Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel are getting stuck into rehearsals for Born With Teeth, ahead of the show’s West End premiere this month.
Gatwa (Doctor Who) plays Kit Marlowe and Bluemel (Killing Eve) is Will Shakespeare in this play by Liz Duffy Adams that imagines the relationship between two literary icons at odds with their time.
Christopher Marlowe: rockstar of Elizabethan theatre, scandalous spy for the Crown – danger and seduction combined.
William Shakespeare: jobbing actor, promising young playwright – dazzled by Marlowe, with ambitions of his own.
Based on the idea these two literary icons may have collaborated on the Henry VI history plays, Liz Duffy Adams’ Born With Teeth is a playful and daring imagining of their relationship during an extraordinarily dangerous time for artists.
From Playful Productions, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Elizabeth Williams, it is directed by Daniel Evans. Design is by Joanna Scotcher and lighting design by Neil Austin, sound design is by George Dennis, video design is by Andrzej Goulding, movement direction is by Ira Mandela Siobhan and casting director is Charlotte Sutton.
Matt Pettifor is Understudy William Shakespeare and Justice Ritchie is Understudy Christopher Marlowe.
Born With Teeth makes its West End premiere playing 11 weeks only at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre from Wednesday, August 13 to Saturday, November 1, 2025. Tickets here.
Top image: Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel – credit Johan Persson (image supplied)