IT REMAINS one of the many mysteries surrounding the life of William Shakespeare that we still do not know if he ever visited Scotland.

Some scholars and historians have long speculated that the Bard came north of the Border, and there is no doubt whatsoever that in the period 1599 to 1601 a group of actors with very close ties to Shakespeare visited Edinburgh and Aberdeen and performed his works.

It is one of the very few definite links that Shakespeare has with Scotland, apart from King James VI and I being his patron, and his authorship of “the Scottish play”, Macbeth.

It is a matter of historical record that King James welcomed a group of “players” to Edinburgh around 1600, and defended their right to perform, despite the Presbyterian Church’s severe condemnation.

The identity of one of the group, Laurence Fletcher, has been confirmed in royal records and in the archives of the city of Aberdeen, for he so pleased the good burgesses of the Granite City that on October 22, 1601, he was awarded the Freedom of the City.

Fletcher would go on to become one of the original “King’s Men” empowered in 1603 by the Royal Patent of James – by then King of England, too – to perform theatrical works freely throughout the United Kingdom – effectively, the foundation work of British theatre.

Now, as part of commemorations to mark the 400th anniversary year of the Bard’s death, the performance of Fletcher’s troupe will be re-imagined as part of a week of Shakespeare-themed events organised by the University of Aberdeen and Aberdeen Performing Arts.

Dr Andrew Gordon, a lecturer in literature at the University and the organiser of Aberdeen Shakespeare Week, said that a visit of this nature in 1601 would have been “a rarity” and raised many questions about the nature of the performance.

“There are many unanswered questions about how and where they would have performed,” he said.

“We will be bringing together a range of experts, including an archaeologist who has been exploring the remains of an Elizabethan playhouse in London, a leading academic and dramatist and writers, performers and experts on Shakespeare from around the world.

“We will be using creativity to try and explore the things history does not always have the answers to, including the visit of the Shakespearean players to Aberdeen which would simply be a footnote in conventional versions of the history of Shakespeare but is obviously of great interest here in the city.”

Among the highlights of Shakespeare Week will be a performance using extracts of Twelfth Night, one of the plays in the repertoire of Shakespeare’s company at the time of the visit to Aberdeen.

Playing Aberdeen, 1601, will take place at Underdog on Union Street on Wednesday October 19.

The week will also attempt to tackle another “mystery” with Argentinian writer Carlos Gamerro. He has written a book which reimagines a lost Shakespeare play called Cardenio, inspired by an incident in Cervantes’ Don Quixote. The play is known to have been performed but no text has ever been found.

Gamerro will appear at the University’s Sir Duncan Rice Library on Thursday, October 20 at 5.30pm.