‘Let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings.” And, while we are at it, stories about star-crossed lovers, troubled princes, magical islands, murderous monarchs, ungrateful daughters and the green-eyed monster that is jealousy. It should be an internet hit.

An actor and philosophy graduate has dedicated almost a week to performing a continuous livestream of the complete plays of Shakespeare. Taking only occasional breaks for a few hours’ sleep, and helped by a rolling cast of actors and readers from both sides of the Atlantic, Oliver Thorn began his Shakespearean endurance feat on Friday. He was still going strong on Tuesday. In all it was expected to take about 100 hours.

More than 175,000 people tuned in to