Mr. Shakespeare (Original writing, Play, Edmund Shakespeare)

Mr. Shakespeare is a full-length play that explores the life and theatrical career of William's youngest brother, Edmund (1580–1607). Written in prose as well as verse, the play spans a period of 23 years commencing in 1584 and ending on New Year's Eve in 1607, the year of Edmund's death. Set in Stratford and London, Mr. Shakespeare depicts the complex relationship between the amateur actor and his successful, yet conflicted, older brother.; Edmund is a young boy when his beloved brother leaves Stratford. When William decides to stay in London to pursue a career in the theatre, Edmund looks after Anne Shakespeare and his nieces and nephews. When Hamnet Shakespeare becomes ill, Edmund flees to London in hopes of reuniting father and son. William does not return immediately: a decision which haunts him for the rest of his life.; While in London, Edmund befriends an orphan, Clarence Borrows, who rings the bells in the tower at St. Saviour's Church in Southwark. As Clarence and Edmund develop a deep and lasting fraternal bond, William and Edmund's relationship becomes strained due to William's inner struggles. Edmund stays in London to pursue an acting career and is reunited with his childhood friend and love, June Winwood.; Edmund proves to be a talented actor and performs with several acting troupes. He successfully auditions for William's company, The King's Men. At the height of his career, William offers his brother the role of Macbeth, only for Edmund to decide to leave the theatre to fulfill his responsibilities to June and their son.; When Edmund and June's son dies, William relives the sadness of Hamnet's death. Four months later, Edmund dies. Saddened by the loss of his brother, William is unable to deliver a proper eulogy; instead, he arranges an extravagant funeral and pays twenty shillings for the tolling of the bells at St. Saviour's. As the funeral bells toll, Clarence delivers the final lines of the play—a poem which pays tribute to his friend and “brother” and challenges our definition of success.