Queen Henrietta's Men
Encyclopedia
Queen Henrietta's Men was an important playing company
or troupe of actors in Caroline era
London. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men
.
, by theatrical impressario Christopher Beeston
under royal patronage of the new queen, Henrietta Maria of France
. They were sometimes called the Queen's Majesty's Comedians or other variations on their name. The company was founded after an eight-month closure of the London theatres due to bubonic plague
(March to October, 1625). The Lady Elizabeth's Men
, then called the Queen of Bohemia's Men, had been resident at Beeston's Cockpit Theatre
up to the plague closing, and provided the foundation of the new organization.
became something like the house dramatist of the group; plays by Philip Massinger
, John Ford
, and Thomas Heywood
were also important in their repertory. The company staged revivals along with new plays; their 1633
production of Marlowe's
The Jew of Malta
was a major success. They played The Witch of Edmonton
early in 1636.
In their 1625–36 heyday, the company gave 66 performances at Court, for which they were paid £900.
had been with Queen Anne's Men
at the Red Bull Theatre
and briefly (1623–25) with the King's Men
. His success as Barabas in The Jew of Malta cemented his reputation as a great tragic actor. William Robbins
also came from what had been Queen Anne's Men (it was generally called the Revels company, or simply the Red Bull company, after the 1619 death of Anne of Denmark
). Robbins was the company's leading comic actor through the first phase of its existence.
William Shearlock and Anthony Turner
were other prominent members; they were holdovers from the Lady Elizabeth's company. (The new company inherited that troupe's plays as well as its actors, works like George Chapman
's Chabot
, Massinger's The Renegado
, and Shirley's Love Tricks
.) Shearlock must have been a man of girth, since he performed the fat-man role of Lodam in Shirley's The Wedding
. Apart from his other roles, Turner played a kitchen maid in Part 1 of Thomas Heywood
's The Fair Maid of the West
, one of the few cases in which a mature actor, rather than a boy player
or a young man, is known to have played a female role.
In addition, the company included William Allen
, Theophilus Bird
(or Bourne), Hugh Clark
, John Sumner
, and Michael Bowyer
. Bowyer handled leading-man roles; Hugh Clark was a boy player taking female roles, who later switched to adult male parts. Bird also played female roles for the company; he later married Beeston's daughter and was a successful actor both before and after the Interregnum
. Allen and Sumner took significant supporting parts.
Six cast lists survive from five of the company's plays: from The Renegado, The Wedding, Robert Davenport
's King John and Matilda
, Thomas Nabbes
's Hannibal and Scipio
, and from both parts of Heywood's two-part Fair Maid of the West. Two actors, Allen and Bowyer, appear on all six lists, and five more, Clark, Perkins, Shearlock, Sumner, and Turner, appear on five — arguably a good indication of their durability and importance to the troupe.
Additional personnel included:
. Beeston had a reputation for breaking up theatre companies when it was in his interest to do so, as a way of maintaining control over recalcitrant and unruly actors; Philip Henslowe
was accused of similar tactics in the previous generation. The mid-1630s was another difficult period for the theatrical profession, with a long theatre closure due to plague (May 1636 to October 1637). The Queen Henrietta's company split apart during this time; but it was reconstituted in October of 1637, with veterans Perkins, Sherlock, Turner, and Sumner, at the Salisbury Court. According to his own testimony, Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels
, was actively involved in rebuilding the Queen Henrietta's company; he apparently had a financial interest in the Salisbury Court Theatre.
(As for other troupe members: Axell, Bird, Fenn, Page, and Stutfield stayed at the Cockpit to join Beeston's Boys
, the new group founded by Beeston. Four other members disappear from the scanty records of the later 1630s: Allen, Bowyer, Clark, and Robbins may have travelled with James Shirley to Dublin, and worked at the Werburgh Street Theatre
there.)
The rebuilt company retained the queen's name and patronage. On March 6, 1640, Turner collected £80 in the company's name for seven Court performances in 1638 and 1639. The company lasted until the theatres closed in September 1642 at the start of the English Civil War
.
Nineteen of the fifty-one works on the list are the work of James Shirley, the company's house dramatist through much of its existence.
. Some of its personnel (Anthony Turner, Michael Mohun, and Theophilus Bird are examples) resurfaced as members of the newly formed King's Company
when the theatres re-opened in 1660. The King's Company also inherited a good portion of the repertory of Queen Henrietta's Men, including plays by Shirley, Brome, and Heywood.
