The Two Noble Kinsmen was published as Fletcher and Shakespeare's joint work in 1634. The are few records and therefore dates available in relation to first production and printing dates for the plays by William Shakespeare. Establishing the exact chronology of Shakespeare's plays is therefore impossible. Information has been pieced together by experts from various sources to produce the following chronology. The sources and documented records used are as follows:

• Actual historical events
• Allusions to historical events in his plays
• First Performance dates taken from personal diaries and records (Henslow and Manningham)
• Royal Court Records
• Legal documents

Registration of Plays
Plays were required to be registered prior to publication. It was important that plays were regulated as  playwrights used the stage as a forum to express their own views on religion and politics. Registration provided an opportunity to invoke a form of censorship and the means to suppress too much freedom of thought and criticism of the crown and public affairs.

Playwright - a dangerous occupation
Any playwrights found guilty of expressing seditious or heretical views or opinions which were in opposition to the crown or government could be tortured and sentenced to death for treason or even atheism. Such accusations were levelled at Christopher Marlowe and the actor Thomas Kyd. (Kyd was arrested on charges of writing a slanderous play and was tortured. During his interrogation he implicated both Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh in relation to accusations of Heresy and Atheism.) It was therefore not unusual for playwrights to use a pseudonym or an alias to conceal their true identity. William Shakespeare never authorised the publication of any of his plays during his lifetime, neither did he claim authorship. The majority of Shakespeare plays were first published in the First Folio, seven years after his death, in 1623. This has fuelled the Identity Problem and mysteries surrounding the works of William Shakespeare. 

First Performances of Plays and the dates plays first printed
The following Play Chronology is the 'best guess' based on the information available. Some views may differ regarding these dates but the 'bottom line' is that if a fact was available it would be included within the chronology, the rest can only be considered as conjecture.

• 1592 March 3, Henry VI Part I is produced. First printed 1594
• 1592-93 Henry VI, Part II first performed. First print 1594
• 1592-93 Henry VI, Part III first performed. First printed 1623
• 1594 January 24 Titus Andronicus first performance. First print 1594
• 1594 December 28, Confirmed performance of The Comedy of Errors. First printed 1623
• 1593-94 Taming of the Shrew first performed. First print 1623
• 1594-95 Two Gentlemen of Verona first performance. First printed 1623
• 1594-95 Love's Labour's Lost first performed. First print 1598
• 1594-95 Romeo and Juliet first performance. First printed 1597
• 1595-96 A Midsummer Night's Dream first performed. First print 1600
• 1596-97 The Merchant of Venice first performed. First printed 1600
• 1597-98 Henry IV, Part I first performed. First print 1598
• 1597-98 Henry IV, Part II first performance. First printed 1600
• 1598-99 Much Ado About Nothing first performed. First print 1600
• 1598-99 Henry V first performed. First printed 1600
• 1599-00 As You Like It first performed. First print 1623
• 1600-01 Julius Caesar first performance. First printed 1623
• 1601 February 7 First Recorded production of Richard II. First printed 1597
• 1600-01 Richard III first Recorded performance. First print 1597
• 1600-01 Hamlet first performed. First printed 1603
• 1600-01 The Merry Wives of Windsor first performance. First print 1602
• 1602 February 2 First Recorded production of Twelfth Night. First printed 1623
• 1602-03 All's Well That Ends Well first performed. First print 1623
• 1604 February 7 First Recorded production of Troilus and Cressida. First printed 1609 
• 1604 December 26 First performance of Measure for Measure. First print 1623
• 1604-05 Othello first performed. First printed 1622
• 1606 December 26 First recorded performance of King Lear. First print 1608
• 1605-06 Macbeth first performance. First printed 1623
• 1606-07 Antony and Cleopatra first performed. First print 1623
• 1607-08 Coriolanus first performed. First printed 1623
• 1607-08 Timon of Athens first performance. First print 1623
• 1608-09 Pericles first performed. First printed 1609
• 1611 November 1 First Recorded production of The Tempest. First print 1623
• 1611-12 Macbeth First recorded performance. First printed 1623
• 1611-12 Cymbeline First recorded performance. First print 1623
• 1611-12 The Winter's Tale First recorded performance. First printed 1623
• 1612-13 Henry VIII first performance. First print 1623
• 1612-13 The Two Noble Kinsmen. First printed 1634