This short play provides a fascinating insight into Elizabethan England's Entertainment using the famous story of Will Kemp's famous jig over 125 miles from London to Norwich in February 1599 as Steve Taylor recreates the celebrity comedian/Morris dancer and his relationship with Shakespeare and the audiences of the time.
Kemp was a big star and shareholder in the Theatre alongside Burbage and Shakes Rags as he calls him but conflict arrived as he liked to add his own comedy and dance which detracted from the bard's words and in the playwrights eyes mutilated his plays. As a result despite the adoring groundlings, he is forced out of the Lord Chamberlain's men and set off to exploit his own popularity on the journey to Norwich.
Over the course of the nine actual day's journey, which were actually spread over 27 days, he describes the horrific Bear baiting and public hangings that were alternative forms of public amusement. He provides a vivid description of the effect of the Black Plague which was ravishing London at that time and may have been a reason for his journey to Norwich to escape the effects. It paints a picture of the society in which Shakespeare's plays were first staged.
