‘”O, Jesus bless us, he is born with teeth!”
And so was I, which plainly signified
That I should snarl and bite, play the dog.’
Henry VI, Part 3
Christopher Marlowe – rockstar of Elizabethan theatre and notorious spy for the Crown – danger and seduction combined. William Shakespeare – jobbing actor and promising young playwright – dazzled by Marlowe, but with ambitions of his own.
When the pair meet in the backroom of a pub to collaborate on a cycle of history plays, tensions rise as they navigate the perils of art under an oppressive regime, and flirt like young men with everything to lose…
An explosively entertaining duel of wits, words and powerplay, Liz Duffy Adams’s Born With Teeth is a playful and daring imagining of the relationship between two literary icons. The play was first performed in Houston, Texas, in 2022, where it won several major awards. In 2025, it received its European premiere at Wyndham’s Theatre in London’s West End, produced by Playful Productions, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Grain of Sand Productions, directed by RSC Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans, and starring Ncuti Gatwa as Kit and Edward Bluemel as Will.
‘A whirling counter-history that spins the known facts of the relationship between Shakespeare and Marlowe into a fantasy of flirtation, spying, love and suspicion’
— WhatsOnStage
‘Hot and horny… studded with insider references’
— The Times
‘Adams writes not with a pen so much as a razor blade, and the play cuts to the bone as Kit and Will trade barbs, ambitions and, ultimately, places in a history play that rewrites our understanding of these two figures’
— Star Tribune
‘Sizzling… energetic and erotic… an intelligent slice of historical fiction’
— Guardian
‘A seductively clever examination of Kit Marlowe and Shakespeare’s relationship that blends intrigue and shifty eroticism with in-jokes and a discourse on creativity… Liz Duffy Adams blends period and modern idioms with aplomb… the way her script entwines the vicissitudes of sex, celebrity and Elizabethan politics is enormous fun’
— Evening Standard
‘A stylish two-hander laced with sex and treachery’
— The Stage
‘Thrilling entertainment’
— Broadway World
