Shakespeare Based Plays

William Shakespeare’s plays are an endless source of pleasure and scholarship, because they encompass so many facets of human nature. Many of them also leave us with a catalogue of unanswered questions. In Shylock’s Revenge, David Henry Wilson’s sequel to The Merchant of Venice, we find out what happened to Bassanio, Antonio, Gratiano, Portia and Shylock himself once the Venetians had taken over Belmont. In another Shakespeare sequel, Iago, The Villain of Venice, we see the notorious villain turning the tables on his captors after the death of Othello. In King Lear, the Fool disappears at the end of Act Three, and Lear’s Fool tells us what happened to him. It is often claimed that Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a basically noble hero driven on by his ambitious wife, but Wilson’s play The Tragedy of Lady Macbeth draws a very different picture. And the award-winning one-act comedy How to Avoid a Tragedy offers a happy ending to all four of the great tragedies. Shylock’s Revenge and Lady Macbeth are accompanied by essays detailing the textual basis of Wilson’s interpretations.

The following five Shakespeare derived plays can be downloaded where indicated. All other titles are available from:agency@hopecorner.net to whom all inquiries concerning professional or amateur performance rights should be addressed. All these plays are fully protected by copyright.
How To Avoid A Tragedy

A 30-minute, happy-ending romp through Shakespeare’s four great tragedies. (3m, 1f, winner of the Hydrae Prize 2003 and first produced at the Tabard Theatre, London.) “Very witty, light and entertaining” (Royal Shakespeare Company).


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Shylock’s Revenge

A full-length sequel to The Merchant of Venice (Shakespearian–sized cast, first produced at Hamburg University; staged reading at New End Theatre, London; private reading by Royal Shakespeare Company). With introductory essay.


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Iago, The Villain of Venice

A full-length sequel to Othello and Shylock’s Revenge (Shakespearian-sized cast.)


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Lear’s Fool

One-hour play, exploring one of Shakespeare’s most enigmatic characters. (4m, 1f, first produced together with The Tragedy of Lady Macbeth at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London.) “Rewriting Shakespeare requires a fair amount of courage, not to mention talent – both of which David Henry Wilson appears to possess in considerable amounts” (West End Extra).


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Lear’s Fool (Female Fool)

One-hour play, exploring one of Shakespeare’s most enigmatic characters. (4m, 1f, first produced together with The Tragedy of Lady Macbeth at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London.) “Rewriting Shakespeare requires a fair amount of courage, not to mention talent – both of which David Henry Wilson appears to possess in considerable amounts” (West End Extra).


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The Tragedy of Lady Macbeth (with introductory essay)

One-hour play, exploring one of Shakespeare’s most maligned characters. (A minimum of 4m, 2f, first produced at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London, together with Lear's Fool.) “Rewriting Shakespeare requires a fair amount of courage, not to mention talent – both of which David Henry Wilson appears to possess in considerable amounts” (West End Extra).


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