Based on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. Adapted for the stage by Lee Hall with music by Paddy Cunneen. Directed by David Taylor.
Wednesday 19 – Saturday 22 and
Tuesday 25 – Saturday 29 March at 7.30pm.
Matinées on Saturdays 22 and 29 March at 3pm.
At the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington
Buy Tickets
Wednesday 19 March at 7.30pm
Thursday 20 March at 7.30pm
Friday 21 March at 7.30pm
Saturday 22 March at 3pm
Saturday 22 March at 7.30pm
Tuesday 25 March at 7.30pm
Wednesday 26 March at 7.30pm
Thursday 27 March at 7.30pm
Friday 28 March at 7.30pm
Saturday 29 March at 3pm
Saturday 29 March at 7.30pm
“I will have poetry in my life. And adventure. And love. Love above all”.
Penniless and indebted to two demanding producers, struggling young playwright William Shakespeare is tormented by writer’s block until he meets the beautiful Viola de Lesseps, daughter of a wealthy merchant, whose fiery passion for poetry and drama leaves her secretly longing to be an actor. Both are despondent when they learn that Viola’s father has promised her to the stuffy Lord Wessex in order to gain a title for their family. Under the veil of secrecy, Will and Viola’s passionate love affair becomes the basis of the very play he is writing – Romeo and Juliet. With opening night – and the wedding day – fast approaching, the plots race toward a parallel conclusion. Will it all work out in the end or are the two star-crossed lovers destined for tragedy?
Cast
VIOLA DE LESSEPS: Kizzy Parvin
WILL SHAKESPEARE: Christopher Edge
KIT MARLOWE: To be cast
FENNYMAN: Thomas Witcomb
HENSLOWE: Christopher Lloyd-James
BURBAGE: To be cast
MISTRESS QUICKLY: Rachel Berg
QUEEN ELIZABETH: Victoria Flint
EDMUND TILNEY: Daniel Watson
NURSE: Stephanie Irvine
SIR ROBERT DE LESSEPS: Steve Saxby
LORD WESSEX: Stephen Deaville
CATLING: Arthur Poole
BOATMAN: Andrew Robinson
MOLLY: Rachel Berg
KATE: Caroline Bock
RALPH / Nurse, Pretruchio: Arthur Poole
NOL / Benvolio,Sampson: Simon Brown
ROBIN / Lady Capulet: Ben Anadolu
ADAM / Gregory, Benvolio: Michael Hopkins
JOHN WEBSTER: Lucien Bornat
WARBASH: Andrew Robinson
NED ALLEYN / Mercutio: James Collins
Other parts played by members of the company
Creative Team
Director : David Taylor
Set Design : David Taylor
Costume Design : Kathleen Morrison & Jackie Robinson
Lighting Design : Stephen Ley
Stage Manager : Sarah Ambrose
Rehearsal Prompt : Tom Tillery
 Kizzy Parvin is a young actor from Kent, recently moved to London. She is currently studying at The University of Arts on a foundation majoring in Film with hopes to pursue a career both behind and in front of the camera as well as onstage. She has previously appeared back in Kent in amateur productions such as Legally Blonde as Paulette and Chicago as Roxie Hart. Shakespeare in Love is Kizzy’s debut performance at the Tower Theatre. |
 Christopher Edge is a producer, actor and lawyer. Shakespeare in Love is his first show at the Tower and he is delighted to be taking on the part of Will. Theatre credits include The Merchant of Venice and Equus. Radio credits include Macbeth: On Air. As a producer, he has a play opening at the Southwark Playhouse this summer and a number of projects in development. In a past life he was a corporate solicitor at a leading international law firm and he now provides legal consultancy services on the side. |
 At an early age, Caroline Bock (née Scott) was cast as a child actor on the stage in Ireland and toured in many productions, some favourites being Macbeth, Oliver! (both at the National Concert Hall, Dublin) and Madam Butterfly at the Grand Opera House in Belfast. She completed formal training at The Abbey, British Youth Music Theatre and Aspire. She has presented for Irish and British television and obtained an Honours Law Degree from Trinity College Dublin in 2012. She works for AXA IM in their Talent & Culture department. She thanks all those who are working very hard on this production in so many, often unseen ways. She invites you to check out her YouTube channel @caroline_bock where she presents on various topics including travel and Mayan history! |
 Christopher Lloyd-James joined the Tower Theatre in early 2024 and this is his second production following his Barnadine/Friar Peter in Measure for Measure. He also performed at the recent poetry evening. After a very long gap he started acting again seven years ago and had appeared in a play on the London Fringe and a number of short films and music videos. |
 Rachel Berg trained as a professional dancer and choreographer. Her dance career took her all over the world, with highlights including Sadlers Wells, Abbey Road Studios, York Minster, KoKo in Camden and the inside of a hot air balloon! Acting highlights have been Yvette from Allo Allo, Mrs Bedwin in Oliver, Gretel in Frankenstein, Miss Schneider (Zip) in Pal Joey and Catherine of Aragon in The Regina Monologues at the Gaiety Theatre Manx Festival, Isle of Man for which she received the Best Actress award. Her most recent show at the Tower was The Chimes where she played Mrs Feeder. |
 Victoria Flint is delighted to be back at the Tower after appearing as Vera in Pal Joey almost two years ago. Other favourite roles for the Tower include Sarah in Guys and Dolls, Yum Yum (Hot Mikado), April (Company), Rosalind (As You Like It), Hortense (The Boyfriend) and Gilda (Design for Living). She has also appeared in numerous shows across London including Joan in Dames at Sea (Cannizaro Park), Young Phyllis in Follies (Wimbledon Theatre), KT in Merrily We Roll Along (Bridewell) and has recently enjoyed her panto debut as the Fairy Godmother! |
