Two conspiracy theories have fascinated historians for centuries. How could Williams Shakespeare become England’s greatest playwright virtually overnight when he was just a nameless actor who had never written anything before?

And how could Christopher Marlowe, a known spy and the previous reigning playwright in England be suspiciously murdered and quickly buried in an unmarked grave - just days before he was to be tried for treason? In a grave not found to this day.

The Shakespeare Conspiracy answers those questions in a wild romp through gay 16th Century Elizabethan England as a rapidly unfolding detective story filled with comedy, intrigue, murder and an illicit gay love story.

THE CAST

Six men (with some doubling):
Christopher Marlowe
Sir Thomas Walsingham
Constable Henry Maunder
William Shakespeare
Thomas Kyd
Sir Francis Walsingham
Lord Henry Wriothesley

THE SET

A unit set, one side depicting the library of Sir Thomas
Walsingham and the other side the London Chambers of his
cousin, Sir Francis Walsingham.

THE STORY

Marlowe and his sponsor/lover, Sir Thomas Walsingham, realize that the sentence for treason is always death - “drawn and quartered.” So they fake Marlowe’s murder and arrange for an unknown actor to front Marlowe’s new works. Quickly the crown becomes suspicious of Marlowe’s mysterious death and the similarities of Marlowe’s works with those of “Shakespeare’s.”

A manhunt begins with Marlowe being chased from city to city in Italy, writing The Merchant of Venice and Othello in Venice; The Taming of the Shrew in Padua; Two Gentlemen of Verona and Romeo and Juliet in Verona. The chase continues to Sicily where Marlowe is finally cornered. Meanwhile, back in London, Shakespeare is trying to hide from the investigation by Constable Maunder and defend his plays - plays he’s never even read. And the homoerotic references in Marlowe’s new works embarrass Shakespeare with his drinking buddies, his concubines and even his wife. This play ends with two plot twists in the final scenes. And it’s all based on actual facts and real people.

THE AUTHOR

Ted Bacino co-authored his recent play, “The Shakespeare Conspiracy,” based on his novel of the same title. The play has had productions Off-Broadway and in U.S. cities like Fort Lauderdale, Cleveland, Chicago, Oklahoma City and later this season in Columbus.