Let’s get one thing out of the way: this isn’t your high school English class’s Shakespeare. There’s no droning sonnet reading, no dusty ruff-wearing lectures, and certainly no time for polite tea. This is Born with Teeth—Liz Duffy Adams’ electric new West End play about literary titans Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare, brought to life by Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel with all the heat, tension, and poetic chaos one could ever hope for.
Described by Gatwa as a “horny Elizabethan drama”—and really, when Doctor Who calls something “horny,” you listen. Born with Teeth imagines what happens when two brilliant, brooding wordsmiths circle each other in a dangerous game of creative rivalry, sexual tension, and 16th-century sass. Gatwa plays the 27-year-old Marlowe: swaggering, brilliant, and very much a man of his time, while Bluemel takes on a rising star Shakespeare, still sharpening his quill and possibly developing a bit of a fixation on his literary rival.
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The pair, who previously appeared together on Sex Education, are reuniting on stage for this 11-week limited engagement at the Wyndham’s Theatre, starting August 13 through November 1. And based on the behind-the-scenes rehearsal photos released by the Royal Shakespeare Company, we can confidently say: the chemistry? Absolutely off the charts. Like, someone open a window, it’s steamy in here.
In an interview with The Guardian, Gatwa shares that “It starts fast, and they’re deep into each other’s lives, unpicking each other.” He continues, “When we first read the play there was a lift-off, it’s so human – their attraction to each other, their jealousy and insecurities.” Which sounds suspiciously like the most chaotic enemies-to-lovers fanfic of all time… only, you know, in iambic pentameter.
@thegnshow “wash your hands you detty pig!” #thegrahamnortonshow #grahamnorton #ncutigatwa #catchphrases #doctorwho
♬ original sound – The Graham Norton Show – The Graham Norton Show
The show isn’t just about poetic flirtation, though. It’s also a refreshing return to the stage for both actors, who’ve spent the last few years lighting up TV screens and streaming queues. For theatre lovers and longtime fans of both Gatwa and Bluemel, this marks a kind of homecoming: two stage-trained actors diving into sharp, seductive dialogue and a story that’s part historical fiction, part fever dream.
And really, who wouldn’t want to see Shakespeare and Marlowe in a seductive, intellectual duel directed by Royal Shakespeare Company co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans? It’s giving bard-on-bard tension. It’s giving forbidden glances across candlelit pages. It’s giving “write that down, that’s hot” in Elizabethan verse.
With only 11 weeks to catch this theatrical treat, expect the Wyndham’s to be buzzing with fans of classic literature, theatre buffs, and anyone who simply enjoys seeing two men in tight trousers and artistic turmoil. It’s sexy, it’s smart, and it promises to be one of the West End’s most deliciously daring productions of the year.
So brush up your Shakespeare, charge your Oyster card, and prepare yourself for a play that delivers more than just poetry. Born with Teeth might just sink its teeth into you—and you’ll be grinning the whole time.
You can book your tickets HERE.
REFERENCES: The Guardian, Playbill