King's Men (playing company): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:19, 13 October 2006

Revision as of 23:24, 13 October 2006

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1609 is another plague year during which the company travels. Nine plays are performed at Court that year.

1610 is a better year, with public performances at the Globe—''[[Othello]]'', and Jonson's ''[[Sejanus]]'' tooamong others. The company is augmented by John Underwood and William Ostler, both of whom come from the Queen's Revels company, and William Ecclestone too.

In 1611 Jonson's ''Catiline'' is performed; apart from Richard Robinson's substitution for Armin, the casting is the same as for ''Sejanus'' the previous year. Between October 1611 and April 1612 the King's Men act 22 plays at Court, including ''[[The Winter's Tale]]'' and ''[[The Tempest]]''.

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On April 23, 1616, Shakespeare dies. His role as the King's Men's leading playwright would be filled by Fletcher and his various collaborators through the coming years, with [[Philip Massinger]] assuming greater prominence in the 1630s.

On March 13, 1619, Richard Burbage dies. Joseph Taylor transfers from the Duke of York's/Prince Charles' Men to take Burbage's place; he would assume the role ofplay Hamlet and other Burbage roles in the near future. onOn March 27 the King's Men receive a new patent, with a new list of sharers; the group of long-established veterans, including Condell, Heminges, Underwood, Robinson, Ecclestone and others, is supplemented by newcomers [[Nathaniel Field]], Robert Benfield, and John Shank.

The First Folio (1623) gives a list names of the principal actors in Shakespeare's plays providing a fairly comprehensive roster of the members of the King's Men through the previous twenty years. In addition to the nine men on the royal patent (Shakespeare, Burbage, Heminges, Condell, Phillips, Cowley, Sly, Armin, and Fletcher), the list inlcudes William Kempe, Thomas Pope, [[George Bryan]], [[John Lowin]], Samuel Crosse, [[Alexander Cooke]], Samuel Gilburne, William Ostler, [[Nathaniel Field]], John Underwood, Nicholas Tooley, William Ecclestone, Joseph Taylor, Robert Benfield, Robert Goughe, Richard Robinson, John Shank, and John Rice.