It’s nearly Christmas, and Will Shakespeare, haunted by writer’s block and the ghost of Christopher Marlowe, has 12 days to create the perfect holiday play for Her Majesty the Queen. With the deadline looming, we’re treated to mistaken identity, a love triangle, and plenty of sexual innuendo as a rousing band of misfit thespians stop at nothing to ensure the show will go on! Featuring laugh-out-loud parodies of your favorite Christmas melodies, this fun holiday romp is a merry, irreverent send-up that mashes Twelfth Night, Richard III, and A Christmas Carol with historical inaccuracies and slanderous fabrications into an Elizabethan pudding that serves everyone!
SYNOPSIS
Synopsis
Will Shakespeare and his trusty leading man, Dicky Burbage, are sitting in the cold and empty Theatre on Christmas Eve, 1593. Things look rather grim: Will’s friend and fellow playwright Christopher Marlowe is dead, to begin with. The Great Theatre is facing imminent closure as the plague rages through London, having shut down Richard III while the show was still in the red. Despondency reigns...
...until a mislaid invitation from good Queen Bess to perform at Whitehall Palace on Twelfth Night presents itself as the golden ticket to solvency and Royal Patronage. With less than a fortnight to pen a masterpiece worthy of Her Majesty, the Bard faces his greatest enemy: writer's block. Will’s quill had been limp for months, but the sudden appearance of Marlowe’s ghost arouses his creative urge once again. Marlowe claims he faked his own death to escape a plot by the Puritans to assassinate him because of his decadent plays. Will refuses to believe Marlowe’s appearance is anything more than a hallucination brought on by a bit of undigested beef. But the visit inspires Will to begin writing a new play featuring spirits who, late one Christmas Eve, attempt to save the soul of their murderer, Richard III… with song and dance.
With just twelve days to write and rehearse ‘Richard’s Revels’, Shakespeare and company travel to Whitehall where they quickly find themselves enmeshed in the high stakes passion and politics of the Elizabethan court. Parliament is threatening a government shutdown unless Her Majesty pays off her massive loans, but the randy Queen is more interested in the arrival of the players, and it's clearly another kind of entertainment she seeks.
The fanatically religious Lord Mayor of London brokers a deal with his fellow Puritan Sir Christopher Hatton, the queen’s High Steward: if Her Majesty agrees to shut down the sinful theatres of London for good, her credit will be extended.
Underneath Hatton’s Puritanical veneer, however, rages a carnal desire for his virgin Queen. Too tongue-tied to act on his feelings, he asks Charlie, a young actor, to woo Her Majesty on his behalf. The Queen, however, has ideas of her own, and Charlie-— who of course is really Charlene, a young woman in disguise— soon finds him/herself in over his/her head, evading the queen’s lusty advances. Meanwhile, the Queen's cousin, the inebriated Baron of Bollox, and his foppish friend Lord Eddie de Vere, conspire with the actors to confound the vain Hatton and save the Theatre.
Their plan is simple: during a masquerade dance that follows the performance of the new play (which is absolutely dreadful), the Queen is tricked into inviting the masked Hatton back to her room, thinking he is Lord Eddie. Once Hatton reveals himself and his presumptuous passion for the Queen, Her Majesty will no doubt toss him in the Tower!
Charlie, torn by her allegiance to Will and her newfound love of Hatton, hatches a secret plan of her own, which includes taking the Queen’s place in the royal bed to seduce the inexperienced steward.
When Hatton realizes he has spent the night with Charlie, Marlowe materializes to help him come to terms with his sexual confusion and reconcile his heart with his head. After the disastrous performance of ‘Richard’s Revels,’ Will decides to pack it in and retire to the countryside. As Shakespeare and company make their final exit, the Lord Mayor enters, brandishing the Actors’ Expulsion Act, the final nail in the coffin of English theatre. All that is required to push it through parliament is Hatton’s signature. What will Hatton do when Charlie reveals herself to be a woman? How will the theatre survive? Is Marlowe really dead? And who the Dickens is Charlie? Everything comes together in a hysterical climax, promising this to be a Twelfth Night to remember!
QUOTE
An ingenious new comedy.
–The Seattle Times
More Info
Characters:
Will – William Shakespeare, a jaded playwright from Warwickshire.
Richard – Richard Burbage, leading man of Shakespeare’s troupe. *Strong singer.
Marlowe – Christopher Marlowe. Playwright, spy, atheist. Possibly dead.
