My favourite author is William Shakespeare. He was born in 1564 in Straiford-upon-Avon. His parents did not guess that their son was going to be such an important figure in English poetry and drama and that his plays would still be acted four hundred years later — not only in England, but all over the world. In 1587 Shakespeare went to work in London. He soon began to act and to write plays. He was an important member of a well-known acting company. In 1599 the famous Globe Theatre was built on the south bank of the river Thames. It was in this theatre that most of his plays were performed. In 1613 Shakespeare finally stopped writing and went to live in Stratford where he died in 1616.