'"O, Jesus bless us, he is born with teeth!"
And so was I, which plainly signified
That I should snarl and bite, play the dog.'
Henry VI, Part 3

Christopher Marlowe - rockstar of Elizabethan theatre and notorious spy for the Crown - danger and seduction combined. William Shakespeare - jobbing actor and promising young playwright - dazzled by Marlowe, but with ambitions of his own.

When the pair meet in the backroom of a pub to collaborate on a cycle of history plays, tensions rise as they navigate the perils of art under an oppressive regime, and flirt like young men with everything to lose...

An explosively entertaining duel of wits, words and powerplay, Liz Duffy Adams's Born With Teeth is a playful and daring imagining of the relationship between two literary icons. The play was first performed in Houston, Texas, in 2022, where it won several major awards. In 2025, it received its European premiere at Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End, produced by Playful Productions, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Grain of Sand Productions, directed by RSC Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans, and starring Ncuti Gatwa as Kit and Edward Bluemel as Will.

About the Author

Liz Duffy Adams is an award-winning American playwright whose other plays include Or,; Dog Act; The Salonnieres; A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World and The Broken Machine.

Reviews

'Adams writes not with a pen so much as a razor blade, and the play cuts to the bone as Kit and Will trade barbs, ambitions and, ultimately, places in a history play that rewrites our understanding of these two figures'

* Star Tribune *



Book Information
ISBN 9781839045042
Author Liz Duffy Adams
Format Paperback
Page Count 80
Imprint Nick Hern Books
Publisher Nick Hern Books