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Shakespeare’s relationship with the Earl of Southampton has been the centre of much debate. Was he perhaps Shakespeare’s lover?

The Bard continues to be questioned about their relationship.

Shakespeare dedicated his poems The Rape of Lucrece and Venus and Adonis to Southampton and it has been suggested that Southampton is the fair youth of the Sonnets.

Nick Dear’s stage play was written for the Nuffield Theatre in Southampton in 2016 – a year dedicated to the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. It was written to commemorate both Nick’s and Shakespeare’s connection with Southampton. Nick Dear grew up in the city.

Nick plays with three possibilities that may or may not explain an important period of Shakespeare’s life, sometimes referred to as The Lost Years, giving the audience the opportunity to make up their own minds.

Much more is known about the Earl of Southampton than about William Shakespeare. It’s entirely possible that they never met, but it is equally possible they were lovers. No-one knows.

Dear puts Shakespeare on trial, where he is questioned about his relationship with the gay, cross dressing Earl of Southampton. It is set in Elizabethan England and it is a play of intrigue, sex, politics and power.

Concluded by Nick Dear.

William Shakespeare .... Alfred Enoch
Harry, Earl of Southampton .... Tom Glenister
Lord Chief Justice .... Sam Dale
Other roles played by:
Nick Armfield, Tallulah Bond, Declan Mason and Finlay Paul

Sound Designer: Lucinda Mason Brown

Director: Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for Â鶹Éç Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2021.

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