William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet from Stratford-upon-Avon who wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets between 1589-1613. Some of his most famous plays include tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth as well as comedies like A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare wrote for the Lord Chamberlain's Men theatrical company and many of his plays were performed at The Globe theatre in London. His works have had a profound influence on English literature and culture.

10. The Theatre Before the first theatres were built in Shoreditch in the 1570s, plays were mostly performed in tavern yards, sometimes in the streets or on temporary stages or carts. Bankside in Southwark, outside the jurisdiction of the City fathers, quickly became the home of Elizabethan theatre, and it all started with the playhouse called 'The Rose'.

11. The Rose

12. The Globe