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On 23 April 1616 the great playwright
William Shakespeare died. He was 52 years old. During his life it is estimated that he wrote at least 37 plays and probably over 150 sonnets.
He had seven brothers and sisters and married a lady called Anne Hathaway in 1582 when he was 18 and she was 26. They had three children.
He was first written about in 1592 as part of the growing theatre scene in London. He wasn’t, in those days, seen as the best playwright of the time.
Christopher Marlowe was considered better and also Marlowe had been to university. Even in those days it was thought that without a university education you could
not be that good. By the way, if anyone tells you that, just mention Shakespeare.
By 1594 his plays were being performed by a group owned by some actors, of whom Shakespeare was one. The group was called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men
but later became the King’s Men. They decided to build their own theatre which opened in 1599 and was called the Globe. Shakespeare was not only a playwright but
he also acted in many of his plays, usually only taking small parts.
He didn’t seem to write any new plays after 1613 and by then had retired to live in Stratford-upon-Avon.
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