That fellow Shakespeare is having a bit of a moment locally—at least when it comes to fictionalized plays related to him.

First there was Katie Bender’s Judith at Urbanite Theatre, which posed the hypothetical, “What if Shakespeare had a sister who could write?”  (That show closes Feb. 18.) Now, Asolo Rep offers the two-person show Born With Teeth (an Alley Theatre production), setting up a speculative relationship between the Bard and his contemporary and fellow playwright Christopher “Kit” Marlowe, who was renowned in his time but died young under mysterious circumstances. (In case you’d like to see a play by William Shakespeare, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory presents Romeo and Juliet in April.)

Playwright Liz Duffy Adams, who conceived Born With Teeth (the title is borrowed from a line in Henry VI, Part 3), was inspired to write it several years ago, when scholars determined that Shakespeare and Marlowe had most likely collaborated on the Henry VI play cycle, back in the early 1590s. (One case where AI proved useful in research.) She and director Rob Melrose place us in an Elizabethan tavern back room where the two very different writers set out to, carefully, re-create some English history without stepping over any lines that would cause the censors, or Queen Elizabeth’s assassins, to get touchy.

But Kit (Matthew Amendt) likes dancing on the edge; that’s where he lives. The real Marlowe was reputedly a spy (one among many in the troubled era), and here he’s shown as one who could best protect himself by turning in others. He’s also conceited, flamboyant, probably (in the language of our day) homosexual, and ready to give poor Will quite a hard time.

Will, meanwhile (Dylan Godwin), needs to play it much safer. He has a wife and children, and he’s more interested in nose-to-the-grindstone writing than political intrigue or facing off with the imperious, provocative Kit.

He can’t help but do that eventually, though, as Kit goads him to the point of physical altercation. In three scenes (the play is 90 minutes with no intermission), the tension between the two—and an attraction that could indeed prove fatal—escalates to an action that (to give nothing away) will undoubtedly surprise most of the audience.

Amendt and Godwin, who have played their roles before, also under Alley artistic director Melrose’s direction, are on top of their game here, ably enacting the power shifts inherent in Adam’s script. Amendt, strutting around in flashy gold-studded rock star wear by Alejo Vietti, has the showier role; but Godwin, attired in humbler garb and seemingly less confident at the outset, holds his own. That’s especially so when Adams (who dips back and forth assuredly between the language of the time and a more contemporary parlance) shows us how the writers differ in style and their approach to their work.

The result (accompanied by a modern electronic sound design by Cliff Caruthers) is a sharply written and directed tragicomedy that may, for a few, go too far in its suppositions. But it’s captivating, and certainly delivered, well, "armed to the teeth” by its two actors.

Born With Teeth continues in rotating rep through March 29. For tickets, call (941) 351-8000 or go to asolorep.org.