In 1584 he went to London, where he first experienced the playhouse, and his admirable wit soon distinguished him as an excellent writer. When the theatres closed because of the plague, Shakespeare got support from a young nobleman, to whom he dedicated his poems. When the theatres reopened he became the playwright of the most successful company of actors in London. His company built the Globe Theatre, where most of his plays were performed. Between 1590/96 he wrote  historycal dramas, and he put onto the stage ten comedies.
The great tragedies were written between 1595/1605.
He died when he was 52 years old and was buried in the local church, and after his death some of his friends published an edition of thirty-six of the plays in one volume: First Folio.