Globe premiere

Men, who forgetting they were born of women, nourished of women, and if they were not of the means of women, they would be quite extinguished out of the world, and a final end of them all.

Often positioned as Shakespeare's muse, The Dark Lady of the Sonnets finally gets the chance to tell her side of the story in this specially written play by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm for the Summer 2018 Season at the Globe. Far more than just inspiration to the men around her, the spirited Emilia Bassano was not only a real woman, but one of the first in the country to publish, and profit from, her own poetry.

In addition to the Sonnets, Emilia is believed to be woven throughout a number of Shakespeare's plays, including Othello, The Two Noble Kinsmen and Love's Labour's Lost. But who was she? In some cases we know lots about her life through her letters and works, but in others Lloyd Malcolm has created a new narrative, letting us make up our minds about her away from the male gaze.

The all female cast will be led by Wolf Fall's Charity Wakefield as William Shakespeare, opposite Leah Harvey, Clare Perkins and Vinette Robinson sharing the role of Emilia.