John Honyman
Encyclopedia
John Honyman also Honeyman, Honiman, Honnyman, or other variants, was an English actor of the Caroline era
. He was a member of the King's Men
, the most prominent playing company
of its era, best known as the company of William Shakespeare
and Richard Burbage
.
Honyman belonged to the generation that followed Shakespeare and Burbage. He was christened on 7 February 1613, in the parish of St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate
. An apprentice of John Shank
, he started his career as a boy player
filling female roles; in his teens he was playing leading female parts, Domitilla in The Roman Actor
(1626
) and Sophia in The Picture (1629
), both plays by Philip Massinger
, and Clarinda in Lodowick Carlell
's The Deserving Favourite
(also 1629).
Some boy actors of Honyman's era made successful transitions from filling lead female roles as boys to lead male roles as young men; Stephen Hammerton
and Richard Sharpe
are two examples of this successful transition. John Honyman illustrates the opposite phenomenon, in that he graduated to only rather minor roles as a young adult. He played the servingman Sly in John Clavell
's The Soddered Citizen
(1630
), and the First Merchant in Massinger's Believe as You List
(1631
). In the 1632
King's Men's revival of John Fletcher
's The Wild Goose Chase
, he filled the minor part of "Young Man disguised as a Factor."
(Why did Honyman not turn into a "leading man" actor? He played Domitilla in The Roman Actor — and the text twice refers to her short stature. Perhaps he never grew tall enough to dominate the stage in leading roles. Why did he stop playing females? Perhaps his voice broke too low for him to be credible as a woman. Individual combinations of such factors likely determined the careers of boy players to major degrees.)
Honyman was made a Groom of the Chamber
on 15 April 1633, along with John Thompson
. His potential development in his craft was cut short by his early death. He was buried on 13 April 1636. His last will and testament, drawn up six days earlier on 7 April (Robert Benfield
was one of the witnesses), leaves bequests to his mother, father, and brother, his fellow actors, and the poor of his parish, St. Giles without Cripplegate
. Thomas Jordan published an elegy on Honyman in his Love's Dialact (1646
).
Honyman also appears to have been among the minority of actors who wrote one or more plays. Sir Aston Cockayne
left a 10-line poem "To Mr. John Hunnieman" that extols his "Successful pen and fortunate fantasy" and even compares Honyman to Shakespeare. Yet nothing is known of Honyman's dramas, not even their titles.
Caroline era
The Caroline era refers to the era in English and Scottish history during the Stuart period that coincided with the reign of Charles I , Carolus being Latin for Charles...
. He was a member of the King's Men
King's Men
King's Men or Kingsmen may refer to:*The King's Men , Númenórean royalist faction in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings*The King's Men , English company of actors to whom William Shakespeare belonged*The Kingsmen, American rock group...
, the most prominent playing company
Playing company
In Renaissance London, playing company was the usual term for a company of actors. These companies were organized around a group of ten or so shareholders , who performed in the plays but were also responsible for management. The sharers employed "hired men" — that is, the minor actors and...
of its era, best known as the company of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and Richard Burbage
Richard Burbage
Richard Burbage was an English actor and theatre owner. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama....
.
Honyman belonged to the generation that followed Shakespeare and Burbage. He was christened on 7 February 1613, in the parish of St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate is a road and ward in the northeast part of the City of London, extending north from Gracechurch Street to Norton Folgate. It is named after one of the original seven gates in London Wall...
. An apprentice of John Shank
John Shank
John Shank was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a leading comedian in the King's Men during the 1620s and 1630s.-Early career:...
, he started his career as a boy player
Boy player
Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the mainstream companies and performed the female roles, as women did not perform on the English stage in this period...
filling female roles; in his teens he was playing leading female parts, Domitilla in The Roman Actor
The Roman Actor
The Roman Actor is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger; it was first performed in 1626, and first published in 1629...
(1626
1626 in literature
The year 1626 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Izaak Walton marries Rachel Floud.*John Beaumont is made a baronet.-New books:*Francis Bacon - The New Atlantis*Robert Fludd - Philosophia Sacra...
) and Sophia in The Picture (1629
1629 in literature
The year 1629 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*April 6 - Tommaso Campanella is released from custody in Rome, and gains the confidence of Pope Urban IV....
), both plays by Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
, and Clarinda in Lodowick Carlell
Lodowick Carlell
Lodowick Carlell , also Carliell or Carlile, was a seventeenth-century English playwright, active mainly during the Caroline era and the Commonwealth period.-Courtier:...
's The Deserving Favourite
The Deserving Favourite
The Deserving Favourite is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Lodowick Carlell that was first published in 1629. The earliest of Carlell's plays "and also the best," it is notable for its influence on other plays of the Caroline era....
