Tells the wild story of young William Shakespeare's arrival onto the punk-rock theater scene in 16th-century London: the seductive, violent world in which his raw talent faced rioting audiences, religious fanatics, and raucous sideshows. It's described as a contemporary version of Shakespeare's life, played to a modern soundtrack that exposes all his recklessness, lustful temptations, and brilliance. Attracted to Will's naive genius is Alice Burbage, the talented, beautiful, rebellious daughter of James Burbage, the carpenter with a vision to build the first theater in London since Roman times. Despite being an impresario's daughter, Alice is forbidden by society from pursuing a career in the theatre. Her brother Richard Burbage is innately talented, but too much in love with himself and prone to overact. A chance encounter at the theatre leads him to team up with Will in what would soon become the greatest actor-writer partnership the world has ever seen. Rounding out Will's cast of characters are playwright, poet, and rival Christopher Marlowe and wealthy, notorious Catholic-hunter Richard Topcliffe.

• Plot Summary

• william-shakespeare-character
• christopher-marlowe-character
• playwright
• 16th-century
• timeframe-1580s
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• Drama

• Germany:12 (self-applied)
• United States:TV-MA (self-applied)