John Sinklo
Encyclopedia
John Sinklo was an English Renaissance theatre
actor, known to be active between 1592-1604. He was a member of several playing companies, including Lord Strange's Men
, Pembroke's Men
, Lord Chamberlain's Men
and the King's Men
. It is likely that Sinklo also performed with Sussex's Men
, following the text of Titus Andronicus
which Sussex's inherited from Pembroke's.
Sinklo is identified by name in three plays by Shakespeare (an honour he shares with William Kemp
). He therefore provides a strong example of Shakespeare's familiarity with the abilities and peculiarities of the cast for whom he was writing. In Sinklo’s case, it was his lean, emaciated appearance which singled him out for attention. Stanley Wells
argues that he 'must have been an amiable, long-suffering man, well accustomed to tolerating jokes about his appearance'.
, for example, is replaced by ‘Enter Hostesse Quickly, Dol Tear-sheete, and Beadles’ in the First Folio, suggesting that Sinklo was to play a beadle. Much is made of Sinklo's skinny physique in this role, and the insults levelled at him by Doll and Mistress Quickly include 'nut-hook', 'starved bloodhound' and 'thin thing'.
In the plot of The Seven Deadly Sins
, Sinklo is named as 'A Keeper'.
Sinklo is named by John Webster
in his special Induction to Marston
's The Malcontent
from 1604, being introduced by William Sly
to Richard Burbage
as 'Master Doomsday's son, the userer'. In this particular role, Sinklo declines the invitation to sit between the legs of another character for fear of being taken for a viol-de-gamba
by the audience: Sinklo is therefore associated with the role of Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night who 'plays o'the' viol-de-gamboys' (1.3.23-4).
Based on his thin appearance, other characters Sinklo could have played include:
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
actor, known to be active between 1592-1604. He was a member of several playing companies, including Lord Strange's Men
Lord Strange's Men
Lord Strange's Men was an Elizabethan playing company, comprising retainers of the household of Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange . They are best known in their final phase of activity in the late 1580s and early 1590s...
, Pembroke's Men
Pembroke's Men
The Earl of Pembroke's Men was an Elizabethan era playing company, or troupe of actors, in English Renaissance theatre. They functioned under the patronage of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. Early and equivocal mentions of a Pembroke's company reach as far back as 1575; but the company is...
, Lord Chamberlain's Men
Lord Chamberlain's Men
The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a playing company for whom Shakespeare worked for most of his career. Formed at the end of a period of flux in the theatrical world of London, it had become, by 1603, one of the two leading companies of the city and was subsequently patronised by James I.It was...
and 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...
. It is likely that Sinklo also performed with Sussex's Men
Sussex's Men
The Earl of Sussex's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in Elizabethan and Jacobean England, most notable for their connection with the early career of William Shakespeare.-First phase:...
, following the text of Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
which Sussex's inherited from Pembroke's.
Sinklo is identified by name in three plays by Shakespeare (an honour he shares with William Kemp
William Kempe
William Kempe , also spelt Kemp, was an English actor and dancer specializing in comic roles and best known for having been one of the original players in early dramas by William Shakespeare...
). He therefore provides a strong example of Shakespeare's familiarity with the abilities and peculiarities of the cast for whom he was writing. In Sinklo’s case, it was his lean, emaciated appearance which singled him out for attention. Stanley Wells
Stanley Wells
Stanley William Wells, CBE, is a Shakespeare scholar and Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.Wells took his first degree at University College, London, and was awarded an honorary DLitt by the University of Warwick in 2008...
argues that he 'must have been an amiable, long-suffering man, well accustomed to tolerating jokes about his appearance'.
Shakespeare's references
Sinklo is named in the following Shakespeare texts:- The Induction to The Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
, one of the players who tricks Christopher Sly is headed 'Sincklo' in the First FolioFirst FolioMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. is the 1623 published collection of William Shakespeare's plays. Modern scholars commonly refer to it as the First Folio....
.
