1564
Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden.
1564
Christopher Marlowe is born.
1567
Birth of Richard Burbage.
1567
The Red Lion is built by John Brayne in Stepney.
1572
Ben Jonson is born.
1575
The indoor theatre St Paul's is built. Indoor theatres were generally lit by candlelight, had a smaller capacity and were more expensive than an outdoor theatre.
1576
James Burbage builds The Theatre, where the Lord Chamberlain's men performed until the construction of the Globe. It is estimated to have cost around £700 to build.
1577
The Curtain and Blackfriars theatres open.
1587
The Rose Theatre opens in Bankside, London.
1587
Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great is first performed on the London stage.
1587
By age twenty, Richard Burbage is already a popular actor on stage, excelling in tragedy in particular and performing works by Shakespeare, Jonson and Kyd throughout his lifetime.
1592
Shakespeare writes Henry VI, his first historical play. [Date probable]
1592
Shakespeare writes Henry VI Part 1, performed at the Rose Theatre the same year. He writes two sequels to this popular play. [Date probable]
1593
Around this time, Shakespeare writes Richard III. [Date probable]
1593
Christopher Marlowe is killed.
1593
Shakespeare writes Venus and Adonis. [Date probable]
1593
Shakespeare writes Richard III. [Date probable]
1594
Shakespeare writes Titus Andronicus. [Date probable]
1594
Shakespeare writes The Taming of the Shrew. [Date probable]
1594
Dido, Queen of Carthage, by Christopher Marlowe, is published.
1594
Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet. [Date probable]
1594
Shakespeare writes Love's Labour's Lost. [Date probable]
1595
Shakespeare writes Richard II. [Date probable]
1595
Shakespeare writes A Midsummer Night's Dream. [Date probable]
1596
James Burbage builds a second Blackfriars theatre.
1596
Shakespeare writes The Merchant of Venice. [Date probable]
1597
Shakespeare writes Henry IV, Parts I and II. [Date probable]
1597
Shakespeare writes The Merry Wives of Windsor. [Date probable]
1597
Mr Allen refuses to renew the lease on the land where the Theatre is built, but Richard Burbage owns the theatre itself, so this is taken down. Members of the company, including Shakespeare, are offered the chance of becoming part owners of the theatre in order to raise the funds to lease another site.
1598
Shakespeare writes Much Ado About Nothing. [Date probable]
1599
Original Globe Theatre is built in 1599 using timbers from The Theatre on the south bank of the River Thames.
1599
Shakespeare writes As You Like It. [Date probable]
1600 - 1603
Shakespeare writes Troilus and Cressida. [Date probable]
1600
Shakespeare writes Twelfth Night. [Date probable]
1601
Shakespeare writes Hamlet. [Date probable]
1601
First performance of Hamlet, starring Richard Burbage.
1601
Shakespeare writes All's Well That Ends Well. [Date probable]
1603
Death of Elizabeth I.
1603
The Rose Theatre closes.
1603
Shakespeare writes Measure for Measure. [Date probable]
1604
Shakespeare writes Timon of Athens. [Date probable]
1604
Shakespeare writes Othello. [Date probable]
1605
Shakespeare writes King Lear. [Date probable]
1606
Shakespeare writes Macbeth. [Date probable]
1607
Shakespeare writes Antony and Cleopatra. [Date probable]
1608
Blackfriars Theatre is repossessed.
1608
Shakespeare writes Corialanus and Pericles. [Date probable]
1609
Shakespeare writes Cymbeline. [Date probable]
1610
Shakespeare writes The Winter's Tale. [Date probable]
1610
First performance of Ben Jonson's The Alchemist.
1611
Shakespeare writes The Two Noble Kinsmen and The Tempest. [Date probable]
1613
Shakespeare writes Henry VIII. [Date probable]
1613
Fire breaks out after burning wadding sets fire to the thatch during a performance of Henry VIII, and the Globe is destroyed in just an hour.
1614
Globe Theatre is rebuilt, this time with a tile roof rather than thatch to prevent any further outbreaks of fire.
1616
Cockpit Theatre opens in Drury Lane.
1616
Shakespeare dies in Stratford-upon-Avon on St George's Day.
1616
Publication of Ben Jonson's folio, a collection of plays, poetry and masques.
1619
Death of Richard Burbage.
1623
Publication of the First Folio, seven years after Shakespeare's death. This collection is put together by members of the King's Men.
1632
Publication of the Second Folio, which includes minor corrections.
1637
Ben Johnson dies.
1642
Parliament orders the closure of all London's theatres.
1644
The Globe is torn down to make way for residential buildings.
1663
Publication of the Third Folio.
1685
Publication of the Fourth Folio.
1709
Nicholas Rowe edits Shakespeare's plays, adding in elements such as a list of characters and entrances and exits. He is the first major editor of Shakespeare's works, and others follow him, making additions and amendments based on their interpretations and the academic impressions of the time.
1747 - 1776
David Garrick produces 26 of Shakespeare's plays, which are performed at Drury Lane Theatre.
1765
Edward Capell highlights the importance of the relationship between the play and the physical space of the theatre in understanding Shakespeare’s plays. This helped in establishing Shakespeare as a revered English poet and playwright.
1769
David Garrick organises Shakespeare's Jubilee, celebrating the life and works of Shakespeare.
1771
In the 18th century, Shakespeare's plays begin being performed around Europe, particularly on German stages. Goethe organises Shakespeare's Jubilee in Frankfurt.
1888
Johannes DeWitt's drawing of the Swan theatre is discovered.
1895
Harvard University construct a stage for a production of Epicoene, based on the design from the Swan drawing.
1895
William Poel forms the Elizabethan Stage Society. The sets and platform stage are minimal in nature, in sharp contrast to the elaborate staging of the early Victorian era, and help to bring focus back to Shakespeare's original texts.
1897
William Poel proposes that a reconstruction of the Globe should be built near the original site.
1902
The first known model of the Globe goes on display, based on the drawings of Poel.
1932
Folger Shakespeare Library opens. The space includes an Elizabethan theatre.
1935
Old Globe Theatre built in San Diego as part of the California Pacific International Exhibition. The design is based on the Chicago model.
1970
Sam Wanamaker founds the Shakespeare Globe Trust.
1986
The RSC's Swan Theatre opens in Stratford-upon-Avon.
1988
Designed by Isozaki Arata, the Panasonic Globe Theatre opens in Tokyo, Japan.
1989
A small excavation of the Globe's original site establishes that the Globe had a diameter of around 100 ft and was a 20 sided polygon.