Transcriber's Notes: Underscores "_" before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_ in the original text. Equals signs "=" before and after a word or phrase indicate =bold= in the original text. Small capitals have been converted to BLOCK capitals. The play is in both prose and poetry. It alternates between the two unpredictably, (sometimes in mid-sentence). _BY THE SAME AUTHOR_ _NOVELS_: _REGIMENT OF WOMEN_ _FIRST THE BLADE_ _LEGEND_ _PLAY_: _A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT_ _LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN_ WILL SHAKESPEARE AN INVENTION IN FOUR ACTS BY CLEMENCE DANE [Illustration: 1921] LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN ‘_There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will._’ SHAKESPEARE. THE PEOPLE OF THE PLAY _As they appear._ ANNE HATHAWAY. WILL SHAKESPEARE. MRS. HATHAWAY. HENSLOWE. A CHILD. PLAYERS. QUEEN ELIZABETH. MARY FITTON. KIT MARLOWE. STAGE HANDS. A BOY. A LANDLORD. A MAN. ANOTHER MAN. A GIRL. A STREET HAWKER. A PAGE. SOLDIERS, ATTENDANTS, ETC. ACT I.--A COTTAGE IN STRATFORD. ACT II.--TEN YEARS LATER-- _Scene 1_. A ROOM IN THE PALACE. _Scene 2_. THREE MONTHS LATER--THE FIRST NIGHT OF “ROMEO AND JULIET.” ACT III.-- _Scene 1_. A MONTH LATER--SHAKESPEARE’S LODGING. _Scene 2_. THE SAME NIGHT--A ROOM AT AN INN. ACT IV.--THE NEXT DAY--A STATE ROOM IN THE PALACE. The Play was first acted at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London, on November 17th, 1921, by the Reandean Company, with the following cast:-- WILL SHAKESPEARE Mr. Philip Merivale ANNE Miss Moyna Macgill Mrs. HATHAWAY Miss Mary Rorke HENSLOWE Mr. Arthur Whitby QUEEN ELIZABETH Miss Haidee Wright MARY FITTON Miss Mary Clare KIT MARLOWE Mr. Claude Rains A CHILD ACTOR Master Eric Spear A SECRETARY Mr. Arthur Bawtree A STAGE HAND Mr. Gilbert Ritchie A BOY Master Spear A LANDLORD Mr. Ivor Barnard A LADY-IN-WAITING Miss Joan Maclean _Shadows in Act I._