(also 1629).
Some boy actors of Honyman's era made successful transitions from filling lead female roles as boys to lead male roles as young men; Stephen Hammerton
Stephen Hammerton
Stephen Hammerton was a boy player or child actor in English Renaissance theatre, one of the young performers who specialized in female roles in the period before women appeared on the stage...
and Richard Sharpe
Richard Sharpe (actor)
Richard Sharpe was an actor with the King's Men, the leading theatre troupe of its time and the company of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage...
are two examples of this successful transition. John Honyman illustrates the opposite phenomenon, in that he graduated to only rather minor roles as a young adult. He played the servingman Sly in John Clavell
John Clavell
John Clavell was a highwayman, author, lawyer, and doctor.He is known for his poem A Recantation of an Ill Led Life, and his play The Soddered Citizen...
's The Soddered Citizen
The Soddered Citizen
The Soddered Citizen is a Caroline era stage play, a city comedy now attributed to John Clavell. The play was lost for three centuries; the sole surviving manuscript was rediscovered and published in the twentieth century....
(1630
1630 in literature
The year 1630 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* English literature, drama, and education lose a major patron and benefactor when William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and Lord Chamberlain of England, dies on April 10.-New books:...
), and the First Merchant in Massinger's Believe as You List
Believe as You List
Believe as You List is a Caroline era tragedy by Philip Massinger, famous as a case of theatrical censorship.-Censorship:The play originally dealt with the legend that Sebastian of Portugal had survived the battle of Alcácer Quibir, and the efforts of Philip II of Spain to suppress the "false...
(1631
1631 in literature
The year 1631 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*January 9 - Love's Triumph Through Callipolis, a masque written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, is staged at Whitehall Palace....
). In the 1632
1632 in literature
The year 1632 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*On February 14, Tempe Restored, a masque written by Aurelian Townshend and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace....
King's Men's revival of John Fletcher
John Fletcher (playwright)
John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
's The Wild Goose Chase
The Wild Goose Chase
The Wild Goose Chase is a late Jacobean stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher, first published in 1621. It is often classed among Fletcher's most effective and best-constructed plays; Edmund Gosse called it "one of the brightest and most coherent of Fletcher's comedies, a play which it is...
, he filled the minor part of "Young Man disguised as a Factor."
(Why did Honyman not turn into a "leading man" actor? He played Domitilla in The Roman Actor — and the text twice refers to her short stature. Perhaps he never grew tall enough to dominate the stage in leading roles. Why did he stop playing females? Perhaps his voice broke too low for him to be credible as a woman. Individual combinations of such factors likely determined the careers of boy players to major degrees.)
Honyman was made a Groom of the Chamber
Groom of the Chamber
Groom of the Chamber and Groom of the Privy Chamber were positions in the Royal Household of the English monarchy, the latter considerably more elevated. Other Ancien Régime royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles...
on 15 April 1633, along with John Thompson
John Thompson (actor)
John Thompson was a noted boy player acting women's roles in English Renaissance theatre. He served in the King's Men, the acting troupe formerly of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage.Thompson's career is notable for his length...
. His potential development in his craft was cut short by his early death. He was buried on 13 April 1636. His last will and testament, drawn up six days earlier on 7 April (Robert Benfield
Robert Benfield
Robert Benfield was a seventeenth-century actor, noted for his longtime membership in the King's Men in the years and decades after William Shakespeare's retirement and death.Nothing is known of Benfield's early life...
was one of the witnesses), leaves bequests to his mother, father, and brother, his fellow actors, and the poor of his parish, St. Giles without Cripplegate
Cripplegate
Cripplegate was a city gate in the London Wall and a name for the region of the City of London outside the gate. The area was almost entirely destroyed by bombing in World War II and today is the site of the Barbican Estate and Barbican Centre...
. Thomas Jordan published an elegy on Honyman in his Love's Dialact (1646
1646 in literature
The year 1646 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*March 24 - The King's Men petition Parliament for three and a half years' back pay; this is despite the London theatres officially remaining closed through the middle 1640s...
).
Honyman also appears to have been among the minority of actors who wrote one or more plays. Sir Aston Cockayne
Aston Cockayne
Sir Aston Cockayne, Baronet of Ashbourne was, in his day, a well-known Cavalier and a minor literary figure, now best remembered as a friend of Philip Massinger, John Fletcher, Michael Drayton, Richard Brome, Thomas Randolph, and other writers of his generation.-Biography:Aston Cockayne was the...
left a 10-line poem "To Mr. John Hunnieman" that extols his "Successful pen and fortunate fantasy" and even compares Honyman to Shakespeare. Yet nothing is known of Honyman's dramas, not even their titles.