Shakespeare’s Fool

Shakespeare’s Fool is a captivating one-actor show that tells the story of Elizabethan superstar, Will Kempe, and sheds light on his part in Shakespeare’s success.

Will ‘Cavaliero’ Kempe was one of the finest performers of the Elizabethan age. Gentleman player, juggling jester, headmaster of Morris dancers and London’s finest clown, until…he fell out with Will ‘git-face’ Shakespeare.  After he left the the Chamberlain’s Men in early 1599, Kempe continued his career as a performer. In February and March 1600, he undertook what he would later call his “Nine Days Wonder”, in which he morris danced from London to Norwich (a distance of about 110 miles or 177 km) in a journey which took him nine days spread over several weeks, often amid cheering crowds.

It has had two successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and has been a part of two International Shakespeare Festivals with sell-out shows across the UK at major UK venues and rural touring schemes.

Booking opens mid-October 2023.