The Beard of Avon

Amy Freed’s comedy tackles the question of who really wrote the plays we know as Shakespeare’s – after all, in her version of events, Will was a minor character actor (or, perhaps, just a spear carrier) with great theatrical ambitions. Jessica Burgess directs the Potomac Region premiere of The Beard of Avon.

Will Shakespeare is a country simpleton who longs for something more than his filthy barn in Stratford. He escapes with an acting troop only to find himself a pawn of his acting company who abuses him and the Earl of Oxford who uses him as a front man for his previously unproducible plays.