“Is the play good?”
“It’s not fair to ask me yet, Will. It looks very well on paper, but we won’t know if it’s a good play until our players play it . . .”
Stratford Boys is a riotous romp through Stratford, England, at the time when sixteen-year-old William Shakespeare takes on the challenge of a lifetime. A glover’s son, Will has never before put pen to paper. But the good people of Stratford require a play, and Will has an idea . . .
Adaptation turns to something new – farcical and funny – as Will finds parts for his motley selection of friends and neighbours. There are schoolboys who refuse to wear skirts; Wat, the plasterer with a chip on his sholder and many others. Thank goodness for trusty Adrian – a friend and director whose belief in their endeavours stands firm.
William Shakespeare as boy and novice playwright is brought vividly to life in this very funny novel. And the question of what it means to write a play; to create parts and bring words to life, is answered . . .