Ncuti Gatwa & Edward Bluemel’s Born With Teeth: How To Get Tickets

Man vs man, playwright vs playwright: Liz Duffy Adams imagines a clash between Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare in Born With Teeth, which is set to make its West End debut for a limited 11 week run this summer reuniting Sex Education stars Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel. Here’s how to get tickets.

Born With Teeth: Plot, Cast, Tickets & More

Directed by RSC co-artistic director, Daniel Evans, the West End debut of Liz Duffy Adams’ new play comes after initial performances in the States, but this is the UK – and European – premiere. ‘It is rare in my many years as a West End and Broadway producer to read a play like Liz Duffy Adams’ Born With Teeth which, from the first sentence, thrills,’ says Elizabeth Williams, the production’s producer for Playful Productions. ‘Our playwright seems to have channeled directly from the 1590s this story of the intersection of the contemporary lives of these two great poets, Marlowe and Shakespeare, and it is brilliant in conception and ferociously sexy.’

What Is Born With Teeth About?

Born With Teeth imagines the relationship between William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, two literary icons at odds with their time.

The synopsis reads as follows:

Winter 1591.

It is a dangerous time for artists: the country is full of conspiracy and paranoia.

In the backroom of a pub, writing sensations Kit Marlowe and Will Shakespeare are forced together in a creative union. Alone, with the table as their stage and battlefield, they sharpen their pens – and let their genius fly.

Across three secret meetings, the rivals duel and flirt like their lives depend on it – and with spies everywhere, betrayal is so tempting.

The Cast

Born With Teeth, will star Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel as Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare respectively.

‘I’m so excited to be joining Born With Teeth alongside the amazing Edward Bluemel,’ Gatwa says. ‘Liz Duffy Adams has written an exceptional play that is smart, dark, sexy, sharp and funny! There’s a lot to get one’s teeth into. This is like no version of Shakespeare and Marlowe that I’ve ever seen before, and I can’t wait for audiences to join us for the ride.’

‘I feel incredibly proud and excited to be working with Ncuti Gatwa and Daniel Evans on the European premiere of Born With Teeth,’ Bluemel adds. ‘To be stepping into the shoes of a young William Shakespeare is a huge thrill for any actor and I can’t wait to get started.

‘When I read Liz Duffy Adams’ script, I was instantly drawn into the high-stakes world of these two rival playwrights and the incredible, creative chemistry they share,’ Bluemel says. ‘There’s a real freshness and vitality to Liz’s writing that speaks directly to our world, and I can’t wait for West End audiences to experience it for the first time.’

When & Where?

Born With Teeth will open on 13 August 2025 at Wyndham’s Theatre (Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0DA) and run for 11 weeks until 1 November 2025.

How To Get Tickets

Tickets for Born With Teeth will go on sale to the public at 10am on Wednesday 16 April 2025, with 2,000 tickets available for £10 for young people aged 16 to 25. Book at rsc.org.uk/born-with-teeth