William Shakespeare

1. William Shakespeare by Year 9 students

2. William Shakespeare was the son of John and Mary Shakespeare. He was born in April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and died in 1616. He was 52 when he died.

3. William Shakespeare's Family Shakespeare lived in Stratford –upon-Avon and London. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582. They had a daughter called Susannah and twins called Judith and Hamnet.

4. Shakespeare travelled to London to make a living in the theatre. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men was the nameof his first theatre company.Altogether he wrote 37 plays and about 159 poems.

5. At this time Elizabeth I was the queen of England. She liked Shakespeare’s plays.

6. Shakespeare wrote three types (genres) of play: tragedies, comedies, and histories.

7. In those days there were only male actors: men and boys. Women were not allowed on stage. The boys took the female parts because they were skinnier and had higher voices.

8. Theatres in William Shakespeares Time The Globe Theatre The Swan Theatre The Rose Theatre Shakespeare’s plays were performed in lots of London theatres, such as The Rose, built in 1587, The Theatre, and The Swan, built in 1589. His plays were very popular and successful!

9. The first Globe burnt down. After the fire they built another Globe theatre in 1614.

10. This Globe Theatre is a reconstruction of the original Globe. It was built in 1997 in London and it is one of London’s most successful playhouses.

11. Inside The Theatre The rich people would sit here The poor people would stand here At the theatre the higher class rich people would sit around the stage in a shaded area on benches. The lower class people had to stand in the middle and watch the play. There was no roof and if it rained they got wet!

12. In their spare time, Elizabethan people played many popular sports such as bowling, skittles, hockey, football and blood-thirsty sports such as cock-fighting. There would be a lot of gambling on which animal would win a fight. The animals were bears and dogs.