I had to do “As you like it” and “The Crucible” for English Literature O level. Such dreadful experiences have put me off literature for life. How anyone can find either of those two books remotely entertaining is one of life’s mysteries.

Nobody mentioned my little peeve, namely AN as a synonym for A in 24a. I suppose it is OK but the words are not interchangeable.

I agree that CAT is not synonymous with burglar, but it could be argued that it is a _type_ of burglar.

Favorite clue 21d btw.

Bamberger, you may not know many playwrights but you should have heard of Christopher Marlowe. Famous not only for being a playwright but also for allegedly being a spy and for being assassinated (I think in an east-end Thames-side tavern) and for possibly writing some or all of Shakespeare’s plays. I am a physicist, so if I were to compare the fields then maybe we could say that Shakespeare is as famous as Newton, and maybe Marlowe would be as famous as Leibnitz. I have found that the setters rarely use obscure people in any field. I more often don’t know a regular word than a proper name.

You may have a fair point about CAT. OED and Collins do not support “cat” alone (outside the phrase ‘cat-burglar’) as meaning “burglar.” Maybe it is in Chambers, which I don’t have.

Regarding 13a, I think certainly “spit” = “rain” as a verb (e.g., “it began to spit’).

1d Is burglar =cat correct? He is a burglar does not equal he is a cat in my mind.
13a I have heard of “it is spitting outside” but not “look at the spit outside”
18a& 22d As soon as I saw composer, I knew it was going to be persons I have never heard of and so had little chance.
20a Ditto for the playwright
21d Not another musical clue …

This was enjoyable although not too challenging.