Doctor Who's Ncuti Gatwa and Sex Education's Edward Bluemel team up for Shakespeare and Marlowe play
The duo will star in Born With Teeth at Wyndham's Theatre.
A Sex Education reunion is about to take place on stage, as Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel have been cast in the European premiere of Liz Duffy Adams's Born With Teeth in the West End.
The play tells the story of an imagined meeting between playwrights Christopher Marlow and William Shakespeare, at a time when the latter was up and coming.
The synopsis for the play says: "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 play is being directed by the Royal Shakespeare Company's co-artistic director Daniel Evans and will will run at Wyndham’s Theatre for a limited 11-week season between 13th August and 1st November 2025.
Evans told Deadline of Gatwa's casting: "When you think of who Marlowe is, the danger of him, the wit of him, the energy of him. There is no better person than Ncuti.
"His charisma as an actor, his humor as an actor, his power as an actor. It’s everything that this script demands. It’s a kind of great sensuality that he has, and that’s Marlowe. And so I’m really overjoyed to be working with him."
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Meanwhile, he said of Bluemel: "Edward has amazing sensitivity for this part. He has a kind of incredible charm, likeability, and also very intelligent. So again, for our play, he really suits Shakespeare at the beginning of his career.
"Clearly being able to admire Marlowe and see what Marlowe’s doing. And thinking all the time, 'Oh, I might be able to out-Marlowe Marlowe.' So the two of them together, honestly, it’s a really thrilling combination."
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As well as appearing in Sex Education, Bluemel has had roles in series such as Killing Eve, Castlevania: Nocturne and My Lady Jane, and will soon be seen in The Seven Dials Mystery.
Gatwa starred in 2023 film Barbie, while he is currently playing the Doctor in Doctor Who, the new season of which is about to start airing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and on Disney Plus around the rest of the world.
Born With Teeth will run at Wyndham's Theatre from 13th August to 1st November 2025.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
