A great favourite among all the Shakespearian plays, the comedy Twelfth Night has delighted audience all across the world, be it through theatre, television or cinema. It draws on earlier plays like The Comedy of Errors and The Two Gentlemen of Verona but also puts in irony.

William Shakespeare, perhaps the greatest English playwright ever, was born in 1564. By 1592 he was sufficiently established as a playwright to be criticized in print. He was a leading member of the Lord Chamberlain's Company, which became the King's Men on the accession of James I in 1603. He died in April 1616 and is buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon.