From the introduction:
Death of a Playwright consists of a prologue, a main part and an epilogue.
The prologue starts off with Shakespeare lying in his bed in Stratford-upon-Avon while the rest of the family is talking to the doctor and the priest next door. Suddenly, a procession of characters from his plays appear, lead by Prospero, the sorcerer. They want to audit Shakespeare's life and determine what kind of story can be told about it. And so Prospero sets a court to answer that question.
In the main part of the game, the characters take turns framing scenes from Shakespeares life. Through the scenes they highlight what has been important for him in his life. The scenes are organised in five acts...The scenes are not intended to be played chronologically. The characters have free rein to set the scenes they want, though you should endeavor to ensure that you play a scene from the first act before someone frames a scene from the second act, etc. Players should choose scenes based on what they feel would fit into the story at a given point.
When Prospero judges that the story is reaching its conclusion, he frames the epilogue. In it, Prospero tells Shakespeare that it is time for him to leave the mortal realm. Thus, he should choose one of the characters to lead him into the world of spirits. When Shakespeare has chosen, everybody leaves the stage in procession. Shakespeare has died.