Plagued by debt, tormented by writer’s block, and in desperate need of a new hit, promising new playwright Will Shakespeare finds his muse in the form of passionate young noblewoman Viola De Lesseps. Their forbidden love soon draws everyone, including Queen Elizabeth, into the drama, and inspires Will to write the greatest love story of all time: Romeo and Juliet.

Based on the Oscar-winning screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, Shakespeare in Love has been deftly adapted for the stage by Lee Hall and played to rave reviews and a sold-out theater at the Noel Coward in London. The London production was directed by Declan Donnellan and designed by Nick Ormerod, the driving force behind the world-renowned theater company, Cheek by Jowl.