1. It is 1994. Ellis Strahan is watching a performance of The Taming of the Shrew in a community theatre outside Chicago, Illinois. The last few lines are spoken, applause applause, and a Question and Answer period follows. One of the questions asked is why Shakespeare never closed his bookend induction with Christopher Sly. A lightbulb goes off over Ellis’s head. (Note: Establish that Ellis has money.)

2. Flashback to the “real” start of the story. In the fall of 1989, Ellis is a graduate student at the University of Islington and living in London. He has a flat off Southwark Bridge Road, around which there is much curiosity, traffic, construction, and commotion. While returning from a date with Lauren Marrus (another grad student), they examine the site closer and learn that the foundations of Shakespeare’s original Globe Theatre have been discovered beneath Anchor Terrace, and an archeological examination is being done. Later, Lauren breaks up with Ellis, accusing him of stealing her thesis idea.

3. Back to 1994. Ellis flies to New York to visit Lauren, who is now a struggling theatre director. They haven’t spoken since Ellis stole her thesis idea; Lauren stayed for her PhD in Shakespearean studies when Ellis returned to the states. At their meeting, Ellis explains how he wants to write a sequel to The Taming of the Shrew, closing the Christopher Sly bookend, and attempt to pass it off as a manuscript he found beneath Anchor Terrace.

4. Six months later. Ellis meets with Adam Winter, the owner of an off-Broadway theatre, to arrange for the production of the now complete The Taming of the Shrew, Part 2. Ellis has the capital to back up his offer — the theatre will produce the play, and Lauren will direct.

5. Auditions are held at the theatre. Arriving late is Steve Curtis (actually a re-porter in disguise, out to prove that the sequel is a fake). Steve gets the im-pression that Ellis is the director, in part because Lauren is reading the part of Katharina against possible Lucentios. He reads for the part as Ellis bosses Lauren around. Afterwards, Steve asks Lauren out. She accepts.

6. Steve calls his editor, Frank Walker, to fill him in on his progress.

7. Lauren and Steve go on their arranged date. She reveals that she’s ac-tually the Shrew 2 director and that he’s got the part of Lucentio.

8. Ellis meets with Adam. Adam repeatedly tries to persuade him to give him an advance copy of the script before the initial read-through, but Ellis refuses.

9. Ellis and Lauren are eating dinner before the initial read-through of Shrew 2. There’s a little flirting and sexual tension at first, but by the time they’re through eating, they start fighting.

10. Read-through. Everyone is in awe of the new Shakespeare script. “This is brilliant!”

11. Steve approaches Lauren after the read-through and questions the le-gitimacy of the script. Eventually, he seems satisfied with her answers, and leaves after a simple kiss on the cheek.

1. Ellis is jealous. He approaches Lauren about Steve. They argue, the topic eventually turning to Shrew 2, and then eventually to graduate school.
2. Steve reenters while Ellis and Lauren are arguing about Shrew 2. He hides, and gains just enough information to keep his suspicions raised.
3. Steve interrupts Lauren and Ellis’s argument to ask Lauren out on another date.

12. Steve speaks with Frank about his progress on exposing Shrew 2. Despite his overhearing Ellis and Lauren’s argument, he plays Frank off and de-lays for more time.

13. Steve and Lauren are going over notes from the last Shrew 2 rehearsal. He brings up Ellis, and how they seem to be inseparable. She mentions how they used to date in grad school, and how Ellis “rescued me from community theatre in Hoboken” by getting her this job. He accuses her of not being over Ellis. She doesn’t deny it. He walks out.

14. Ellis and Steve are alone at the theatre before rehearsal. Steve starts questioning him about how he found the quarto, but Ellis deftly turns the conversation to Lauren. Steve mentions their argument; Ellis thinks he still has a chance.

15. Blocking rehearsal. An assistant director is discussing movement with the actors when Lauren comes running out of the theatre’s office. She yells back to Ellis that he can’t continue to interfere with her work — to steal her work. Ellis trails behind her, trying to calm her down, but he can’t catch her before she storms out. He turns to scream at the actors to get back to work and retreats into the office.

16. Lauren works a Katharina–Lucentio scene one-on-one with Steve. Steve mentions the fight between her and Ellis, trying to get more information about it. She walks the line in revealing too much about the past and the present, but keeps trying to return to rehearsing to cover. Eventually, she confesses — not about Shrew 2, but that she has fallen for Steve.

17. The first performance comes to a close. After a queasy pause, the audience breaks into mad applause.

18. A replication of the quarto for The Taming of the Shrew, Part 2 goes on sale. Once critics and scholars have the opportunity to get a closer look, they mostly agree that it’s a legitimate Shakespeare play.

19. A cast party following performance. Steve finally overhears the damning evidence of Lauren and Ellis claiming that they “pulled it off.” He confronts Ellis, and asks if he wrote it. Ellis replies no. He asks Lauren if Ellis wrote it. She replies no. He asks Lauren if Shakespeare wrote it. She replies no, she wrote it.

20. Flashback to the remainder of Scene 3. When Ellis pitches his Shrew 2 idea to Lauren, she replies that she’s already written it. She came up with the idea while obtaining her PhD and wrote it as a lark.

21. “Outduction.” Suddenly, several people are watching Scene 20. Among them are a Lord, several Servants, and one Christopher Sly, a tinker. This has all been a performance, put on for the benefit of Sly. The Lord has pulled a trick on him, making Sly believe that he himself was a lord. The joke is revealed, at the expense of Sly.

Fade out.