Very little is known about the woman who married history's greatest playwright.
Anne Hathaway was born in 1556. She was eight years older than the man she married.
Because of the vacuum of information that exists in comparison to the wealth of evidence of her husband's -- William Shakespeare's -- activities, it has been tempting to speculate on both her character and the nature of their relationship.
Shakespeare's Will, penned by Governor General's Award-winning playwright Vern Thiessen, tries to give audiences some insight into Hathaway's life with the Bard.
The play is being presented Western Edge Theatre and is currently playing at the old Bay Theatre.
The play -- a moving, one-woman show about the passionate relationship between Hathaway and Shakespeare as seen from Anne's point-of-view -- stars Nicole Busby as Hathaway. Malaspina University-College theatre instructor Eliza Gardiner directs Shakespeare's Will.
The show begins when the 60-year-old Hathaway learns of the contents of her 52-year-old husband's will following Shakespeare's funeral, says Gardiner. As Hathaway digests what Shakespeare did -- and didn't -- leave his wife, she recollects their lives together.
"It's a tragedy but it's so much more said Gardiner. "There are some really poignant comical moments but there are some very emotional moments as well.
"It really is a story of survival and being strong and carrying on."
Gardiner said Hathaway's story is a story of a feminist.
"She learns how to be independent from her life-long love and how to fulfill her own desires. But of course she does it according to her time."
Busby said the message she gets out of Thiessen's play is one of hope.
The hope, said Busby, is that in the play Hathaway "does carry on."
During the course of the play, Busby assumes 10 different characters.
"It's a one-woman play and that's another reason I found it very challenging," said Gardiner.
"The challenge is not to make her (Busby) schizophrenic. She (Hathaway) is not crazy."
Another challenge was telling the story from the lesser-known person's point of view, she said.
Playwright Thiessen may have taken some literary licence describing Hathaway's and Shakespeare's life, say both Gardiner and Busby.
For instance, many people have speculated that the "dark woman" who appears in many of Shakespeare's sonnets was one of the playwright's lovers that he took up with while he lived in London and Hathaway stayed at home minding the couple's children in Stratford.
In Western Edge's show Thiessen's script has Hathaway also straying from her wedding vows, said Busby.
"The only way she expresses herself in this play is sexually," said Busby.
"The play talks about her lovers -- we don't know how true that is."
Shakespeare's Will runs for five performances only, tonight, Saturday, Nov. 24, 25 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. All performances are in the new Western Edge performance space at 91 Chapel St.
IF YOU GO
Single tickets for Shakespeare's Will cost $18 adults $15 seniors and $10 students. They are available at online at westernedge.org, by phone to 668-0991 Nanaimo or 1-800-811-7405, at Falconer Books (Port Place), the Nanaimo Arts Council (Rutherford Mall), and Gabriola Artworks.