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A rare and historic collection of plays by English playwright William Shakespeare has been sold at auction in London for 2.8 million pounds (4.1 million euros, 5.2 million dollars). The 17th century First Folio -- the first published collection of Shakespeare's plays -- was bought by a "London book dealer", auctioneers Sotheby's said on Thursday. About 750 copies of the First Folio, which has been described as the most important book in English literature, were originally printed in 1623, seven years after the bard's death. They each contain 36 plays, 18 of which had never previously been printed. Experts believe...

Murder musical is killed off after just one week By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent (Filed: 15/10/2004) The ill-fated £2 million musical Murderous Instincts, heavily panned by most critics when it opened last week, is to close after one of the shortest runs in West End history. The "salsa comedy murder mystery", produced by maverick American producer Manny Fox, ran through eight directors and many disagreements before opening in London and Nichola McAuliffe, the show's star, said publicly that rehearsals were "like a motorway pile-up". The show opened last Thursday at the Savoy Theatre and will close on Saturday. One insider...