SHAKESPEARE COUNTRY

by Whelan, Peter

The play is set on Midsummer’s Eve in present day Stratford upon Avon. American Country and Western singer Billy Shake has arrived in town looking for the connection which will authenticate his claim to being the true descendant of William Shakespeare, but having gambled away all his money en route, he relies on the good nature of those whose paths he crosses to help him locate Shakespeare’s famed oak tree and the proof he seeks - two leading actors from the current RSC production who are set to be married the following day but each harbouring doubts; a Japanese businessman from a pharmaceutical company test-marketing a new “feel-good” tablet; a New-Age traveller and a host of other odd and unusual characters who all conspire in one way or another to make it an evening to remember. When the tablets mischievously end up in the wrong hands, the scene is set for confusion and mistaken identities in this fast-paced comedy of reconciliation, a modern-day updating of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.