Playwright—Henry VIII, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Winter’s Tale
Previously at the Festival: all thirty-seven plays have been produced
Other Theatres: actor, playwright, and shareholder in the King’s Men, eventually the largest and most famous acting company of its day in England
Other Credits: at least thirty-seven plays (including some of the world’s greatest and most produced, such as Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream), 154 sonnets, and two long narrative poems
Background: born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, England; married Ann Hathaway on November 27, 1582; soon moved to London; left London in 1611 and retired; died in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1616.