Ask Shakespeare #1
Did You Write the Plays?
Unlike in your time, no one person is responsible for creating both the characters and plot of a play. We are a theatre company. All contribute.
All columns · September 2024 newsletter
The Question
Did you write the plays?
Shakespeare Answers
Unlike in your time, no one person is responsible for creating both the characters and plot of a play. We are a theatre company. All contribute. The process is that one person has an idea for a play, and others add, perhaps a whole scene, as their characters develop (good examples are the players playing Fools.) When the audience responds, we keep those lines and scenes. It all evolves together and shapes the play. Of the few plays you have today my ideas and my contributions are major in many, and more minor in others.