What disease swept through London, closing down all playhouses from 1592 to 1594?

The disease that swept through London and closed its playhouses from 1592 to 1594 was the bubonic plague.

London’s 1592–1593 outbreak was part of the recurring second plague pandemic caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The epidemic was first recorded in London in August 1592, and the disease spread through the crowded city and surrounding parishes. At least 15,000 people died inside the City of London, with thousands more deaths in neighboring areas.

Theatre closures were a public-health measure as well as a government order. Authorities feared that performances would draw dense crowds and accelerate contagion. London theatres, including the Curtain, remained closed for much of the period from September 1592 to April 1594, although temporary openings could occur when the epidemic eased. The shutdown severely disrupted acting companies, forcing some performers to tour outside London.

This outbreak is sometimes confused with the Black Death of the 14th century. Both involved plague, but the 1590s epidemic was a later outbreak, not the original 1347–1353 catastrophe. Shakespeare’s London career unfolded against this repeated cycle of plague-related theatre closures.