Will Shakespeare's life is going badly. His love life is a shambles,
he's always short of money, and worst of all, he has writer's block.
He's supposed to be nearly finished his newest play, "Romeo and
Ethel the Sea Pirate's Daughter", but in fact he hasn't written a
line. At a sham audition for the play, he admires a new actor,
Thomas Kent, who suddenly runs away. Soon Shakespeare meets Viola de
Lesseps, who lives in the same stately home as Thomas; it's love at
first sight and he's inspired to begin writing the play. But by the
time he realizes that Thomas is Viola in disguise, she's promised in
marriage to a lord which means that Queen Elizabeth herself expects
the marriage to happen. But Will and Viola find their attraction too
strong to resist; they risk the wrath of her fiance with a
clandestine affair, and of the law against women on stage by having
"Thomas" play Romeo. No wonder he ends up changing the play into a
tragedy...

Summary written by Anonymous


Romantic comedy set in London in the late 16th century: Young
playwright William Shakespeare struggles with his latest work "Romeo
and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter". A great fan of Shakespeare's plays
is young, wealthy Viola who is about to be married to the cold-
hearted Lord Wessex, but constantly dreams of becoming an actress.
Women were not allowed to act on stage at that time (female roles
were played by men, too), but dressed up as a boy, Viola successfully
auditions for the part of Romeo. Soon she and William are caught in a
forbidden romance that provides rich inspiration for his play.

Summary written by Armin Ortmann {[e-mail]}


La storia, un po realta e molta fantasia, ci riporta indietro ai tempi
in cui William Shakespeare, dopo aver scritto il "Tito Andronico", e
in crisi di ispirazione. Fra l'altro, e afflitto anche da problemi
finanziari e sentimentali. Il grande William si muove in strade buie e
sporche di una Londra del 1593, in cerca di compagnia femminile e di
soldi da scroccare. Ha promesso a due produttori lo stesso dramma
("Romeo ed Ethel, la figlia del pirata"); ma Cristopher Marlowe, poeta
molto in voga, gliconsiglia invece di parlare di due innamorati che
non possono amarsi a causa delle loro famiglie: nasce cosi "Romeo e
Giulietta"! Alla finzione teatrale, si unisce quella reale, quando
Shakespeare conosce Viola de Lesseps, ricca ed affascinante promessa
sposa di un nobile. Per i due e il colpo di fulmine! Si amano alla
follia e lei e disposta anche a travestirsi da uomo pur di recitare in
teatro affianco all'uomo che ama. Alla fine, l'opera andra in scena
con enorme successo, ma la ragazza dovra sposare il nobile e partire
con lui per le Americhe.

Summary written by rosebud6