life. He falls through a trapdoor
in the theatre and emerges back at the early part of his career. Recreated as a wild hallucination,
we see a young Shakespeare obsessed with his work and haunted by memories.
On Stage: Second Best Bed by Richard Nash
The title comes from the famous bequest in Shakespeare’s will that his wife Anne Hathaway would
receive his “second-best bed.” This play (which opened on Broadway in 1946) is a comedy about the
turbulent but affectionate marriage of young Will Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. Will is portrayed
as a witty rogue, pitted against a country bumpkin named Poggs.
On Screen: Shakespeare in Love
Joseph Fiennes made William Shakespeare into a romantic sex symbol in this Oscar-winning 1998 film.
The romantic comedy follows an illicit romance between Shakespeare and young, wealthy Viola, an
aspiring actress who dresses up as a boy to land the part of Romeo in Will’s play. Viola is
betrothed to someone else, but that doesn’t stop their affair, which provides rich inspiration for
Shakespeare’s writing.
In Print: Ill Met By Moonlight, All Night Awake, and Any Man So Daring by Sarah A. Hoyt
In this fantasy trilogy, young schoolteacher Will Shakespeare is struggling to support his new wife
and baby daughter. He comes home one day to find them missing. He ventures into the forest after
them but instead ends up in the Land of Faerie. He does become the most successful playwright of
his time, but he suspects his dealings with the Elven King Quicksilver might have had something to
do with it.
In Print: The Players: A Novel of the Young Shakespeare by Stephanie Cowell
Another story that imagines that Will’s romantic encounters shaped his life. This one places
Shakespeare as a young apprentice, a poverty-stricken actor, and playwright unhappily married.
A tumultuous love triangle helps Will grow as a person and a writer.
In Print: Will by Grace Tiffany
This account of Shakespeare’s life weaves fact and fiction, starting with a young Will learning
the beauty of the written word. This imagined life of Shakespeare paints him as more of a family man,
one who misses his family even though his passion for the stage keeps them apart.
Want more Shakespeare fiction?
Read this Amazon.com list of modern fiction featuring Will as a
character (warning: lots of teen novels).
