"Act Break" is the first segment of the eighth episode from the first season (1985–86) of the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

''. In this segment, a playwright dying from a heart attack gives his partner a magical relic which grants the bearer one wish.

Plot

Maury is a playwright who is behind in his rent. Though he boasts that when his latest play is completed he will have more than enough money to pay his bills, inwardly he realizes that much as he and his longtime writing partner Harry enjoy writing together, their ongoing lack of success is primarily due to their mediocre talent. During an intense joint writing session, Harry dies of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. Harry, in his last moments, hands Maury an ancient relic and explains that each bearer of this relic gets one wish only, and he has already used his, so he needs Maury to use his wish to bring him back to life. Still fretting over his financial troubles, however, Maury instead wishes to have the greatest playwright ever as his new partner. Maury is transported back in time to the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

into the identity of a servant to

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. Intuiting that history cannot be changed and therefore any work he does with Shakespeare will be uncredited, Maury regrets not using the wish to save Harry. Intrigued by Maury's relic and his offhand summary of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', a play Shakespeare has yet to write, Shakespeare takes the relic and says to Maury, "I wish for you to write with me." The relic fills Maury's mind with every line of every play that Shakespeare wrote. Resigned to his fate, he sits at a desk and begins to write ''Hamlet'' from memory.

External links

* {{The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series) episodes 1985 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series season 1) episodes Cultural depictions of William Shakespeare Television episodes about time travel Television set in Tudor England fr:Le Nègre de Shakespeare