Asa Palomera

This comic romp through the lives of literary masters William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes charts their influence on the modern world. It contrasts the fortunes of two contemporaries whose native countries – England and Spain – went from alliance to enmity in a short space of time.

2016 marked the 400th anniversary of the deaths of two of the world’s most famous authors, William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes.

Pioneering writer and director, Asa Palomera (“a powerhouse on Melbourne’s independent theatre scene”): “I’ve tried to bring forth the sheer humanity of theirs, to present them as it were in their under wears, to show that the emotions we feel from their work are as human as the emotions they, in turn, experienced when they were alive.”

Productions of The Curious Lives of Shakespeare & Cervantes: Adam House Theatre (Edinburgh, 2010), Bloomsbury Theatre (London, 2010), Thai premiere (Bangkok Theatre Festival, 2014). Staged reading at Tara Theatre (London, November 2016).

*“this well-charted account of key events in each of their lives moves at a relentless pace … dynamic narration…the audience never loses touch.”
--*Scotsman

*“The private lives of creative geniuses have long fascinated literary groupies in search of clues about where inspiration comes from… Asa Gim Palomera’s restless piece of imagined history [treats] the two writers as equals with an awful lot in common, despite the age gap that nevertheless saw both men shuffle off this mortal coil within 11 days of each other.” --*Herald