First look: Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel star in Born With Teeth
Published on 18 August 2025
Previews are underway for Liz Duffy Adams’ Born With Teeth at Wyndham’s Theatre, and with today’s release of production photos, audiences can finally get a glimpse of the charged world Marlowe (Ncuti Gatwa) and Shakespeare (Edward Bluemel) inhabit.
Directed by Daniel Evans, this biting two-hander imagines an unlikely secret meeting between Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare in the icy winter of 1591. Political danger, artistic rivalry and conspiratorial whispers swirl around them, while these literary giants size each other up in a battle of words. Think of a spy thriller, but with sonnets.
The production is co-produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Playful Productions and Elizabeth Williams, with a creative team that includes Joanna Scotcher (design), Neil Austin (lighting), George Dennis (sound), Andrzej Goulding (video), and Ira Mandela Siobhan (movement). Matt Pettifor and Justice Ritchie stand by as understudies.
Born With Teeth plays at the Wyndham’s Theatre until 1 November 2025.
