Breaking a Leg Theater Group

How many people get the chance to see their dreams fulfilled? Michael Davies, local performer and director, and now playwright, has just that opportunity, right on the Newhall Family Theater stage. 

Since, as a lad of eight, he first read William Shakespeare’s Hamlet in Banbury, Oxfordshire in the UK, he’s been captivated by the works of the bard. After his father gave him the play and they discussed it together, he loved the timeless works of the Bard of Stratford-Upon-Avon. While his father remained reticent about many things, including his experiences of World War II, they bonded over Shakespeare. “It was the thing that got us close as father and son.”

Last year, Davies began jotting ideas down and mulling over a story. He wanted people to be introduced to Shakespeare in an interesting way, so that “... people who don’t know or like him will learn more about him.” The play, “The Playwright’s Penance,” began to take shape. In the play, Shakespeare finds himself in purgatory, atoning for his sins. “I wanted to examine his life, being a fan of Shakespeare all of my life.”

The writing process has taken Davies different places, and the play has gone through changes in the process. One thing he discovered is that Will Shakespeare, a man of the 1500s and 1600s, might not fare well under the scrutiny of a modern audience. As a result, Davies needed to allow his character to reflect that he was a man of his times. His company of players have also been instrumental in shaping the play as they rehearsed and discussed the work.

On March 8, 2025, his newly formed non-profit Breaking A Leg Theater performed a staged reading of a portion of the play. Afterward, he led a lively discussion with the audience. All this will help him to realize his dream of a fully staged production in the coming year. 

Davies is also working on this endeavor with his own son, William Davies, who is part of his board of directors and provides technical direction. 

In many ways, this work is “a labor of love,” Davies says. Shakespeare’s works have stood the test of time, still produced and performed all over the world some 400 years after his death. Davies feels that there is something essentially human about the themes in Shakespeare’s works.

In Hamlet, the main character begins the play saying what he wants to do but spends much of the play “wobbling around,” says Davies. In the end, he finally completes what he intends. But the waffling is human. “People understand it,” he explains. And in the end, “the readiness is all.”

Keep an eye out for “The Playwright’s Penance.” on the NFT stage brought to you by the Breaking a Leg Theater Group in the coming year. Also—check out our event gallery!