Travelrific® Travel Journal

Shakespeare Played Here

May 26, 2025 8:00 am

By Linda Tancs

The Guildhall of St. George is a Grade I-listed building in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. Founded in 1376 as a religious fellowship, it’s the largest surviving medieval guildhall in the country. It was the site of a theatrical production at least as early as 1445, when a nativity play was produced. Its biggest claim to fame, though, is the contention that even Shakespeare performed there. Recent academic research supports the local tradition that Shakespeare played there with the Earl of Pembroke’s Men in 1593, when London theaters were closed because of plague. Performances at the guildhall became so popular that a new theater was built in the 1700s. Today the guildhall is used as a public space for performances, lectures and entertainment.