The Dark Lady of the Sonnets

This article is about a comedy by George Bernard Shaw. For the subject of many Shakespeare sonnets, see Shakespeare's sonnets. For The Wadada Leo Smith album, see Dark Lady of the Sonnets.

The Dark Lady of the Sonnets
In his preface Shaw identifies the Dark Lady as Mary Fitton
Written byGeorge Bernard Shaw
Date premiered24 November 1910
Place premieredHaymarket theatre, London
Original languageEnglish
SubjectShakespeare tries to persuade the queen to create a national theatre
GenrePeriod piece; comedy
SettingSixteenth century: Whitehall Palace, London, England

The Dark Lady of the Sonnets is a 1910 short comedy by George Bernard Shaw in which William Shakespeare, intending to meet the "Dark Lady", accidentally encounters Queen Elizabeth I and attempts to persuade her to create a national theatre. The play was written as part of a campaign to create a "Shakespeare National Theatre" by 1916.