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A Who’s Who of Elizabethan Theatre

P
LAYHOUSES IN THE
late sixteenth century boasted a wealth of talent apart from Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. Some of the other big names have minor roles in this book.

The Actor Manager: Edward Alleyn
(1566–1626)

Alleyn started as an actor at seventeen and went on to make a fortune from his theatre and bear-baiting enterprises. His lucky break was to marry Joan, the stepdaughter of Philip Henslowe. The two men went into partnership, successfully running the Rose Theatre. Known for his powerful voice and commanding stage presence, Alleyn’s starring roles included Marlowe’s Tamburlaine and Dr Faustus. His greatest legacy is perhaps Dulwich College, which he founded, and which would bring forth many renowned writers including Raymond Chandler and P. G. Wodehouse.

The Star Player: Richard Burbage
(1568–1619)

A much-loved actor, he was a good friend of William Shakespeare and was one of only three theatre colleagues named in the bard’s will (he was left money to buy a ‘mourning ring’, a common practice of the day). Burbage, son of the theatre impresario James Burbage (builder of The Theatre, the first permanent playhouse), starred in many of Shakespeare’s plays, including
Hamlet
,
Othello
and
King Lear
. A famous anecdote by John Manningham implies that Burbage and Shakespeare were both womanisers who, on one occasion, competed for the favours of the same lady. Shakespeare won, and boasted that ‘William the Conqueror was before Richard the Third’.

The Impresario: Philip Henslowe
(1555–1616)

A courtier to both Queen Elizabeth and James I, Henslowe had immense influence and wealth. He was the moneyman behind many plays and playhouses, including the Rose and the Fortune. When his stepdaughter married Edward Alleyn, the two men forged the most formidable partnership of the age, with Henslowe seeing himself as a father as well as a friend to the younger man. Henslowe was a hard-nosed businessman who made sure he wrung every last farthing out of the players and their productions. He owned much rental property around Southwark (where he lived) and had a reputation as a tough landlord. His other main source of income was as an owner of Southwark stews – brothels.

The Clown: Will Kempe
(birth date unknown–1602)

The most celebrated comedy actor of the late Elizabethan age, Kempe was a tousle-haired, immensely fit performer who could hold an audience rapt with wonderment and laughter at his acrobatics and clowning. He had parts in plays by Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Kyd and, later, William Shakespeare, playing most of his famous comic parts, including Falstaff and Bottom. Always a free spirit, he quit the stage in 1600 to morris dance from London to Norwich, a journey of more than a hundred miles, which he called his ‘Nine Days Wonder’. The Mayor of Norwich was so impressed he gave him a pension of £2. It has been suggested that Kempe’s athleticism was not confined to tumbling, but extended to bedroom antics too.

The Popular Playmaker: Thomas Kyd
(1558–94)

Kyd’s
Spanish Tragedy
was probably the most popular stage play of the 1590s, being performed over many years both at the Rose Theatre in Southwark and, in translation, on the Continent. The play is a so-called revenge tragedy in which much blood is shed. But Kyd’s success did not save him from a tragic clash with authority. In 1593 he was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the writing of virulent anti-foreigner tracts found outside the Dutch and French churches in London. Tortured, he claimed that heretical papers found in his room belonged to Christopher Marlowe, with whom he had lodged. Kyd was released from prison but his body had been broken by the ill-treatment meted out, and he died a year later. Like Shakespeare, he had been scorned by the university wits for being a mere grammar-school boy.

The Censor: Edmund Tilney
(1536–1610)

Tilney, Master of the Revels to Queen Elizabeth, was born into trouble. His mother, Malyn, was a confidante of Catherine Howard, the second of Henry VIII’s wives to be executed. Implicated in the events surrounding Catherine’s fall from grace, Malyn was sentenced to life in prison, though she was soon freed. Her son Edmund spent much of the rest of his life avoiding trouble and currying favour with the highest in the land. He was Master of the Revels from 1578 until his death, his main duty being to organise entertainment for the court – bringing William Shakespeare and the top players of the day before his sovereign. He would watch rehearsals, lending props and costumes from the royal wardrobes when necessary and overseeing the building of elaborate stage sets. While he censored any work that might offend those in power, he also did much to protect and promote the London playhouses and acting companies.

The Patron: Sir Thomas Walsingham
(1560–1630)

Thomas Walsingham was a cousin of Elizabeth’s spymaster and chief minister Sir Francis Walsingham, for whom he worked in his younger days as an intelligencer, hunting Catholic priests. He was a patron of the theatre and of Marlowe in particular. Marlowe was a guest at Thomas’s house in Chislehurst, Kent, in the days before his death. Curiously, Thomas was also linked to his killer, Ingram Frizer, and the other men known to have been in the room when he died, Robert Poley and Nicholas Skeres. Though some have wondered whether he had a role in the killing, Thomas was a mourner at Marlowe’s funeral and seems to have been a true friend and benefactor. The American writer Calvin Hoffman suggested that Thomas and Marlowe were homosexual lovers. Hoffman left all his money to fund an annual prize for contributions to the debate.