- The opening of Act 3 of Henry VI, Part 3Henry VI, part 3Henry VI, Part 3 or The Third Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
in a stage direction: ‘Enter Sinklo, and Humfrey, with Crosse-bowes in their hands’
- The 1600 quarto of Henry IV, Part 2Henry IV, Part 2Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
(5.4), in the stage direction: ‘Enter Sincklo and three or foure officers’.
Roles
Sinklo was a hired actor, usually cast for low class or lower middle class minor roles. The stage direction ‘Enter Sincklo and three or foure officers’ within the 1600 quarto of Henry IV, Part 2Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
, for example, is replaced by ‘Enter Hostesse Quickly, Dol Tear-sheete, and Beadles’ in the First Folio, suggesting that Sinklo was to play a beadle. Much is made of Sinklo's skinny physique in this role, and the insults levelled at him by Doll and Mistress Quickly include 'nut-hook', 'starved bloodhound' and 'thin thing'.
In the plot of The Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins (play)
The Seven Deadly Sins was a two-part play written c. 1585, attributed to Richard Tarlton, and most likely premiered by his company, Queen Elizabeth's Men...
, Sinklo is named as 'A Keeper'.
Sinklo is named by John Webster
John Webster
John Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.- Biography :Webster's life is obscure, and the dates...
in his special Induction to Marston
John Marston
John Marston was an English poet, playwright and satirist during the late Elizabethan and Jacobean periods...
's The Malcontent
The Malcontent
The Malcontent is an early Jacobean stage play written by the dramatist and satirist John Marston ca. 1603. The play was one of Marston's most successful works....
from 1604, being introduced by William Sly
William Sly
William Sly was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a colleague of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage in the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men....
to 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....
as 'Master Doomsday's son, the userer'. In this particular role, Sinklo declines the invitation to sit between the legs of another character for fear of being taken for a viol-de-gamba
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
by the audience: Sinklo is therefore associated with the role of Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night who 'plays o'the' viol-de-gamboys' (1.3.23-4).
Based on his thin appearance, other characters Sinklo could have played include:
- Master Pinch in The Comedy of ErrorsThe Comedy of ErrorsThe Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. The Comedy of Errors is one of only two of Shakespeare's...
, described as 'a hungry-faced villain' (5.1.238) - The Apothecary in Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, told by Romeo that 'famine is in thy cheeks' (5.1.69) - ThersitesThersitesIn Greek mythology, Thersites was a soldier of the Greek army during the Trojan War. In the Iliad, he does not have a father's name, which may suggest that he should be viewed as a commoner rather than an aristocratic hero...
in Troilus and CressidaTroilus and CressidaTroilus and Cressida is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1602. It was also described by Frederick S. Boas as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. The play ends on a very bleak note with the death of the noble Trojan Hector and destruction of the love between Troilus...
, described as a 'fragment' (5.1.8) - Robert Faulconbridge in King John, whose legs are described as 'riding-rods' and has arms 'like eel-skins stuff’d' (1.1.140-142)
- Slender in Merry Wives of Windsor
- StarvelingRobin StarvelingRobin Starveling is a character in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream , one of the Rude Mechanicals who plays the part of Moonshine in their performance of Pyramus and Thisbe. His part is often considered one of the more humorous in the play, as he uses a lantern in a failed attempt...
in A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta... - Shift in Every Man out of His HumourEvery Man Out of His HumourEvery Man out of His Humour is a satirical comedy written by English playwright Ben Jonson, acted in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It is a conceptual sequel to his 1598 comedy Every Man in His Humour...
- Nano the dwarf in VolponeVolponeVolpone is a comedy by Ben Jonson first produced in 1606, drawing on elements of city comedy, black comedy and beast fable...
- Asinius Bubo in SatiromastixSatiromastixSatiromastix, or The Untrussing of the Humorous Poet is a late Elizabethan stage play by Thomas Dekker, one of the plays involved in the Poetomachia or War of the Theatres....
- The 'very little man' in The London Prodigal.
External links
- Shakespeare in Quarto - players (British Library)