While Shakespeare Slept

William Shakespeare, a budding playwright, decides to give up his career and settle down to a good, steady job as a stable hand. His employer, Mistress Ford, assures him he's made a wise move, but young Will isn't so sure. Sleep at the inn proves a nightmare. His dreams are continually disturbed by the heroines from his unwritten plays, each demanding a right to exist: Juliet, Rosalind, Lady Macbeth, Kate, and Cleopatra. In time, Will is convinced that no life but that of a writer is for him. The innkeeper, unimpressed, writes him off: That William Shakespeare...he'll never amount to much.