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Translated into German by Gabriele Groenwold. Sebastian Huber, dramaturg. Sets by Elín Hansdóttir, costumes by Karen Briem, lighting by Friedrich Rom, and music by Gabriel Cazes.

Produced by the Burgtheater (https://www.burgtheater.at) at the Burgtheater, Vienna, beginning 12 March 2022.

With Michael Maertens (Alonso/Trinculo), Dietmar König (Sebastian), Maria Happel (Prospero), Johannes Zirner (Antonio), Nils Strunk (Ferdinand), Roland Koch (Gonzalo/Stephano), Daniel Jesch (Caliban), Lili Winderlich (Miranda), and Mavie Hörbiger (Ariel).

Explores Francis Bacon's enduring interest in dramatic arts, including evidence of his role as producer of masques and involvement in writing entertainments for 1594 Christmas revels at Gray’s Inn. Notes connection between this event and first known performance of Comedy of Errors and plans to produce Love’s Labour’s Lost, taken as evidence that Bacon played role in writing Shakespeare's plays. 

Detects parallels between writings of Francis Bacon and 1.3 scene soliloquy in Hamlet, taken to be suggestive of Bacon's participation in writing Hamlet. Argues that parallels at least demonstrate "that Bacon had the necessary vocabulary and figures of speech to compose this piece."

Demonstrates importance of historical lessons to Francis Bacon's moral and ethical writings. Notes that "an incident from Henry IV, Part 2, involving Prince Hal (later Henry V) that corresponds with Bacon’s view that history should provide instruction in the moral good." Asserts similar views about morality and history in Bacon's writings and Shakespeare's plays can be read as evidence for Bacon's involvement in writing Shakespeare's plays.  

Contends that Macbeth was edited between its first performance in 1606 and publication in First Folio of 1623 in order to insert allusions to Sir Walter Raleigh's execution for treason in 1618. Noting that, because Shakespeare was already dead by 1618 and therefore could not add references to Raleigh, Bacon is likely candidate for Macbeth's editor, since he served as prosecutor at Raleigh’s trial and later reported on the trial. 

Argues that Francis Bacon was involved in writing of Merchant of Venice through study of play's minor character Bellario, jurist and legal scholar invoked by Portia. Contends character of Bellario reveals that author of Merchant of Venice must have been a lawyer, and proposes Francis Bacon as play's author.

Seeks to recuperate Francis Bacon's reputation in eyes of Alexander Pope, noting that Pope's characterization of Bacon as "mean" was also applied to himself. Connects various pieces of evidence -- including ambiguous meanings of "mean" and related words throughout Shakespeare's corpus; Hemings and Condell's apparent use of "meanest" to describe Shakespeare's works; Pope's description of Bacon as "the greatest Genius that England (or perhaps any country) ever produced"; and Pope's admiration of Shakespeare -- to conclude that Bacon was involved in writing Shakespeare's plays. 

Investigates social implications of Shakespearean adaptations in contemporary fiction. Compares specifically how relationships between parents and children are portrayed in early modern period with those in today. Argues that "childhood virtue" is presented as "the answer to the issues raised due to the parents’ lack of righteousness" in Shakespeare's Winter's Tale and Jeanette Winterson's The Gap of Time (2015, q.v.).

Traces moments of laughter present within production recording of Dominic Dromgoole's Romeo and Juliet (2009, q.v.), produced at Shakespeare's Globe. Argues audience expectations have changed over centuries since play's inception, and that audience members now attend tragic productions with comedic mindset. Asserts that laughter "has become not only a sign of comedy, but also a symbol of light-hearted reception of the age-long Shakespearean appropriations, even in tragedy." English summary, 178.

Employs geocritical and performance studies lenses to analyze traditional family structures in Romeo and Juliet. Argues theatrical placing of parents in Romeo and Juliet "dismantles extant understandings of families by establishing private spaces in which characters constitute themselves as subjects." English summary, 59.