2001 Season - Genesius Guild

Shaw: "The Dark Lady of the Sonnets"

A one-act comedy by George Bernard Shaw, written as an argument for establishing a national theatre in Great Britain.

There are four characters:

The Man, later identified as William Shakespeare.

The Beefeater, guarding the royal palace.

Queen Elizabeth, who steps out for some night air in her nightgown.

The Dark Lady, one of Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting.

The action is confined to an exterior walk of the palace, where Shakespeare is supposed to meet his Dark Lady. When the Queen discovers him, he is unabashed; when the Dark Lady attacks the Queen (thinking her another lady of the court) in a jealous fit, Shakespeare's identity is revealed. All ends pleasantly.