The Beard of Avon

The Beard of Avon
Poster for the 2007 production at Center Stage, Portland
Written by	Amy Freed
Date premiered	2001
Place premiered	South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California
Original language	English
Subject	Shakespeare and his wife become involved with the Earl of Oxford
Genre	Period piece; farce
Setting	Sixteenth century: Stratford-upon-Avon and London, England

The Beard of Avon is a play by Amy Freed, originally commissioned and produced by South Coast Repertory in 2001. It is a farcical treatment of the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship, in which both Shakespeare and his wife become involved, in different ways, with secret playwright Edward de Vere and find themselves helping to present the works of several other secretive authors under Shakespeare's name, including Queen Elizabeth I herself.^[1]