As an actor, William Shakespeare may have stolen the show once or twice but an upcoming exhibition at London's Somerset House will detail how in 1601 he and a gang of actors armed themselves with swords and daggers and stole a whole theatre!

The Daily Mail reports that six legal documents from Great Britain's National Archive, dating back to the 17th century, will be displayed together as "By Me William Shakespeare: A Life in Writing," allowing visitors further insight into the playwright's personal life.

Among them are court papers alleging that Shakespeare was among a dozen accomplices who did "riotouslie take downe and carry away the said Theatre in confederacy with others armed with unlawfull and offensive weapons, as namely swords, daggers, bills, axes and such like, and soe did enter, and in a very riotous and outrageous manner did attempt to pull down and carry away the said Theatre."

The story of how, after an argument with the theatre's landlord, The Bard and his cohorts took down the playhouse and used its pieces to build The Globe has always been a part of Elizabethan legend but has never been fully explained for public consumption.

The exhibition is part of a joint project between the National Archive and King's College London to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

Other documents to be displayed include one from 1595 showing how Shakespeare earned too little to pay tax and the writer's will, including the promise of his "second best bed" to his wife and a favorite bowl for his daughter.

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Visit bymewilliamshakespeare.org.

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