The Winter`s Tale

The Winter`s Tale is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare`s late romances. Some critics consider it to be one of Shakespeare`s "problem plays" because the first three acts are filled with intense psychological drama, while the last two acts are comic and supply a happy ending.
The play has been intermittently popular, revived in productions in various forms and adaptations by some of the leading theatre practitioners in Shakespearean performance history, beginning after a long interval with David Garrick in his adaptation Florizel and Perdita (first performed in 1753 and published in 1756). The Winter`s Tale was revived again in the 19th century, when the fourth "pastoral" act was widely popular. In the second half of the 20th century, The Winter`s Tale in its entirety, and drawn largely from the First Folio text, was often performed, with varying degrees of success.