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...
or troupe of actors in Caroline era
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...
London. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men
King's Men (playing company)
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...
.
Beginnings
The company was formed in 1625, at the start of the reign of King Charles ICharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, by theatrical impressario Christopher Beeston
Christopher Beeston
Christopher Beeston was a successful actor and a powerful theatrical impresario in early 17th century London. He was associated with a number of playwrights, particularly Thomas Heywood.-Early life:...
under royal patronage of the new queen, Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I...
. They were sometimes called the Queen's Majesty's Comedians or other variations on their name. The company was founded after an eight-month closure of the London theatres due to bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
(March to October, 1625). The Lady Elizabeth's Men
Lady Elizabeth's Men
The Lady Elizabeth's Men, or Princess Elizabeth's Men, was a company of actors in Jacobean London, formed under the patronage of King James I's daughter Princess Elizabeth. From 1618 on, the company was called The Queen of Bohemia's Men, after Elizabeth and her husband the Elector Palatine had...
, then called the Queen of Bohemia's Men, had been resident at Beeston's Cockpit Theatre
Cockpit Theatre
The Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was christened The Phoenix....
up to the plague closing, and provided the foundation of the new organization.
Success
Theatre manager Beeston had had several different companies acting in his Cockpit Theatre since he started it in 1617; it was with Queen Henrietta's Men that he achieved the level of success he desired. James ShirleyJames Shirley
James Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
became something like the house dramatist of the group; 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....
, John Ford
John Ford (dramatist)
John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
, and Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...
were also important in their repertory. The company staged revivals along with new plays; their 1633
1633 in literature
The year 1633 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*On May 21, Ben Jonson's masque The King's Entertainment at Welbeck is performed....
production of Marlowe's
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
The Jew of Malta
The Jew of Malta
The Jew of Malta is a play by Christopher Marlowe, probably written in 1589 or 1590. Its plot is an original story of religious conflict, intrigue, and revenge, set against a backdrop of the struggle for supremacy between Spain and the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean that takes place on the...
was a major success. They played The Witch of Edmonton
The Witch of Edmonton
The Witch of Edmonton is an English Jacobean play, written by William Rowley, Thomas Dekker and John Ford in 1621.The play—"probably the most sophisticated treatment of domestic tragedy in the whole of Elizabethan-Jacobean drama"—is based on supposedly real-life events that took place...
early in 1636.
In their 1625–36 heyday, the company gave 66 performances at Court, for which they were paid £900.
Personnel
At its start, the actors of the new company came from several different troupes then active. Richard PerkinsRichard Perkins (17th-century actor)
Richard Perkins was a prominent early seventeenth-century actor, most famous for his performance in the role of Barabas in Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta...
had been with Queen Anne's Men
Queen Anne's Men
Queen Anne's Men was a playing company, or troupe of actors, in Jacobean era London. -Formation:...
at the Red Bull Theatre
Red Bull Theatre
The Red Bull was a playhouse in London during the 17th century. For more than four decades, it entertained audiences drawn primarily from the northern suburbs, developing a reputation for rowdy, often disruptive audiences...
and briefly (1623–25) with the King's Men
King's Men (playing company)
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...
. His success as Barabas in The Jew of Malta cemented his reputation as a great tragic actor. William Robbins
William Robbins (actor)
William Robbins , also Robins, Robinson, or Robson, was a prominent comic actor in the Jacobean and Caroline eras....
also came from what had been Queen Anne's Men (it was generally called the Revels company, or simply the Red Bull company, after the 1619 death of Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
). Robbins was the company's leading comic actor through the first phase of its existence.
William Shearlock and Anthony Turner
Anthony Turner
Anthony Turner was a noted English actor in the Caroline era. For most of his career he worked with Queen Henrietta's Men, one of the leading theatre companies of the time....
were other prominent members; they were holdovers from the Lady Elizabeth's company. (The new company inherited that troupe's plays as well as its actors, works like George Chapman
George Chapman
George Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
's Chabot
The Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of France
The Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of France is an early seventeenth-century play, generally judged to be a work of George Chapman, later revised by James Shirley...
, Massinger's The Renegado
The Renegado
The Renegado, or The Gentleman of Venice is a late Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and first published in 1630...
