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The first performance of Romeo and Juliet took place in the autumn/winter of 1594, when the playhouses reopened for the first time after a sustained outbreak of the plague had forced the authorities to close all the playhouses in London in January 1593. During this period, over 10,000 people in London alone died from the disease, and Shakespeare emphasizes the relevance of the plague for his audience by using it in Romeo and Juliet to prevent Friar Laurence's message from reaching Romeo in Mantua. Source: https://books.google.com.au/books?isbn=0544183746

Romeo and Juliet Facts
Romeo and Juliet is the name of a play written by William Shakespeare (April 26, 1564 - April 23, 1616) about two young people, Romeo and Juliet, who fall in love but are not able to be together. They ultimately commit suicide after believing each other to be dead. It is a tragic love story but the overall theme is often debated. Scholars have made theories that the play Romeo and Juliet is based on love, fate and chance, duality (light and dark), and even time. Romeo and Juliet is considered to be one of Shakespeare's most popular and most performed plays.

• When the play was written by William Shakespeare women were not allowed to act on stage. It is believed that her character was played by a man in those days.
• Shakespeare is quoted more in the English language than any other writer, if the Bible is not included. Only the texts of the various writers of the Bible are quoted more than Shakespeare (in English).
• Romeo's love interest at the beginning of the play is not Juliet. He is in love with Rosaline. When Romeo meets Juliet at the ball, he falls in love with her instead.

Source: http://www.softschools.com/facts/literature/romeo_and_juliet_facts/2520/

Key Facts

Full title  · The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

Author  · William Shakespeare

Type of work  · Play

Genre  · Tragic drama

Language  · English

Time and place written  · London, mid-1590s

Date of first publication  · 1597 (in the First Quarto, which was likely an unauthorized incomplete edition); 1599 (in the Second Quarto, which was authorized)

Publisher  · Thomas Creede (in the Second Quarto, using the title The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedie, of Romeo and Juliet)

Source: https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/romeojuliet/facts/