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William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare wasbaptised 26 April 1564 and died on 23 of April 1616. He
was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the
English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. His surviving works,
including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long
narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every
major living language and are performed more often than those of any other
playwright.
Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he
married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins
Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in
London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord
Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to
Stratford around 1613 at age 49, where he died three years later.
Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613.Many of his
plays werepublished in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his
lifetime.Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, and still
after his dead his work and his life is populare and famous. He is considered one of
the most famous playwrighters in the world.
Works
Comedies
Histories
Main article: Shakespearean comedy
Main article: Shakespearean history

All's Well That Ends Well

King John

As YouLikeIt

Richard II

The Comedy of Errors

Henry IV, Part 1

Love's Labour's Lost

Henry IV, Part 2

Measurefor Measure

Henry V

The Merchant of Venice

Henry VI, Part 1

The Merry Wivesof Windsor

Henry VI, Part 2

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Henry VI, Part 3

Much Ado About Nothing

Richard III

Pericles, Prince ofTyre

Henry VIII †

The Taming of the Shrew

The Tempest *

Twelfth Night

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

The Two Noble Kinsmen

The Winter's Tale
Tragedies
Main article: Shakespearean tragedy

Romeo and Juliet

Coriolanus

Titus Andronicus †

Timonof Athens †

Julius Caesar

Macbeth †

Hamlet

TroilusandCressida ‡

King Lear

Othello
The Elizabethan Theatre
The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Shoreditch (in Curtain Road,
part of the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It
was the second permanent theatre ever built in England, after the Red Lion, and the
first successful one. Built by actor-manager James Burbage, near the family home in
Holywell Street, The Theatre is considered the first theatre built in London for the sole
purpose of theatrical productions. The Theatre's history includes a number of
important acting troupes including the Lord Chamberlain's Men which employed
Shakespeare as actor and playwright. After a dispute with the landlord, the theatre
was dismantled and the timbers used in the construction of the Globe Theatre on
Bankside.
History
The Mayor and Corporation of London banned plays in 1572 as a measure against
the plague, and in 1575 they formally expelled all players from the city. This
prompted the construction of playhouses outside the jurisdiction of London, in the
liberties of Halliwell/Holywell in Shoreditch and later the Clink, and at Newington
Butts near the established entertainment district of St. George's Fields in rural
Surrey.[1] The Theatre was constructed in 1576 by James Burbage in partnership
with his brother-in-law John Brayne on property that had originally been the grounds
of the dissolved Halliwell Priory. The location of The Theatre was in Shoreditch,
beyond the northern boundary of the City of London and thus outside the jurisdiction
of civil authorities who were often opposed to the theatre. This area in the "suburbs of
sin" was notorious for licentious behaviour, brothels and gaming houses, and a year
later another theatre called The Curtain was built nearby, making the area London's
first theatrical and entertainment district.
Although Burbage's son later claimed the Theatre as the first permanent playhouse in
the London conurbation, it may not have been the first permanent theatre to serve
Londoners. The Newington Butts playhouse may have been built as early as 1575,
certainly actor Jerome Savage renewed a lease on the site on 25 March 1576, three
weeks before Burbage's lease in Shoreditch. Newington Butts was clearly
established by Lady Day 1577, and Wickham et al. interpret the available documents
as saying that Savage was adapting an existing building constructed by Richard
Hicks rather than building from scratch.
The design of The Theatre was possibly adapted from the inn-yards that had served
as playing spaces for actors and/or bear baiting pits. The building was a polygonal
wooden building with three galleries that surrounded an open yard. From one side of
the polygon extended a thrust stage. The Theatre is said to have cost £700 to
construct, a considerable sum for the age.
The open yard in front of the stage was cobbled and provided standing room for
those paying a penny. For another penny, the audience were allowed into the
galleries where they could either stand or, for a third penny, procure a stool. One of
the galleries, though sources do not state which, was divided into small
compartments that could be used by the wealthy and aristocrats.
The Theatre opened in the autumn of 1576, possibly as a venue for Leicester's Men,
the acting company of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester of which James Burbage
was a member. In the 1580s the Admiral's Men, of which James Burbage's son,
Richard was a member, took up residence. After a disagreement between the
company and young Burbage, most of the company left for the Rose Theatre which
was under the management of Philip Henslowe.
In 1594, Richard Burbage became the leading actor of the Lord Chamberlain's Men
which performed at The Theatre until 1597. Poet, playwright and actor William
Shakespeare was also in the employ of the Company and some of his early plays
had their première at The Theatre.
Towards the end of 1596, problems arose with the property's landlord, Giles Allen.
Consequently, in 1597, the Lord Chamberlain's Men were forced to stop playing at
the Theatre and moved to the nearby Curtain. The lease, which had been granted to
Richard Burbage and his brother Cuthbert Burbage upon the death of their father,
expired the following year. The sight of the deserted Theatre prompted these lines
from a minor satirist of the day:
This state of affairs forced the Burbage brothers to take drastic action to save their
investment. In defiance of the landlord and with the help of their friend and financial
backer William Smith, chief carpenter Peter Street and ten or twelve workmen, they
dismantled the theatre on the night of 28 December 1598 and moved the structure
piecemeal to Street's yard near to Bridewell. With the onset of more favourable
weather in the following spring, the material was ferried over the Thames to
reconstruct it as The Globe.