William Poel

William Poel was the founder of the Elizabethan Stage Society in 1895. This society was made up of a group of amateurs who wanted to experiment with the original staging conditions of Shakespeare's works, with minimal set, props and costumes, in sharp contrast to the elaborate productions of previous decades.

There were numerous productions that acted as forerunners to the society, including Hamlet performed in 1881 by Poel at St George's Hall in Langham Place, London.