In the backroom of a pub, writing sensations Kit Marlowe and Will Shakespeare are forced together in a creative union. Alone, with the table as their stage and battlefield, they sharpen their pens – and let their genius fly.
Across three secret meetings, the rivals duel and flirt like their lives depend on it – and with spies everywhere, betrayal is so tempting.
Marking its West End premiere this summer, Liz Duffy Adams’ Born With Teeth is a thrilling imagining of the relationship between two literary icons at odds with their time.
RSC Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans directs Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who, Sex Education) and Edward Bluemel (Killing Eve, My Lady Jane) as the poets who square off in a game of wits, words, and powerplay.
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Audience Latest Reviews
Reviews Summary based on 12 reviews
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Biting the hand that feeds
Only two people on stage? Yes, and yet they manage to fill it from start to finish in "Born with teeth" which gives a surprising new angle on the possible creative relationship between Elizabethan playwrights Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. You will have heard Shakespeare but Marlowe may be just a name. Yet, as the play begins, Marlowe is the big name with friends in high places, unafraid of biting the hand that feeds, and Shakespeare is the young hopeful who naively believes that he can earn a living simply by being a good writer as long as he doesn't upset his masters. Gradually, the play cleverly reveals that Shakepeare has a trick or two of his own. The actors are riveting and the way the power shifts from one to the other over 3 acts as time passes is unexpected to say the least. You don't need to be a literary expert to see this. If you're interested in the creative process and in freedom of speech, "Born with teeth" will certainly give you something to chew over.
Gerald, 20 Sep 2025
Brilliant
Incredible storytelling with two brilliant actors. What a duo! It was funny, camp and sexy!
Marina, 30 Aug 2025
A stimulating watch, with interesting historical undertones. Those teeth were certainly born on stage !
The show was a spectacle of drama, with excellent acting and intrigue. Audience be ready to digest the homo -erotic nuance's, and fast paced dialogue. For me the show was a love affair portrayed in dangerous uncertain times.
Kenneth, 30 Aug 2025
Ncuti Gatwa - my favourite!!
I went because I love Ncuti Gatwa and he didn’t disappoint. Edward Bluemel was also exceptional, but Ncuti is amazing.
