From Discovery News:
LOST SHAKESPEARE PLAY: FOUND?
An academic claims that an 18th century play, called “Double Falsehood,” was based on a work by William Shakespeare.Is this love’s labor no longer lost? A scholar says a play written in the 18th-century is very likely based on a missing work by William Shakespeare.
After years of literary investigation, a professor at the University of Nottingham said Tuesday he’s certain “Double Falsehood, or the Distressed Lovers” was born out of “Cardenio,” a play Shakespeare scholars believe existed.
Some scholars believe Lewis Theobald’s “Double Falsehood,” first performed in London’s West End in December 1727, was based substantially on the Bard’s “Cardenio.”
“There is definitely Shakespearean DNA,” said English literature professor Brean Hammond, who has worked since 2002 to determine if “Double Falsehood” has Shakespearean roots. Arden Shakespeare, an authoritative publisher of the Bard’s works, has released an edition of the play edited by Hammond — a decision the publisher acknowledges is controversial.
Arden’s general editor, Shakespeare scholar Richard Proudfoot, agrees with Hammond and says there is no absolute way of knowing if “Double Falsehood” is based on Shakespeare’s work, but he argues it is a “sufficiently sustainable position” that it represents the play in some form.
“My position is one of fairly confident — but cautious — acceptance,” he said.
And a few more news links for this story:
The Guardian: ‘Shakespeare’s lost play’ no hoax, says expert
The Telegraph: Why William Shakespeare’s lost play is not a forgery
And also from The Telegraph: William Shakespeare’s lost play Double Falsehood: a synopsis