Hatton – Christopher Hatton. Queen Elizabeth’s High Steward. A Puritan.
Elizabeth – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I.
Bollox – Henry Carey, Earl of Hunsdon and Baron Bollox. Cousin to Elizabeth I.
Charlie – Young boy actor— actually a young woman, Charlotte. *Strong singer.
Lou – Another young male actor.
Eddie – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. Bollox's drinking buddy.
Aloysius – Old and decrepit actor.
Lord Mayor – Puritanical head of coalition seeking to increase bureaucratic power by denying the Queen money.
Mr. Tosspot – Social worker soliciting for a charity.
Mr. Stench – Another social worker soliciting for a charity.
*Casting Note: Holiday of Errors was originally performed with ten actors. With less doubling the cast can be bigger, and with more doubling it can be smaller.
Although music is used frequently throughout, no special requirements for vocal range is needed. The songs are simple and can easily be sung in various keys as desired. Most of the cast is required to sing as a group, but in general only Richard and Charlie need to sing well.
Setting: The “Theatre” in London and various rooms in the Palace of Whitehall.
- Up High in the Tower
- I Stabbed Your Dad on Christmas Day
- We're Two Princes
- England, England
- Wedding Bells
- God Curse Ye, Vile Catholics
- The Twelfth Night of Christmas
Performance Royalties for AMATEUR and EDUCATIONAL Groups, please fill out an application for your personalized quote.
Performance Royalties for PROFESSIONAL Theaters will be quoted as a box office percentage, with a minimum guarantee based on ticket prices and theater particulars. Please fill out an application for your personalized quote.
Authorized Materials must be purchased from Stage Rights as a part of your licensing agreement (see Materials).
Billing responsibilities, pertinent copyright information, and playwrights' biographies are available in the show rider that comes with your license agreement.
“Another palpable hit for Sound Theatre Company as well as a charming addition to the holiday show genre. Everyone tries to create the holiday alternative show and Lawler and Flint have come up with one that has the potential to become a staple, not just here but all over the country.” –Jay Irwin, BroadwayWorld.com
“Holiday of Errors (or, Much Ado About Stockings) is [a new] star in Seattle’s holiday-theater constellation.” –Brendan Kiley, The Stranger
“…Often ingenious… packed with antic wordplay, both nimble and groansome… Holiday of Errors has a license to exaggerate and turn anything topsy-turvy for a laugh.” –Misha Berson, The Seattle Times
“A Christmas theatrical comedy that is often genius.” –Miryam Gordon, Seattle Gay News
“A hilarious, fresh and intelligent mash-up of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Richard III mixed in with desperate doses of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. **** [Four out of Five Stars]” –Jerry Kraft, SeattleActor.com
“Double entendres, slippery syllables, rapid-fire wordplay, and sly jokes! If you are a fan of any or all of these, if you like Shakespeare, then Holiday for Errors is for you.” –Nancy Worssam, Arts Stage/Seattle Rage
“Sound Theatre Company saves theater in this Shakespearean Christmas romp. In the new comedy from Frank Lawler and Daniel Flint, Holiday of Errors… delivers the naughty in this smorgasbord of holiday fun.” –A.B. Smith, Drama in the Hood
Authorized Materials must be purchased from Stage Rights as a part of your licensing agreement. Your materials will be sent to you digitally by your Licensing Representative.
The Authorized Materials/Production Package for Holiday of Errors are all fulfilled digitally and consist of:
Acting Edition
Stage Manager Script
Optional Materials:
- Performance/Sound FX Tracks
- Rehearsal Tracks - Tracks for each role with the individual character played at full volume, other parts at half volume.
GALLERY
Gallery
Available Products
Holiday of Errors
by Frank Lawler & Daniel Flint
PDF Perusal Script of HOLIDAY OF ERRORS. Download instantly in the "My Products" or “My Perusals” section of your account. Not intended for production purposes.
Manuscript PDF of HOLIDAY OF ERRORS and a score sampler with selections from the score. Download instantly in the "My Products" or “My Perusals” section of your account. Not intended for production purposes.
| Product | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|
|
PDF Perusal Script of HOLIDAY OF ERRORS. Download instantly in the "My Products" or “My Perusals” section of your account. Not intended for production purposes. |
$7.00 | |
|
Manuscript PDF of HOLIDAY OF ERRORS and a score sampler with selections from the score. Download instantly in the "My Products" or “My Perusals” section of your account. Not intended for production purposes. |
$20.00 |
