shakespeare's plays continued to be staged after his death until the interregnum (1642–1660), when most public stage performances were banned by the puritan rulers. after the english restoration, shakespeare's plays were performed in playhouses, with elaborate scenery, and staged with music, dancing, thunder, lightning, wave machines, and fireworks. during this time the texts were "reformed" and "improved" for the stage, an undertaking which has seemed shockingly disrespectful to posterity.