Jac Alder and Evan Scott at a reading of The Lady Revealed at Theatre 3 in Dallas, Texas.
The Lady Revealed
The Lady Revealed sprang from my research for the Eternal Romeo and Juliet. I wanted to know what the relationship was between Juliet and the Dark Lady of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. It was not long before I encountered the work of Oxford historian A.L. Rowse who re-discovered the first woman not of noble birth to publish a complete book of poetry in the English language and who was a contemporary of Shakespeare. While no one will ever know for certain if Emilia Bassano Lanier was the model for Juliet or the Dark Lady, Rowse’s Faustian adventure and its aftermath make for a fascinating experience.
3 Females
5 Males
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Philip Payton, author of A. L. Rowse and Cornwall: A Paradoxical Patriot: “Magnificent! ALR and Phyllis are exceptionally true to life...and the play's construction is a masterpiece of plotting.”
Sydney Cauveren, author of A. L. Rowse, A Bibliophile's Extensive Bibliography: “The play is accurate, factual, intellectual yet intriguing. It has a good flavour of the essentials of the subject... Somewhere in there, the audience picks up (as I did) that undoubtedly SHE (Emilia) IS THE DARK LADY!”
Robin Briggs, Emeritus Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford University: “(The play) has given me a lot of pleasure. I really like (the) overall framework, which creates some ingenious ways of telling the story, with those overlapping time sequences and flashbacks...When Rowse speaks, his tone of voice is splendidly credible to one who knew him.”
John Hudson, Director, The Dark Lady Players, and author of Shakespeare’s Dark Lady: “I like the play. Of course, I am biased because I think (for my own reasons) that this little bit of history is very important. So, I am glad you are dramatizing it ... hopefully it will get it better known.”
David Bevington, editor, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, and author, Murder Most Foul: Hamlet Through the Ages: "Highly theatrical. Indeed, your play is as delightful as the critics say. Great dialogue!... Thanks for letting me read it!"
Peter Bassano, descendant of the Lady's family, Conductor, FRCM, Hon RCM: "I enjoyed The Lady Revealed very much and can see that you've done your research on ALR... Your Dark Lady looks great."
Barbara Hosking, CBE: “I was caught up in the narrative and the Cornish atmosphere which enveloped it. I was unprepared for my reaction to a deeply moving account of an extraordinary man. I laughed at his wit and wept at his sadness. The Celtic soul is dark and contradictory, and Andrew Harris showed that Rowse had it all, while [the actor] made me forget it was a reading. I was in the presence of a great Cornishman…”
Derek Williams, The Cornish Banner: “Fascinating. It should transfer well to the stage.”
Raleigh Trevelyan, author, Sir Walter Raleigh and The Fortress: “Your play deserves a wide audience.”
Roald Hoffmann, Nobel Laureate: “I loved the play … The best thing is … that the play made me go back and read the Sonnets.”
The company of The Eternal Romeo and Juliet at University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.
The Eternal Romeo & Juliet
Shakespeare’s well-known tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, is part of a larger dramatic continuum that includes a Golden Age Spanish play written by Lope de Vega as well as the original novel written by Luigi Da Porto. This version of the story places the two plays side-by-side so that the author of the original Italian novel can plead for relief before a heavenly Court made up of the Eternal Muses.
4 Females with doubling
7 Males with doubling
Selected by Frontline Productions for inclusion in Pastime with Good Company at the Rose Theatre, London’s first bankside theatre founded in 1587. Graham Christopher, Director.
McKinney Repertory Theatre, Courtroom Theater, McKinney Performing Arts Center. Wes Bourland, Director.
The company of McKinney Repertory Theatre in McKinney, Texas.
A Christmas Carol
A one-hour adaptation, (traditional carols are included), of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
This adaptation can be performed twice in one afternoon.
12 Females with doubling
12 Males with doubling (6 minor)
3 gender neutral roles
Ed Landwehr as Tar-tuff in Texas Christian University’s production in Fort Worth, Texas.
Tar-Tuff
Tartuffe by Molière appears in almost every college-level drama anthology. Being at Texas Christian University in the late 1980s, I transformed the title character Tartuffe into Tar-tuff and made him a modern-day televangelist.
6 Females (1 minor)
6 Males (2 minor)
The plays featured on this page are featured in the compilation Four Plays by Andrew. B. Harris.