as Will Shakspere [sic], Mary Louise Wilson as Queen Elizabeth, Kate Jennings Grant as wife Anne Hathaway and Mark Harelik as Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford (Harelik was in the South Coast Rep production also). The play was nominated for the 2004 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Play, and Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, Mary Louise Wilson. Critical views The play is described by critic Robert Brustein as a "lusty antidote to all forms of Bardolatry, including the perverse and benighted kind that considers the bard a beard". He describes it as "an extended satiric sketch worthy of Monty Python", but suggests that some of the comic faux-Elizabethan language "fails to pass the test of grammar or scansion". Katherine Scheil emphasises its bawdy aspects, as Anne discovers Will's seedy sex-life, unleashing her own desire to explore "wild and stormy expanses of uncharted filth". According to James Fisher, Freed demonstrates her own affinity with Shakespeare: Freed—a similarly adept wordsmith—explores the very nature of language itself and the intangible font of creative achievement. Despite occasional bursts of anachronistic broad comedy, Freed proves herself a true ally of Shakespeare in many ways. She amply demonstrates her romance with language, rich characterization, and a bold mix of humor and drama with moments of surprisingly moving pathos in this delightfully crack-brained play...Whether indulging in intricate speechifying or punning banter, Freed's outstanding characteristic as a dramatist is the richness of her ingenious experimentation with the complexities of wordplay. William S. Niederkorn, in his article on the play for The New York Times quoted Freed: "There's a lot in The Beard of Avon that has to do with my own completely insane love affair with actors and theater... It's very much a valentine to the whole theatrical experience at its silliest and most rewarding... It is a comic perspective, but I really did a lot of reading on all sides of the issue." Notes External links The Beard of Avon at Internet Off-Broadway Database 2001 plays Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship Cultural depictions of William Shakespeare Shakespeare authorship fiction