Twelfth Night, in full Twelfth Night; or, What You Will, comedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, written about 1600–02 and printed in the First Folio of 1623 from a transcript of an authorial draft or possibly a playbook.

Why did Shakespeare write Twelfth Night?

Scholars think Shakespeare wrote Twelfth Night sometime in 1601. It is thought that the monarch at the time, Queen Elizabeth I, commissioned the play to be written so it could be performed as part of her festivities to celebrate the Christian holiday of Twelfth Night.

When was 12th night first performed?

This photograph shows the location of the first recorded performance of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: the Hall of Middle Temple, London. The play was on 2 February 1602 and is recorded in the diary of a trainee barrister called John Manningham.