Shakespeare and Marlowe with Jim Lair Beard
Jim Lair Beard
In this profile series, Revry is highlighting authentic contributors to the queer media and entertainment community. We ask questions to find out who they are and where they are going in the future. The questions remain the same but the answers tell their unique story. It’s time to explore and celebrate true representation beyond the limits of Hollywood.
Jim Lair Beard (He/Him) is a screenwriter, playwright and novelist. Originally from Bakersfield, California, Jim now lives in Calgary, Alberta and is a theatre critic for the Calgary Guardian. Jim began his career as a Shakespearean actor and has toured extensively through the U.S. His film OCCUPYING ED has been revered by some critics for offering up a very original conceit for the genre of romantic comedy.
What are you best known for?
I am best known in the theatre community for being a Shakespeare-adjacent playwright. I write prequels and sequels to Shakespeare’s works. My play BLUE-EYED HAG, a prequel to THE TEMPEST will have its world premiere, in June/July of 2022 with the Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company in Grand Haven, Michigan.
What is the first thing you worked on professionally?
The first thing I ever worked on as a writer was my one-man show titled, MAMMAS, DON’T LET YOUR COWBOYS GROW UP TO BE ACTORS. It’s an autobiographical fish out of water story about leaving my rural ranching community in California to attend a prestigious acting school in New York. It made the rounds in the U.S.
What are you working on that no one knows about yet?
I’m working on a few projects. The first is a dramatic rendering of Thomas More’s UTOPIA. My second project is a fictional premise that explores what happened the first time William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe met. It deals with genius, sexual identity, and spying. I’ve yet to see any writer explore the juxtaposition of the strong authorial stamp in Marlowe’s work vs. the authorial diffuseness in Shakespeare. This is a project that has got my juices flowing!