, and Shirley's Love Tricks
Love Tricks
Love Tricks, or The School of Complement is a Caroline stage play by James Shirley, his earliest known work.-Performance:Love Tricks was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on February 10, 1625; it was performed by the Lady Elizabeth's Men at the Cockpit Theatre...
.) Shearlock must have been a man of girth, since he performed the fat-man role of Lodam in Shirley's The Wedding
The Wedding (1629 play)
The Wedding is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley. Published in 1629, it was the first of Shirley's plays to appear in print. An early comedy of manners, it is set in the fashionable world of genteel London society in Shirley's day....
. Apart from his other roles, Turner played a kitchen maid in Part 1 of Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...
's The Fair Maid of the West
The Fair Maid of the West
The Fair Maid of the West, or a Girl Worth Gold, Parts 1 and 2 is a work of English Renaissance drama, a two-part play written by Thomas Heywood that was first published in 1631.-Date:...
, one of the few cases in which a mature actor, rather than 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...
or a young man, is known to have played a female role.
In addition, the company included William Allen
William Allen (actor)
William Allen was a prominent English actor in the Caroline era. He belonged to both of the most important theatre companies of his generation, Queen Henrietta's Men and the King's Men....
, Theophilus Bird
Theophilus Bird
Theophilus Bird, or Bourne, was a seventeenth-century English actor. Bird began his stage career in the Stuart era of English Renaissance theatre, and ended it in the Restoration period; he was one of the relatively few actors who managed to resume their careers after the eighteen-year enforced...
(or Bourne), Hugh Clark
Hugh Clark
Hugh Clark was a prominent English actor of the Caroline era. He worked in both of the main theatre companies of his time, Queen Henrietta's Men and the King's Men....
, John Sumner
John Sumner (17th-century actor)
John Sumner was an English theatre actor during the Caroline era .-Career:He was a long-time member of the Queen Henrietta's Men, one of the prime playing companies or acting troupes of the time and named for Henrietta Maria of France, the queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife...
, and Michael Bowyer
Michael Bowyer
Michael Bowyer was an actor in English Renaissance theatre in the Jacobean and Caroline eras. He spent most of his maturity with Queen Henrietta's Men, but finished his career with the King's Men...
. Bowyer handled leading-man roles; Hugh Clark was a boy player taking female roles, who later switched to adult male parts. Bird also played female roles for the company; he later married Beeston's daughter and was a successful actor both before and after the Interregnum
English Interregnum
The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the Commonwealth of England after the English Civil War...
. Allen and Sumner took significant supporting parts.
Six cast lists survive from five of the company's plays: from The Renegado, The Wedding, Robert Davenport
Robert Davenport
Robert Davenport was an English dramatist of the early seventeenth century. Nothing is known of his early life or education; the title pages of two of his plays identify him as a "Gentleman," though there is no record of him at either of the two universities or the Inns of Court. Scholars have...
's King John and Matilda
King John and Matilda
King John and Matilda is a Caroline era stage play, a historical tragedy written by Robert Davenport. It was initially published in 1655; the cast list included in the first edition is provides valuable information on some of the actors of English Renaissance theatre.-Performance and publication:No...
, Thomas Nabbes
Thomas Nabbes
Thomas Nabbes was an English dramatist.He was born in humble circumstances in Worcestershire, and educated at Exeter College, Oxford in 1621...
's Hannibal and Scipio
Hannibal and Scipio
Hannibal and Scipio is a Caroline era stage play, a classical tragedy written by Thomas Nabbes. The play was first performed in 1635 by Queen Henrietta's Men, and was first published in 1637...
, and from both parts of Heywood's two-part Fair Maid of the West. Two actors, Allen and Bowyer, appear on all six lists, and five more, Clark, Perkins, Shearlock, Sumner, and Turner, appear on five — arguably a good indication of their durability and importance to the troupe.
Additional personnel included:
- Robert Axell played roles in Hannibal and Scipio, both parts of Fair Maid, and perhaps King John too.
- John Blaney was a boy player in the Children of the ChapelChildren of the ChapelThe Children of the Chapel were the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who formed part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so....
when he appeared in Jonson'sBen JonsonBenjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
EpiceneEpicoene, or the Silent WomanEpicœne, or The silent woman, also known as The Epicene, is a comedy by Renaissance playwright Ben Jonson. It was originally performed by the Blackfriars Children, a group of boy players, in 1609...
in 1609. After a stint with Queen Anne's MenQueen Anne's MenQueen Anne's Men was a playing company, or troupe of actors, in Jacobean era London. -Formation:...