 Daniel Watson was last seen on the Tower stage playing Major Magnus in The Real Inspector Hound. Other roles he has played for the Tower include Clarence and the Mayor in Richard III, Brian in Dead Funny, Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Montague in Romeo and Juliet, Lord Arlington in Nell Gwynn, Uriah Heep in David Copperfield, Teddy in The Homecoming, Grumio in The Taming of The Shrew, Ross in Macbeth, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Ramble in Lock Up Your Daughters, Fred in Fallen Angels, Canon Throbbing in Habeas Corpus and Oliver in As You Like It. Other favourite productions in which he has appeared include Lady Windermere’s Fan, Hard Times, Pygmalion and Dancing at Lughnasa. |
 Stephanie Irvine |
 Steve Saxby returned to acting only last year and has so far appeared in the Tower’s productions of Measure for Measure (Elbow), and The Chimes (Mr Feeder/Mr Chickenstalker), with the Acting Gymnasium in Twelfth Night (Sir Andrew), and with the Theatre Shakespeare Company in Cymbeline (Belarius/Jupiter). He is delighted to be performing in Shakespeare in Love after a love affair with the Bard in 2024 (seeing 31 productions, acting in three and reading the complete works during the year). |
 This is Stephen Deaville‘s second production for the Tower Theatre having appeared in Measure for Measure last year. Stephen also recently appeared as George Bailey in a stage adaptation of It’s A Wonderful Life and as Sir Robert Morton in The Winslow Boy at theatres in Hertfordshire. Past performances include Roland in Constellations, Larry in Closer and Lt George in Blackadder Goes Forth. |
 Ben Anadolu is a new member at the Tower and this is his first production as an actor. Given his age, looks and station in life, he is simply thrilled to be playing the part of Lady Capulet. However, he almost fell out with the director over the shade of lipstick she should be wearing and whether he should keep his beard. He originally wanted to play the part of Juliet but was told he was too old and too ugly for that. He’s gone into therapy. He’s trying to become a director also. He’s full of ideas, suggestions and theories about theatre but nobody listens to him. He’s looking forward to working with the Tower for many years to come. |
 Michael Hopkins is appearing in his first show at the Tower Theatre. He started out as a student actor, and has since been an active member of theatre groups in North and East London over many years, in roles as diverse as Polonius (Hamlet), Pastor Manders (Ghosts), Tim (Ten Times Table), Stephen Blackpool (Hard Times) and Chanticleer (The Canterbury Tales). Most recently he has appeared in – and occasionally written for – group-devised productions with the Park Theatre Company, Finsbury Park, and has acted in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Widows and The Crucible, as well as in new pieces from established playwrights Martin Murphy and Billie Esplen. |
 Shakespeare in Love is Andrew Robinson‘s second appearance with the Tower – he appeared in Crime and Punishment last year. He has previously been involved in over 90 productions since his first stage role at the age of 3. He has acted in Sheffield, Reading, Birmingham, Frankfurt and for the last 40 years in various London Theatres, most recently at Incognito in Barnet. Acting roles include Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Lear, Demetrius and Berowne; Ibsen’s Judge Brack and Solness, Sir in The Dresser and Squire Weston in Tom Jones. He has directed over thirty productions including La Ronde (twice), Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Woman Beware Woman and The Regina Monologues. He has written several original plays and adapted half a dozen more for performance. |
 Shakespeare in Love is James Collins’ first show for the Tower Theatre. He is excited to be returning to the world of acting after a hiatus of 6 years. A BA Acting graduate from Arts Educational Schools London, James has appeared in many plays – notably Cloten in Cymbeline, Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Michael in Immaculate, the Lawyer for the Defence in Machinal and Nick in What the Butler Saw. James has also appeared in several musicals and operas including Leo Bloom in The Producers, Rafe Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore, the Tenor Soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and chorus in Don Giovanni, Il Trovatore, Un Ballo in Maschera and L’Elisir D’Amore. James is an artistic director for New Tricks Theatre company, for which he was co author and director of the play Back to Where. |
 David Taylor‘s early years were spent tinkering with model theatres and doing school plays but his first directing job for the Tower Theatre (as a very young man) was The Boy Friend Pygmalion, Nicholas Nickleby, My Night With Reg, As You Like It and Lark Rise, and favourite musicals include Mr Cinders, West Side Story, On The Town, Blitz, Valmouth, Sail Away, Guys and Dolls and The Producers. which won the Minack Theatre trophy for the best production of the season in 2014. In 2016, he led the Tower’s team in their co-production with the RSC of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – A Play for the Nation, which was presented at the Barbican Theatre in London and the RSC theatre in Stratford. His most recent production was Pal Joey. |