Shakespeare in Love

A creatively stymied bard finds love and inspiration in the form of one of his players, a cross-dressing actress, in the impeccably crafted, Oscar-winning period romance.

The multi-award winning love story takes great liberty with Shakespeare’s life but offers an irresistible, witty romance between the bard (Joseph Fiennes) and Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow), the player who dresses up as ‘Thomas Kent’ so she can act in his plays.

With a cast including Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck and Geoffrey Rush, and some wonderfully evocative production design, Shakespeare in Love is a classy, impeccably crafted love story. The film rewarded backers Miramax with a bagful of statuettes at the 1999 Academy Awards, continuing the Weinsteins’ long obsession with Oscars glory, and also beginning a new fixation with the casting of Judi Dench.