, he playd Asambeg in The Renegado.
- Ezekiel Fenn played Sophonisba in Hannibal in 1635. In 1639 Henry GlapthorneHenry GlapthorneHenry Glapthorne was a Caroline era dramatist.Glapthorne was baptized in Cambridgeshire, the son of Thomas Glapthorne and Faith nee Hatcliff. His father was a bailiff of Lady Hatton, the wife of Sir Edward Coke...
published a poem, "For Ezekiel Fenn at his First Acting a Man's Part."
- Christopher Goad played with the company before moving to the King's Revels MenKing's Revels MenThe King's Revels Men or King's Revels Company was a playing company or troupe of actors in seventeenth-century England. In the confusing theatre nomenclature of that era, it is sometimes called the second King's Revels Company, to distinguish it from an earlier troupe with the same title that was...
around 1635.
- John Page, like Bird, Clark, and Fenn, moved from female roles (as in The Wedding) to male (Hannibal and Scipio).
- Timothy ReadTimothy ReadTimothy Read was a comic actor of the Caroline era, and one of the most famous and popular performers of his generation....
was as early member (he was in The Wedding); after a period with the King's Revels Men, he returned for The English MoorThe English MoorThe English Moor, or the Mock Marriage is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Richard Brome, noteworthy in its use of the stage device of blackface make-up...
c. 1637.
- Edward Rogers played women's roles in The Wedding and The Renegado, but then disappeared from the surviving records.
- George Stutfield pursued his career with several companies in the 1620s and '30s, including Queen Anne's Men and Prince Charles's MenPrince Charles's MenPrince Charles's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in Jacobean and Caroline England.-The Jacobean era troupe:...
.
- William Wilbraham played in The Wedding and Fair Maid. Like Goad, he later moved on to the King's Revels troupe. Surprisingly for a rather obscure actor, Wilbraham appears to have prospered: in 1640 he was able to lend £150 to Elizabeth Beeston, widow of Christopher — a loan secured by a mortgage on the Cockpit Theatre.
- Michael MohunMichael MohunMichael Mohun was a leading British actor both before and after the 1642—60 closing of the theatres.Mohun began his stage career as a boy player filling female roles; he was part of Christopher Beeston's theatrical establishment at the Cockpit Theatre, "eventually becoming a key member of Queen...
and Andrew PennycuickeAndrew PennycuickeAndrew Pennycuicke was a mid-seventeenth-century actor and publisher; he was responsible for publishing a number of plays of English Renaissance drama.What little is known of Pennycuicke's acting career comes from his own publications...
also served with the troupe as boy actors; William CartwrightWilliam Cartwright (actor)William Cartwright was an English actor of the seventeenth century, whose career spanned the Caroline era to the Restoration. He is sometimes known as William Cartwright, Junior or William Cartwright the younger to distinguish him from his father, another William Cartwright William Cartwright...
and William WintershallWilliam WintershallWilliam Wintershall , also Wintersall or Wintersell, was a noted seventeenth-century English actor. His career spanned the difficult years of mid-century, when English theatres were closed from 1642 to 1660, during the English Civil War and the Interregnum.According to James Wright's Historia...
may have been members too.
Change
In 1636 the company had a falling-out of some nature with their founder and manager, and moved to the rival Salisbury Court TheatreSalisbury Court Theatre
The Salisbury Court Theatre was a theatre in 17th-century London. It was located in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Court, which was formerly the London residence of the Bishops of Salisbury. Salibury Court was acquired by Richard Sackville in 1564; when Thomas Sackville was created Earl of Dorset...
. Beeston had a reputation for breaking up theatre companies when it was in his interest to do so, as a way of maintaining control over recalcitrant and unruly actors; Philip Henslowe
Philip Henslowe
Philip Henslowe was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance London...
was accused of similar tactics in the previous generation. The mid-1630s was another difficult period for the theatrical profession, with a long theatre closure due to plague (May 1636 to October 1637). The Queen Henrietta's company split apart during this time; but it was reconstituted in October of 1637, with veterans Perkins, Sherlock, Turner, and Sumner, at the Salisbury Court. According to his own testimony, Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels
Master of the Revels
The Master of the Revels was a position within the English, and later the British, royal household heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally had responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels, and later also became responsible for stage censorship,...
, was actively involved in rebuilding the Queen Henrietta's company; he apparently had a financial interest in the Salisbury Court Theatre.
