Wyndham's Theatre

A battle of wits with Born With Teeth play tickets

“Oh Jesus bless us, he is born with teeth!” Henry VI, Part 3

Prepare for a ferocious theatrical encounter as the provocative and exhilarating Born With Teeth play makes its West End debut at Wyndham’s Theatre for a strictly limited season this year. Starring Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa as Kit Marlowe and Edward Bluemel (Killing Eve) as William Shakespeare, this critically acclaimed two-hander is a whip-smart, blistering blend of historical drama, intellectual warfare, and magnetic tension. 

London, 1591. Suspicion lurks behind every corner, plague lingers in the gutter, and spies are everywhere. Against this backdrop of uncertainty, two young playwrights meet in secret. One is confident, swaggering and already notorious Christopher Marlowe. The other is a quiet, fiercely intelligent newcomer to London… William Shakespeare.

Originally teaming up to collaborate on the Henry VI plays, their writing sessions soon transform into something far more volatile. Over three clandestine meetings, rivalry and attraction collide. Every joke hides a jab, and genius clashes with paranoia in a seductive game of power and survival. Will one be the death of the other?

Directed by Olivier Award winner and Royal Shakespeare Company co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans, Born With Teeth stars Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who, Sex Education) as the magnetic Marlowe and Edward Bluemel (Killing Eve, My Lady Jane) as Shakespeare. The chemistry between them is set to be blisteringly good, with the duo bringing audiences a thrilling, high-stakes sparring match full of subtext and surprises.

American playwright Liz Duffy Adams’ Born With Teeth play premiered at Houston’s Alley Theatre in 2022, where critics called it a fantastic “queer Elizabethan drama” (Austin Chronicle) that is “wonderfully funny, sexy and suspenseful” (Mercury News). This bold love letter to two of the most famous playwrights of all time peels back the pomp and lets us see the men behind the quills in a “trim, tight, electric production” (Broadway World). 

Seduction, self-destruction and sizzling chemistry make this two-hander a must-see in the West End. Book your Born With Teeth play tickets now for a glimpse behind the curtain!

Child friendly?

The Born With Teeth play age rating is to be confirmed.