There is an apocryphal tale,( apocrypha surrounds Shakespeare like a gaseous cloud!) which suggests he came to the attention of the Queen's Men, at Thame, in Bucks, in 1557, when, two actors of the company, John Towne and William Knell, fought with swords, resulting in the death of Knell. The "fall out", elevated Shakespeare from holding the horses outside, to being somebody in the company, his foot in the door! Knell was the juvenile lead. Today, he would be Romeo, Antonio, in the Merchant of Venice, Henry V, Prospero. An actor no company could be without! His death changed all that, with everybody, even the boy who held the horses, becoming involved!.
