Shakespeare's Fellow Players (As Actors were called in those days)
Who were they?
You'll meet them in
It was tough being an actor in the 16th and 17th century. They had to perform up to ten plays every fortnight, sometimes get their lines (from the prompter) DURING the performance, fend off the plague and save themselves from puritanical authorities. Players unattached to any particular company were liable to be arrested for vagrancy.
Shakespeare and his fellow players were unique because they survived all this and prospered. First they acquired the patronage of the Baron Hunsdon, who went on to become The Lord Chamberlain, an important position in Queen Elizabeth's court. He was manager of her household. Thus, they came to be known as The Chamberlain's Men. After Elizabeth's death, King James ascended the throne and gave them his patronage. So they became The King's Men.This extraordinary success was largely because of Shakespeare's genius but his fellow players were important, too, in ensuring the continuous success of one particular company.
Let's meet some of them:
Richard Burbage (1567-1619): The lead actor. Like Shakespeare, born in Stratford. Married to Winifred. Father of seven. Played all the great lead parts like Richard III, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello. Shakespeare's close friend. A talented painter, too. This picture is believed to be a self-portrait. Lived in the prosperous parish of St. Mary Aldermanbury. His neighbours were John Heminges and Henry Condell, the players who compiled Shakespeare's First Folio after his death. Richard and his older brother Cuthbert together owned 50% shares in The Globe.
John Heminges: Actor and the Company's Accountant-cum- Treasurer. Eight years older than Shakespeare but he outlived the Bard and, as mentioned above, compiled the First Folio. That was in 1623. Married Rebecca Knell and they had thirteen children! He was a grocer, too, and owned an Ale House. In the preface to the First Folio he and Condell say they did it "to keep the memory of so worth a friend and fellow alive as was our Shakespeare". The world owes them big time! He was one of the six sharers in The Globe.
Augustine Phillips: Actor and the Company Manager. One of the six sharers. Was married. Had six children. Was a talented musician, too. Wealthy. Gave loans.
Henry Condell: Actor and Wardrobe Manager. Married an heiress Elizabeth Smart. Had nine children! Owned a country home in Fulham.
Thomas Pope: Actor and one of the six sharers. Played comic parts mostly such as Falstaff, Dogberry, Peter (in Romeo & Juliet). Also worked as an entertainer in the Danish Court in 1586. Could have provided Shakespeare some local flavour for Hamlet.
Robert Armin: Principal comedian and a Master of Fencing. Also wrote pamphlets about the art of comedy. Played the Fool in King Lear, Clown Feste in Twelfth Night and Touchstone in As You Like It.
These were the main players. You'll meet many others in the novel. The stage they performed on would've looked something like this:
Here's a clip from the movie Shakespeare In Love to give you an idea of how rehearsals might've taken place during Shakespeare's time. Joseph Fiennes is playing Shakespeare. You'll also recognize Gwenyth Paltrow as his mistress and Ben Affleck as Ned Alleyn, a real rival to Richard Burbage.
Don't forget to get your copy of The Shakespeare Murders at a bookstore near you or Amazon or Flipcart!
Who were they?
You'll meet them in
It was tough being an actor in the 16th and 17th century. They had to perform up to ten plays every fortnight, sometimes get their lines (from the prompter) DURING the performance, fend off the plague and save themselves from puritanical authorities. Players unattached to any particular company were liable to be arrested for vagrancy.
Shakespeare and his fellow players were unique because they survived all this and prospered. First they acquired the patronage of the Baron Hunsdon, who went on to become The Lord Chamberlain, an important position in Queen Elizabeth's court. He was manager of her household. Thus, they came to be known as The Chamberlain's Men. After Elizabeth's death, King James ascended the throne and gave them his patronage. So they became The King's Men.This extraordinary success was largely because of Shakespeare's genius but his fellow players were important, too, in ensuring the continuous success of one particular company.
Let's meet some of them:
Richard Burbage (1567-1619): The lead actor. Like Shakespeare, born in Stratford. Married to Winifred. Father of seven. Played all the great lead parts like Richard III, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello. Shakespeare's close friend. A talented painter, too. This picture is believed to be a self-portrait. Lived in the prosperous parish of St. Mary Aldermanbury. His neighbours were John Heminges and Henry Condell, the players who compiled Shakespeare's First Folio after his death. Richard and his older brother Cuthbert together owned 50% shares in The Globe.
John Heminges: Actor and the Company's Accountant-cum- Treasurer. Eight years older than Shakespeare but he outlived the Bard and, as mentioned above, compiled the First Folio. That was in 1623. Married Rebecca Knell and they had thirteen children! He was a grocer, too, and owned an Ale House. In the preface to the First Folio he and Condell say they did it "to keep the memory of so worth a friend and fellow alive as was our Shakespeare". The world owes them big time! He was one of the six sharers in The Globe.
Augustine Phillips: Actor and the Company Manager. One of the six sharers. Was married. Had six children. Was a talented musician, too. Wealthy. Gave loans.
Henry Condell: Actor and Wardrobe Manager. Married an heiress Elizabeth Smart. Had nine children! Owned a country home in Fulham.
Thomas Pope: Actor and one of the six sharers. Played comic parts mostly such as Falstaff, Dogberry, Peter (in Romeo & Juliet). Also worked as an entertainer in the Danish Court in 1586. Could have provided Shakespeare some local flavour for Hamlet.
Robert Armin: Principal comedian and a Master of Fencing. Also wrote pamphlets about the art of comedy. Played the Fool in King Lear, Clown Feste in Twelfth Night and Touchstone in As You Like It.
These were the main players. You'll meet many others in the novel. The stage they performed on would've looked something like this:
Here's a clip from the movie Shakespeare In Love to give you an idea of how rehearsals might've taken place during Shakespeare's time. Joseph Fiennes is playing Shakespeare. You'll also recognize Gwenyth Paltrow as his mistress and Ben Affleck as Ned Alleyn, a real rival to Richard Burbage.
Don't forget to get your copy of The Shakespeare Murders at a bookstore near you or Amazon or Flipcart!
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