HOUSTON, TX—Tony Award®-winning Alley Theatre is honored to announce Liz Duffy Adams’ critically acclaimed steamy drama Born with Teeth, a dramatization of Shakespeare and Marlowe’s writing collaboration, will make its European premiere in a West End, produced by Playful Productions, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Elizabeth Williams.
RSC Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans directs Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who, Sex Education) as Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe and Edward Bluemel (Killing Eve, My Lady Jane) as William ‘Will’ Shakespeare.
Performances begin August 13, 2025, for an 11-week limited run at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre.
Born with Teeth, directed by Alley Theatre Artistic Director Rob Melrose, had its world premiere at Alley Theatre on May 11, 2022. It featured Dylan Godwin as Will and Matthew Amendt as Kit and ran through June 5, 2022. It was developed as a reading in the Alley All New Festival in 2019.
“Having a play that Alley Theatre developed and premiered receive a West End production in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company is a tremendous achievement,” shares Melrose. “I am so proud of my longtime collaborator, Liz Duffy Adams, for this career-defining moment, as well as Alley Theatre and every single artist, designer, and staff member who helped make it a success! I’m also grateful to Guthrie Theater, Asolo Repertory Theatre, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival for keeping Born with Teeth‘s momentum going by producing our production of the play in their seasons. Today is a very exciting day for all of us.”
ABOUT ALLEY THEATRE:
Alley Theatre, one of America’s leading nonprofit theatres, is a nationally recognized performing arts company led by Artistic Director Rob Melrose and Managing Director Dean R. Gladden. The Alley is committed to developing and producing theatre that is as diverse as the Houston community. The Alley produces up to 11 plays and nearly 400 performances each season, ranging from the best current work and classic plays to new plays by contemporary writers. Home to a full-time resident company of actors and expert artisans in all theatre crafts, the Alley engages theatre artists of every discipline – actors, directors, designers, composer, playwrights – who work on individual productions throughout each season as visiting artists.
Alley Theatre performs at the Meredith J. Long Theatre Center which is comprised of two state-of-the-art theatres: the 774-seat Hubbard Theatre and the 296-seat Neuhaus Theatre. The Alley reaches over 200,000 people each year through its performance, education, and community engagement programs.