(As for other troupe members: Axell, Bird, Fenn, Page, and Stutfield stayed at the Cockpit to join Beeston's Boys
Beeston's Boys
Beeston's Boys was the popular and colloquial name of The King and Queen's Young Company, a troupe of boy actors of the Caroline period, active mainly in the years 1637–1642.-Origin:...
, the new group founded by Beeston. Four other members disappear from the scanty records of the later 1630s: Allen, Bowyer, Clark, and Robbins may have travelled with James Shirley to Dublin, and worked at the Werburgh Street Theatre
Werburgh Street Theatre
The Werburgh Street Theatre, also the Saint Werbrugh Street Theatre or the New Theatre, was a seventeenth-century theatre in Dublin, Ireland...
there.)
The rebuilt company retained the queen's name and patronage. On March 6, 1640, Turner collected £80 in the company's name for seven Court performances in 1638 and 1639. The company lasted until the theatres closed in September 1642 at the start of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
.
Repertory
The following list includes plays acted by Queen Henrietta's Men in the years cited, and gives an indication of the nature of their repertory:- The Maid's RevengeThe Maid's RevengeThe Maid's Revenge is an early Caroline era stage the play, the earliest extant tragedy by James Shirley. It was first published in 1639.The Maid's Revenge was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on February 9, 1626. It was the second of Shirley's plays to be...
, James ShirleyJames ShirleyJames Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
, 1626 - The WeddingThe Wedding (1629 play)The Wedding is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley. Published in 1629, it was the first of Shirley's plays to appear in print. An early comedy of manners, it is set in the fashionable world of genteel London society in Shirley's day....
, Shirley, 1626–29 - The English Traveller, Heywood, 1627?
- The Martyred Soldier, Henry Shirley, 1627–35
- The Rape of Lucrece, Heywood, 1628
- The Witty Fair OneThe Witty Fair OneThe Witty Fair One is a Caroline era stage play, an early comedy by James Shirley. Critics have cited the play as indicative of the evolution of English comic drama from the humors comedy of Ben Jonson to the Restoration comedy of Wycherley and Congreve, and the comedy of manners that...
, Shirley, 1628 - King John and MatildaKing John and MatildaKing John and Matilda is a Caroline era stage play, a historical tragedy written by Robert Davenport. It was initially published in 1655; the cast list included in the first edition is provides valuable information on some of the actors of English Renaissance theatre.-Performance and publication:No...
, Davenport, 1628–29? - The Grateful ServantThe Grateful ServantThe Grateful Servant is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1630. Its publication marked a significant development in Shirley's evolving literary career....
, Shirley, 1629 - Hoffman, Henry ChettleHenry ChettleHenry Chettle was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era.The son of Robert Chettle, a London dyer, he was apprenticed in 1577 and became a member of the Stationer's Company in 1584, traveling to Cambridge on their behalf in 1588. His career as a printer and author is...
, c. 1630 - If You Know Not Me, You Know NobodyIf You Know Not Me, You Know NobodyIf You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody is a two-part play by Thomas Heywood, depicting the life and reign of Elizabeth I of England, written very soon after the latter's death. The title deliberately echoes that of Samuel Rowley's 1605 play When You See Me You Know Me.Part 1 is a chronicle history of...
, Heywood c. 1630 (both parts) - Match Me in London, Thomas Dekker, c. 1630
- The RenegadoThe RenegadoThe Renegado, or The Gentleman of Venice is a late Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and first published in 1630...
, Massinger, 1630 - 'Tis Pity She's a Whore'Tis Pity She's a Whore'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a tragedy written by John Ford. It was likely first performed between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre. The play was first published in 1633, in a quarto printed by Nicholas Okes for the bookseller Richard Collins...
, John FordJohn Ford (dramatist)John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
, 1630? - The White DevilThe White DevilThe White Devil is a revenge tragedy from 1612 by English playwright John Webster . A notorious failure when it premiered, Webster complained the play was acted in the dead of winter before an unreceptive audience. The play's complexity, sophistication and satire made it a poor fit with the...
, John WebsterJohn WebsterJohn 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...
, c. 1630 - The Fair Maid of the WestThe Fair Maid of the WestThe Fair Maid of the West, or a Girl Worth Gold, Parts 1 and 2 is a work of English Renaissance drama, a two-part play written by Thomas Heywood that was first published in 1631.-Date:...
