What right has anyone to claim they know what Shakespeare intended, and which parts come directly from his life, in the works of Shakespeare? What right has anyone to doubt these were written by Shakespeare? And what right has a non-university-educated player to create works still claimed to contain all of humanity, 400 years after they first appeared?
If this sounds like a literary or historical treatise, fear not! Will and Company’s play is full of vigour, vim and humour. It has passionate attack and defence which entertains as well as informs, and two strong performances from actors who thrive on bouncing off each other and Shakespeare’s lines, here well understood and dexterously used. These attributes in themselves grant the right to at least explore those first questions and Shakespeare’s relationship with ‘Not Without Right’, the English translation of the motto associated with a coat of arms attained for his family.
Explorations are presented with a smart and witty script, offering history, context and rumour. It is interwoven with philosophical / literary ideas – and accusations – from times after Shakespeare. This anachronistic approach is logically possible because Colin Cox’s Shakespeare is in sparring dialogue with the actual Muse of Drama, who has access to such knowledge. Alessandra Mañón’s Muse pushes Cox’s Shakespeare to prove he wrote the plays, looking for his ‘signature’ within them: signs of his personal life and response to the times. Possibly she has also influenced this Shakespeare’s language, with ‘hi’ and ‘anyhoo’ jarring at first, though such modern / American colloquialisms wound up fitting the approach taken by Cox to his script.
Cox is the sturdy, human, often curmudgeonly centre around which Mañón whirls, depicting every other character, utilising costumes that are apt and even sumptuous, and a dazzling array of deft characterisations. Both actors are skilled and emotionally rooted in their portrayals, serving humour, dialectic and pathos well, shifting emotional and tonal changes with swift aplomb – very swift. This speed, with so much to say, doesn’t allow much room to breathe, let alone sit with all the information, suggestions and ideas, which are clearly researched and as passionately written as performed.
Whatever your final thought about the argument(s) put forward, including Shakespeare’s motivation for writing, it is worth watching this production to enjoy the wit, the acting and the opportunity to engage with an intriguing portrayal of Shakespeare, and also to learn, and be stimulated into examining what you know and believe, about this global icon of theatre. For in the end – whatever is claimed about history or literature – Not Without Right focuses on brilliant theatre.
Not Without Right runs until 24th August at C alto, and can also be viewed as a digital on-demand performance, with tickets available at https://res.cthearts.com
Reviewer: Danielle Farrow
Reviewed: 14th August 2025
North West End UK Rating: