The competitors sit alone at special typing terminals.
The play has been selected well in advance - there is a published schedule for the tournament series. Today's is King Lear.
The governing body holds a recognised database of academically accredited editions of each play.
On the starting
signal, each competitor starts typing. Their screen is mirrored to huge display boards all side by side in front of a screaming crowd of English lit students, dilettantes, and pedants.
No props or cues are permitted to the contestants - they have to type from memory.
As they type, their words are cross-checked automatically against the database of editions. If they type a word or character that is not in any recognised edition then a large buzzer sounds and a light flashes and they have to go back and correct or edit their typing before they can continue.
First to get to the final line with no errors wins.