Dark Lady

"Dark Lady is a powerful, passionate portrayal of two emotionally charged artistic geniuses who meet by chance, love ever briefly, and then are forced apart…" said one critic of its premiere performance. Variety concurred—"stunning repartee…seethes sexuality…riveting"—and described the play's premise "that Shakespeare's 'dark lady of the sonnets' was Italian musician and poetess Emilia Bassano (1569-1645), mistress to England's Lord Chamberlain." Set in plague-wracked London, the play offers rich supporting roles that bubble with earthy humor: the gorgeous aristocrat Hal; the wry earth-mother Dora; the shrewd, craggy Lord Chamberlain; the flamboyant actor Burbage; and the cocky, fierce barmaid Lindy. The play was acclaimed in its Danish premiere, was presented by Ireland's Abbey Theatre, and is optioned for film. A New York Villager critic asserted "Dark Lady will be acknowledged a masterpiece—if I have the slightest gift for theatre prophecy."