You can't (or rather you shouldn't) have a presidential election with only one candidate, and who better to challenge Shakespeare than his contemporary, that dramatic genius and trail-blazing playwright CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE!
The heavily-bearded gentleman is Edward "Ned" Alleyn, also known as Ben Affleck from Shakespeare in Love, who played many of Marlowe's leading men, including Faustus and Tamburlaine. It's a bit weird, when you picture him as a closely-cropped Ben Affleck, to find out that he actually had a great big bushy beard.
Tune in next week as the campaigns get underway, and don't forget to pick up some limited-time-only Shakespeare campaign gear from the Good Tickle Shoppe!