Shakespeare in Love

Theatre@41 Monkgate, York

"I would stay asleep all my life if I could dream myself into a company of players"

Lee Hall's stage adaptation of Shakespeare in Love, the Oscar-winning film written by Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman, is a rollicking celebration of the joys of theatre.

It's a love story about struggling young playwright Will Shakespeare and a feisty, free-thinking young noblewoman who helps him overcome his writer's block and becomes his muse.

And it's a love letter to the stage itself – bursting with humour, wonderful characters and theatrical allusions

George Stagnell as Will in Shakespeare in Love; photo by Matthew Kitchen Photography

Viola de Lesseps is Will’s greatest admirer and will stop at nothing – including breaking the law and dressing as a boy actor – to appear in his next play.

Against a bustling background of mistaken identity, ruthless scheming and backstage theatrics, Will’s love for Viola quickly blossoms, inspiring him to write his greatest romantic masterpiece, Romeo and Juliet.

Funny and moving in equal measures, the stage version of Shakespeare in Love was acclaimed as "riotously enjoyable" and a show that "makes you feel grateful to be alive" when it premiered in London in 2014.

Sanna Jeppsson in Shakespeare in Love; photo by Matthew Kitchen Photography

1-9 April 2022

PHOTOS

CREATIVES

Adapted for the stage by

Lee Hall based on the screenplay by Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman

Music by

Paddy Cunneen

Directed by

Mark Hird

Musical direction by

Natalie Walker

Produced and designed by

Robert Readman

Lighting by

Phoebe Butcher and Ivy Magee

CAST

Will Shakespeare

George Stagnell

Viola de Lesseps

Sanna Jeppsson

Henslowe

Ian Giles

Fennyman

Andrew Isherwood

Richard Burbage

Tony Froud

Ned Alleyn

Robert Readman

Kit Marlowe

Adam Price

Wessex

Jim Paterson

Queen Elizabeth

Joy Warner

Nurse

Beryl Nairn

Tilney

Neil Foster

John Webster

Guy Wilson

Sir Robert de Lesseps/Peter

Mark Simmonds

Ralph

Andrew Roberts

Wabash/Lambert

James Coldrick

Robin/Boatman/Frees

Tom Riddolls

Sam

Ben Weir

Nol/Man with the Dog

Jack Moran

Acting and musical ensemble

Susannah Baines

Tom Bennett

Emma Godivala

Sam Hird

Terry Hunter

Natalie Walker

Jennie Wogan

Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes including interval

George Stagnell returns to the York stage to play Will. George's previous appearances with Pick Me Up include the one-man play Private Peaceful, which was a five-star hit in York and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; Richard in Stephen Dolginoff's Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story; Patsy in Spamalot, and Czolgosz in Sondheim's Assassins.

Sanna Jeppsson, who made her York stage debut last November in York Settlement Community Players' production of The 39 Steps, plays Viola de Lesseps.

The strong cast also includes Ian Giles as Henslowe, Andrew Isherwood as Fennyman, Tony Froud as Richard Burbage, Robert Readman as Ned Alleyn, and Adam Price as Kit Marlowe .

Pick Me Up's production of Shakespeare in Love

Jim Paterson plays Will's rival in love, Lord Wessex, Beryl Nairn is Viola's doting Nurse, and Neil Foster is Tilney, the obsequious and censorious Master of the Revels.

George Stagnell and Sanna Jeppsson in Shakespeare in Love; photo by Matthew Kitchen

The director is Mark Hird, who previously directed Edward Albee's The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, Stephen Dolginoff's Monster Makers and Private Peaceful for Pick Me Up, and musical director is Natalie Walker.