, Heywood, 1630–31 - The Humorous CourtierThe Humorous CourtierThe Humorous Courtier, also called The Duke, is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, first published in 1640....
, Shirley, 1631 - Love TricksLove TricksLove Tricks, or The School of Complement is a Caroline stage play by James Shirley, his earliest known work.-Performance:Love Tricks was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on February 10, 1625; it was performed by the Lady Elizabeth's Men at the Cockpit Theatre...
, Shirley, 1631 - Love's CrueltyLove's CrueltyLove's Cruelty is a Caroline-era stage play, a tragedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1640.The play was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on November 14, 1631. Like the majority of Shirley's dramas, it was acted by Queen Henrietta's Men at...
, Shirley, 1631 - The TraitorThe TraitorThe Traitor is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy written by James Shirley. Along with The Cardinal, The Traitor is widely considered to represent the finest of Shirley's efforts in the genre, and to be among the best tragedies of its period...
, Shirley, 1631 - The BallThe BallThe Ball is a Caroline comedy by James Shirley, first performed in 1632 and first published in 1639.The Ball was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on November 16, 1632...
, Shirley, 1632 - Hyde ParkHyde Park (play)Hyde Park is a Caroline era comedy of manners written by James Shirley, and first published in 1637.Hyde Park was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on April 20, 1632, and acted at the Cockpit Theatre by Queen Henrietta's Men...
, Shirley, 1632 - The Maid of HonourThe Maid of HonourFor attendants upon a queen in the royal households, see Maids of HonourThe Maid of Honour is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, first published in 1632...
, Massinger, 1632 - Perkin WarbeckPerkin WarbeckPerkin Warbeck was a pretender to the English throne during the reign of King Henry VII of England. By claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the younger son of King Edward IV, one of the Princes in the Tower, Warbeck was a significant threat to the newly established Tudor Dynasty,...
, Ford, 1632 - The PrisonersThe Prisoners (play)The Prisoners is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Thomas Killigrew. It was premiered onstage c. 1635, acted by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre; and was first printed in 1641...
, Thomas KilligrewThomas KilligrewThomas Killigrew was an English dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England.-Life and work:...
, 1632–35 - The Bird in a CageThe Bird in a CageThe Bird in a Cage, or The Beauties is a Caroline era comedy written by James Shirley, first published in 1633. The play is notable, even among Shirley's plays, for its lushness — what one critic has called "gay romanticism run mad."-History:...
, Shirley, 1633
- Covent Garden, Thomas NabbesThomas NabbesThomas Nabbes was an English dramatist.He was born in humble circumstances in Worcestershire, and educated at Exeter College, Oxford in 1621...
, 1633 - The GamesterThe GamesterThe Gamester is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy of manners written by James Shirley, premiered in 1633 and first published in 1637. The play is noteworthy for its realistic and detailed picture of gambling in its era....
, Shirley, 1633 - A New Way to Pay Old DebtsA New Way to Pay Old DebtsA New Way to Pay Old Debts is a play of English Renaissance drama, the most popular drama of Philip Massinger. Its central chararacter, Sir Giles Overreach, became one of the more popular villains on English and American stages through the 19th century.-Performance:Massinger most likely wrote the...
, Massinger, c. 1633 - A Tale of a TubA Tale of a Tub (play)A Tale of a Tub is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Ben Jonson. The last of his plays to be staged during his lifetime, A Tale of a Tub was performed in 1633 and published in 1640 in the second folio of Jonson's works.-History:...
, Ben JonsonBen JonsonBenjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
, 1633 - The Young AdmiralThe Young AdmiralThe Young Admiral is a Caroline era tragicomedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1637. It has often been considered Shirley's best tragicomedy, and one of his best plays....
, Shirley, 1633 - The ExampleThe ExampleThe Example is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, first published in 1637. The play has repeatedly been acclaimed both as one of Shirley's best comedies and one of the best works of its generation...
, Shirley, 1634 - Love's Mistress, Heywood, 1634
- The OpportunityThe OpportunityThe Opportunity is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, published in 1640. The play has been called "a capital little comedy, fairly bubbling over with clever situations and charming character."...
, Shirley, 1634 - The Shepherd's Holiday, Joseph Rutter, 1633–35
- The AntiquaryThe Antiquary (play)The Antiquary is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Shackerley Marmion. It was acted in the 1634–36 period by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre, and first published in 1641. The Antiquary has been succinctly described as "Marmion's best play."-Contemporary...
