- For other uses, see King's Men.
The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it became The King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron.
The royal patent of May 19, 1603 that charters the King's Men names the following players, in this order: Lawrence Fletcher, William Shakespeare, Richard Burbage, Augustine Phillips, John Heminges, Henry Condell, William Sly, Robert Armin, Richard Cowley, "and the rest of their associates...". On March 15, 1604, the nine men named in the patent were each supplied with four and a half yards of red cloth for the coronation procession. In the four months from Nov. 1604 through Feb. 1605, the King's men performed at Court eleven times, including seven plays by Shakespeare (The Merchant of Venice twice) and two by Ben Jonson.
The company was the most successful in London. It was based at the Globe Theatre and the indoor Blackfriars theatre. Its lead actor was Richard Burbage, who played the title roles in Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Macbeth, among many other roles. The company's "clown" was Robert Armin, who had replaced Will Kempe in 1599. Armin is thought to have originated roles such as Feste in Twelfth Night and The Fool in King Lear.
A chronology of imporant developments in the history of the King's Men in Shakespeare's era would include:
May 1605 brings the death of Augustine Phillips. In his will, Phillips leaves legacies to Shakespeare, Burbage, and eight other members of the company, plus two apprentices, and £5 to the hired men "of the company which I am of."
From July through December 1608 the theatres are closed due to plague; the King's Men tour the countryside. The Blackfriars theatre, owned by the Burbage family, is organized into a partnership in August of that year, with five of the seven shares going to members of the King's Men—Shakespeare, Burbage, Heminges, Condell, and Sly. Sly, however, dies soon after, and his share is split among the other six (one of whom was Cuthbert Burbage, Richard's brother).
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 among 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.
The winter of 1612 sees the great Court festivities celebrating the marriage of the Elector Palatine to King James' daughter Princess Elizabeth. The King's Men perform 20 plays, including seven by Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing twice), one by Jonson, and four by Beaumont and Fletcher, reflecting their growing popularity with audiences and dominance in the King's Men's repertoire. The mysterious Cardenio, allegedly by Shakespeare and Fletcher, is also performed, twice.
On June 29, 1613, the Globe theatre burns down, its thatch roof set afire by squibs set off during a lavish performance of the Shakespeare/Fletcher Henry VIII. The Globe is rebuilt by the following spring.
In 1614, King's Men sharers Alexander Cooke and William Ostler both die; they are replaced by William Ecclestone and (perhaps) Robert Benfield.
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 play Hamlet and other Burbage roles. On 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.
When the Puritan faction of Parliament gained control over the city of London at the beginning of the English Civil War, it ordered the closing of all theatres in 1642, an action that ended regular public theatrical perforance in the London area—but curiously did not end all theatrical activity, as is often maintained. On March 24, 1646, the still-extant King's Men petitioned Parliament for three and a half years of back pay, though details of their activity in this period have not survived. Theatrical performances were common in the London theatres throughout 1647, in contravention of the local authorities, though details are scarce. Ten actors signed the dedication in the 1647 Beaumont and Fletcher folio as the King's Men; these were Robert Benfield, Theophilus Bird, Hugh Clarke, Stephen Hammerton, John Lowin, Thomas Pollard, Richard Robinson, Joseph Taylor, Eyllaerdt Swanston, and William Allen. The first seven men on that list, who had all been members of the company in 1642, also signed a contract as sharers in the King's Men on Jan. 28, 1648, showing that the company was re-activating, or attempting to re-activate, at that time. This iteration of the company collapsed in July of the same year when it failed to make a payment. Another attempt followed during the winter of 1648-9, with a younger group of actors than the previous crew of veterans; this new group of 16 included Walter Clun and Charles Hart, who had played with the King's Men as boys before the 1642 closing. These two, plus eight more new members, signed a contract on Dec. 27, 1648 with one Walter Conway, an upholsterer who was their financier; but raids by London authorities in early 1649 [see Salisbury Court Theatre] ended this attempt at a resurgence for the King's Men.
By the time the theatres formally re-opened after the monarchy was restored, few of the old players and playwrights remained, and the old theatrical practices and traditions had largely been lost. Female roles were soon performed by women rather than boys [see Edward Kynaston], and the open-air playhouses common in the past were no more; the more elite higher-priced indoor theaters became the norm.
Although a new King's Company was established, it had little in common with its predecessor other than a royal patron. The Restoration drama in which it participated was largely a new foundation. While Elizabethan and Jacobean classics were the mainstay of the Restoration repertory, many, particularly the tragedies, were adapted to conform to new tastes influenced by the French theatre of Louis XIV. The Elizabethan features of multitude of scenes, multitude of characters, and melange of genres lived on primarily in Restoration comedy.
References
- E. K. Chambers, The Elizabethan Stage, 4 Volumes, Oxford, the Clarendon Press, 1923.
- F. E. Halliday, A Shakespeare Companion 1564-1964, Baltimore, Penguin, 1964.