It takes place in an alternate history in 17th Century England where Robert Cecil commissions William Shakespeare (referred to as Shagspeare) to write an official history play about the Gunpowder Plot to assassinate King James I. London.
Sir Robert Cecil has called for Master William Shagspeare (Shag for short) to commission a play for King James.
After reading what it is he should write about, Shag quickly rejects the offer, but is overpowered by Cecil and is forced to take the commission.
Shag breaks up the argument and tells them how Cecil called upon him, and how he has been commissioned to write a true history of the Gunpowder Plot.
Shag tells them he's wary, since current events have never been done on the stage, but his actors claim he's "the man for the job".
While Shag changes off stage, Judith gives a soliloquy to the audience about how she hates both plays and soliloquies.
Nate and Armin mention how they don't understand how thirteen gentlemen could go about digging a tunnel under Parliament without getting caught, which gets Shag thinking.
Catesby tells Wintour how Cecil gave him the gunpowder, supposedly for a military expedition on the continent.
As in Ashland, it was directed by Bill Rauch with Anthony Heald, Christine Albright, Jonathan Haugen, Richard Elmore, John Tufts and Gregory Linington.
It was directed by Peter Hamilton and performed by Andrew Foster, Paul McLaughlin, Tom Eason, Jason Whyte, Gavin Rutherford and Tai Berdinner-Blades.
[4][5] It has also been produced at Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival in Vancouver, Canada – being performed for a fixed run from July 2, 2014 to September 27, 2014.
The play was part of the 2014 season at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, California, with Ted Barton, Alan Blumenfeld, Dane Oliver, Franc Ross, Taylor Jackson Ross, and Paul Turbiak in Mike Peebler's production hailed by the Los Angeles Times as a "Critics' Choice.
"[6] The play was produced as part of the 2015 season at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, directed by Paul Mullins.
Cast included James Michael Reilly (Shag), Rob Krakovski (Richard/Garnet), Kevin Isola (Armin and others), Matthew Stucky (Sharpe/Tom Wintour/James), Dominic Comperatore (Nate/Cecil), and Therese Barbato (Judith).
[7] The play was produced by the Atlanta Shakespeare Company on April 23-May 8, 2016 as part of its 2015-16 season with Artistic Director Jeff Watkins taking the role of William Shagspeare.