In 1790's London, rumors circled about a supposed new discovery of works by Shakespeare, but it turns out they were forged by a young man named Wiliam Henry Ireland. In his desire to impress his father, Henry ended up starting a lie that quickly gets out of his control. And the mysterious Mr. H, who may or may not be a figment of his imagination, circles around the entire scene.
This musical, based on a true story, premiered in 2023 in South Korea.
This show provides examples of:
- Forged Message:
- All of the writing supposedly by Shakespeare, including letters between the writer and Queen Elizabeth.
- A series of letters between Samuel and "Mr. H" (actually his son Henry), where Mr. H's parts are sung sometimes by Mr. H., sometimes by Henry.
- Historical Domain Character: Henry and his father Samuel.
- Invented Individual: Mr. H... maybe.
- Meaningful Name: Wiliam Samuel Ireland believes that he can never be a great writer like Shakespeare because his name is short an L.
- Snowball Lie: This play, with its well-intentioned Henry, portrays the situation as this.