, Shackerley MarmionShackerley MarmionShackerley Marmion , also Shakerley, Shakerly, Schackerley, Marmyon, Marmyun, or Mermion, was an early 17th-century dramatist, often classed among the Sons of Ben, the followers of Ben Jonson who continued his style of comedy...
, c. 1635 - Hannibal and ScipioHannibal and ScipioHannibal and Scipio is a Caroline era stage play, a classical tragedy written by Thomas Nabbes. The play was first performed in 1635 by Queen Henrietta's Men, and was first published in 1637...
, Nabbes, 1635 - The CoronationThe CoronationThe Coronation is the title of*a 1630s play, The Coronation *a 2000 novel, The Coronation...
, Shirley, 1635, 1639 - Chabot, Admiral of FranceThe Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of FranceThe Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of France is an early seventeenth-century play, generally judged to be a work of George Chapman, later revised by James Shirley...
, Chapman and Shirley, 1635 - The Honest WhoreThe Honest WhoreThe Honest Whore is an early Jacobean city comedy, written in two parts; Part 1 is a collaboration between Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton, while Part 2 is the work of Dekker alone...
, Dekker and Thomas MiddletonThomas MiddletonThomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
, c. 1635 - The Lady of PleasureThe Lady of PleasureThe Lady of Pleasure is a Caroline era comedy of manners written by James Shirley, first published in 1637. It has often been cited as among the best, and sometimes as the single best, the "most brilliant," of the dramatist's comic works....
, Shirley, 1635 - ClaricillaClaricillaClaricilla is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Thomas Killigrew. The drama was acted c. 1636 by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre, and first published in 1641...
, Killigrew, 1635–36 - The Duke's MistressThe Duke's MistressThe Duke's Mistress is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by James Shirley and first published in 1638. It was the last of Shirley's plays produced before the major break in his career: with the closing of the London theatres due to bubonic plague in May 1636, Shirley left England for...
, Shirley, 1636 - The Hollander, Henry GlapthorneHenry GlapthorneHenry Glapthorne was a Caroline era dramatist.Glapthorne was baptized in Cambridgeshire, the son of Thomas Glapthorne and Faith nee Hatcliff. His father was a bailiff of Lady Hatton, the wife of Sir Edward Coke...
, 1636 - The Antipodes, Richard Brome, 1636–38
- The English MoorThe English MoorThe English Moor, or the Mock Marriage is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Richard Brome, noteworthy in its use of the stage device of blackface make-up...
, Brome, 1637 - Mirocosmus, Nabbes, 1637
- The Careless ShepherdessThe Careless ShepherdessThe Careless Shepherdess is a Jacobean era stage play, a pastoral tragicomedy generally attributed to Thomas Goffe. Its 1656 publication is noteworthy for the introduction of the first general catalogue of the dramas of English Renaissance theatre ever attempted.-Date and performance:The dates of...
, John Goffe, c. 1638 - The Fatal ContractThe Fatal ContractThe Fatal Contract: A French Tragedy is a Caroline era stage play, written by William Heminges. The play has been regarded as one of the most extreme of the revenge tragedies or "tragedies of blood," like The Spanish Tragedy and Titus Andronicus, that constitute a distinctive sub-genre of English...
, William HemingesWilliam HemingesWilliam Heminges , also Hemminges, Heminge, and other variants, was a playwright and theatrical figure of the Caroline period. He was the ninth child and third son of John Heminges, the actor and colleague of William Shakespeare.William Heminges was christened on October 3, 1602, in the parish of...
, 1638–39 - The Noble Stranger, Lewis Sharpe, 1638–40
- A Mad World, My MastersA Mad World, My MastersA Mad World, My Masters is a Jacobean stage play written by Thomas Middleton, a comedy first performed around 1605 and first published in 1608....
, Middleton, c. 1640
Nineteen of the fifty-one works on the list are the work of James Shirley, the company's house dramatist through much of its existence.
Aftermath
The company ended when the London theatres were closed in September 1642 at the start of the English Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Some of its personnel (Anthony Turner, Michael Mohun, and Theophilus Bird are examples) resurfaced as members of the newly formed King's Company
King's Company
The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682.-History:...
when the theatres re-opened in 1660. The King's Company also inherited a good portion of the repertory of Queen Henrietta's Men, including plays by Shirley, Brome, and Heywood.