William Shakespeare was born and died on April 23.

Maybe.

Actually, the exact date of his birth is just one of many mysteries surrounding the world’s most famous playwright, including the actual truth as to whether or not he really wrote all of his famous plays.

Many scholars say he did not.

According to History.com, “Although the plays of William Shakespeare may be the most widely read works in the English language, little is known for certain about the playwright himself. Some scholars even believe the plays were not written by William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon but by some other well-educated, aristocratic writer who wished to remain anonymous.”

That’s one theory, but there are many others, too.

In fact, the so-called Shakespearean “authorship issue” has finally begun in recent years to take its place among the great conspiracies, right up there next to the JFK assassination and the faked moon landing theories. It’s also just one facet of the man, his myth and his works that will be explored during a month-long Shakespeare celebration organized by the Bainbridge Performing Arts Shakespeare Society throughout April.

Most prominent among the literary-themed offerings is the free “Shakespeare and the Authorship Issue” public speaker series presented by BPA Shakespeare Society director and Bard expert Tom Challinor, and offered on three separate occasions at different venues through a partnership with the Kitsap Regional Library beginning at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 4 at the Silverdale Branch.

Challinor, a former high school English teacher and life-long Shakespeare fan, began the society as part of a master’s degree thesis project nearly four years ago.

Since joining with BPA, the group has produced a bevy of lectures, play readings and community events celebrating the life and work of the English-speaking world’s most acclaimed author, including two sold out theatrical productions: “The Tempest” first, and then “Twelfth Night” last year.

Later this year, he will helm the much-anticipated production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Bloedel Reserve, another limited run show expected to sell out.

“There are questions, and they’re reasonable questions,” Challinor said of the origins of the Bard’s much-loved tales. “Part of what’s most interesting about the question is how much weight do you give negative evidence?”

He goes on to cite evidence missing from history, things like a lack of personal letters from Shakespeare referencing any of his plays and the lack of any less-perfect early work or initial drafts, or the idea that an actor — a low-class occupation at the time — would not have knowledge of the some of the more aristocratic endeavors that Shakespeare wrote about so well, among other things.

It’s a heated historical debate which has divided scholars for more than a century. But, Challinor added, there is a whole other school of researchers out there who say that, even if the Shakespeare we know is a myth, it doesn’t really matter who wrote the plays because they’re here now and their impacts are the same.

Maybe so, but there’s another reason to wonder, he said.

“It’s fun,” Challinor laughed. “It’s like a detective story that we may never find the answer to; an unsolvable detective story.”

In the larger sense, the lecture is about more than just Shakespeare anyway.

“My presentation is a lot about Shakespeare but it’s also about the way in which we process information and the way in which the mind constructs,” Challinor said.

“The question itself is as entertaining as the answer. I’m not really out to present anybody with an answer. If you trap me into saying, ‘Who do you think wrote them?’ I’ll be happy to tell you who I think some of the strong candidates are.”

Whether or not the plays are the work of one man, their influence in history through multiple mediums is obvious.

Standing as proof of that, and also going on in April as part of the society’s celebration, are two visual arts exhibitions at BPA.

First, “Shakespeare in the BPA Garden,” a special exhibit by Karen Challinor featuring four flagstones with Shakespearean quotes referencing the flowers that are blooming in the theater’s front garden beds and four dioramas depicting famous play scenes.

There’s also “All the World’s a Stage,” a photography exhibition in the BPA Gallery featuring Kim Scott-Olson’s remarkable collection of arresting images from past island Shakespeare productions.

Of course, the famous writer’s influence can also be heard in music, and the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra will present “Comedy and Tragedy with the BPA Shakespeare Society,” music and drama drawn from and inspired by the works of Shakespeare, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.

Tickets for the performance are $19 each, $16 for students, teachers and military. Youth (18 and under) are admitted free with paying adult.

The multi-dimensional offerings drawn from the same source material stands as absolute proof of the universal appeal of the author’s work, regardless of whether he wrote it alone or even at all, Challinor said.

“It’s just about being human,” he explained. “Shakespeare cuts gender, he cuts race.”

“The issues that Shakespeare’s characters face are the same ones that we do,” he added.

For a complete list of event dates, further information and ticket info for the BSO performances, visit www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org.