Plot summary

Romantic comedy set in London in the late sixteenth century: Young playwright William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) struggles with his latest work "Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter". A great fan of Shakespeare's plays is young, wealthy Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), who is about to be married to the cold-hearted Lord Wessex (Colin Firth), but constantly dreams of becoming an actress. Women were not allowed to act on stage at that time (female roles were played by men, too), but dressed up as a boy, Viola successfully auditions for the part of Romeo. Soon she and William are caught in a forbidden romance that provides rich inspiration for his play.—Armin Ortmann