Nine Day Wonder

A solo play in one act

When William Grant, a contemporary man, is faced with a moment of ultimate crisis, he seems to split in two; himself and Will Kemp, Shakespeare’s famous fool. 

In 1599, though no one is quite sure why—there are various theories—Kemp undertook his famous dance, jigging his way from London to Norwich, a hundred and twenty-five miles distant, his nine days’s wonder. 

In present-day Will’s imagination, history is turned upside-down as Kemp refuses to leave the stage quietly, instead hoping, he can make Shakespeare change his mind and beg him to return, so he can be again be the star he once was. 

Forced to fight his way through Kemp’s egomania, jokes, dances, bad puns, bragging, and foolery, Will must come to terms with his own ambition and the limits of his life, balancing what has been achieved with what he failed to accomplish.