“O God! What a wounded name, Things standing thus unknown, I leave behind me! In this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, To tell my story!”
Hamlet / Edward de Vere

Who really wrote Hamlet? Could it possibly have been the work of a barely literate Stratford grain merchant and money lender? Or was it really the dramatic autobiography of a disgraced and disgraceful nobleman?

THE MAN WHO WAS HAMLET, written and performed by George Dillon, tells the comical, tragical, romantic and utterly scandalous history of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, the leading alternative candidate for the authorship of the works of ‘William Shakespeare’.

Most people accept the fairy-tale story of ‘the man from Stratford’ - an unschooled glove-maker’s son who abandoned his shrewish wife to become a player and upstart writer in London and made a fortune before he retired to idleness and litigation, leaving his second best bed to his wife in his will. But what most people don't know is that there is actually very little evidence to connect the merchant of Stratford, William Shaksper (sic), with the poetic works attributed to him.

But who was Edward de Vere?

A brilliant but disgraceful aristocrat whose life and character strikingly echo Shakespeare’s most famous character, Edward de Vere was a courtier, swordsman, adventurer, playwright and poet, who killed a servant, made love to Queen Elizabeth, abandoned his wife, got his mistress with child, was maimed in a duel, travelled in Italy, was captured by pirates, fought the Armada, was imprisoned in the Tower of London, kept two companies of players, but disappeared from history for fifteen years before he died virtually bankrupt. In youth he was hailed as the best of the secret court writers, especially for comedy, but no plays bearing his name have survived and his poetry suddenly stopped after the first invention of... 'William Shake-speare'.

So was de Vere the inspiration and role model for Hamlet... or was he really the author?

The dying Dane’s last words summon from hell the ghost of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, to draw his breath in pain, tell his own story and restore his wounded name in George Dillon’s seventh solo show THE MAN WHO WAS HAMLET, with original music by Charlotte Glasson, directed by Denise Evans.

Since Stunning the Punters in 1990, George Dillon has created several compelling one man shows which have toured extensively in the UK and abroad. This year will be George’s fourteenth on the Fringe. He won a Herald ‘Angel’ award in Edinburgh for GRAFT - TALES OF AN ACTOR and has twice been nominated for The Stage Best Actor award - for GRAFT and for his own translation and performance of THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW. This year he has also directed newcomer Jade Blue in a one woman show, AGAINST THE ODDS, inspired by a Paul Auster novel and co-written by Dillon and Blue. Both shows are at Hill Street Theatre, 5th -30th August.

“This actor, on the stage for an hour and a half, gave one of the most compelling performances I have seen at the festival.  I've known George for many years and this performance is amongst the best I have seen - a lesson in the art of acting for any up and coming thespians.” 
Steven Berkoff

“MUST SEE! A clever script... a masterful performance!”
The Stage

“ Truly masterly... amazing... wicked!”
FringeReview (in Edinburgh)

“ Transporting, subtle, spellbinding and human...  It's very cleverly done... a fascinating play...  compelling, charismatic, wry and moving.”
FringeGuru

“ Excellent one-man show... wonderful acting... great wit and wonderful gags... worth seeing both as education and entertainment.”
BroadwayBaby

“ Easily one of the best shows of the Fringe... cannot be admired, complimented and recommended more.”
Hairline Magazine

“ Absorbing and thought-provoking... the evening's a romp, and a clever one.”
The Scotsman

“ An engrossing solo show well worth one’s time and attention.”
Edinburgh Spotlight

“It’s easy to see why Dillon’s performances have made him the toast of the Edinburgh Festival... direct and absorbing... A virtuoso display of dramatic range.”
British Theatre Guide