The date is June 1600. Queen Elizabeth’s Privy Council has limited plays to only two performances a week.

To make some extra money, Shakespeare decides to get some of his plays printed for sale. But first he has to get them past the censors.

It's true that Eizabeth's Privy Council has limited plays to only 2 performances a week and that many playwrights printed their plays to make more money. It's also true that they had to get them past the censors beforehand!

All of the Shakepeare plot's mentioned are real. He made up words, created very long titles and wrote historical plays that were not historically accurate - but at least they were entertaining! He really did have to change the name from Oldcastle to Falstaff for that very reason.

The deposition scene in Richard II was really cut because Elizabeth did think she was Richard. It's also true that Mark Rylance is a truely great shakespearian actor and it's Shakespeare loss that he never heard of him.

 If you want to find out more about Shakespeare, check out the sources and places below:

Shakespeare: The Biography - Peter Ackroyd

In Search of Shakespeare - Michael Wood

Soul of the Age: The Life, Mind and World of William Shakespeare - Jonathan Bate

The Globe Theatre, London