Shakespeare's 400th anniversary

Shakespeare is more popular today than he has been at any point since his death four centuries ago. The Internet has played its part in the brand Bard propagation , but it has also produced a mountain of alternative, more contemporary content upon which we could choose to feast. And yet it is Shakespeare who has risen to the top. And not just online where he's looked up so much that there are now bespoke Shakespeare search engines. You'll find him sitting on shelves in African bookshops, on laptops in Lapland, and on stage in jungle theatres. You'll hear his words pop up in pop songs, being quoted in movies, and spoken on the street. Say: "To be or not to be" in just about any country and the locals will know that you're quoting Shakespeare. Crime novelists, business folk, football managers and lawyers all plunder his lexicon for that catchy title or perfectly apt phrase.
How did it happen? How has Shakespeare survived and thrived and transformed into an international superstar, when his contemporaries have not?
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11 things you didn't know about the Bard

To mark the anniversary of Shakespeare's death, the RSC's Artistic Director Gregory Doran presents  some startling facts about Britain's most famous playwright:

 1. Shakespeare caused an air crash

On October 4th 1960 a Lockheed Electra aeroplane setting off from Boston Airport stirred up a flock of 10,000 starlings on the runway. It flew straight into the avian cloud which choked the engines and brought the aeroplane down. The crash claimed 62 lives.
The starling is not a species that is native to North America. It was introduced in 1890 by a Shakespeare nut called Eugene Schieffelin. He wanted Central Park in New York to be home to all the songbirds mentioned in Shakespeare.

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