1592

Box office smash

Back of the stage at
The Globe Theatre, LondonWilliam had a box office hit on his hands at The Rose theatre, Bankside with "Henry VI Part 1," a prequel to his popular history play series. Records show that the play was performed to between 2,000 and 3,000 people a night, between April and June.

The play was performed at a time when England was engaged militarily in Normandy and may have caught the flavor of the moment. The work drew both rave reviews and some criticism from some corners of the theatre establishment.

With a couple of hits under his belt, a more confident William would be able to expand his repertoire to include tragedy and comedy.