Richard Baxter (actor)
Encyclopedia
Richard Baxter or Backster, was a seventeenth-century actor, who worked in some of the leading theatre companies
of his era. His long career illustrates the conditions during the difficult years of transition from the period of English Renaissance theatre
, through the English Civil War
and the Interregnum
, and into the Restoration
era.
through most of that company's existence, from 1606 to 1623. He was paid 10 shillings a week as a hired man; he became a sharer (a partner in the company) in 1623, the year the company folded. Unfortunately, that company was in financial difficulties for much of its existence; its hired men were sometimes paid half their wages, or less, or nothing. "Baxter kept a record of these deficits, which he considered as arrears, but could never recover them from the company." (Baxter may have received his share in 1623 as compensation for the arrearages.)
Baxter was with the King's Men
in the years from 1628 to 1637; he appeared in their productions of Ford's
The Lover's Melancholy
(1628
) and Massinger's
Believe as You List
(1631
), and their revival of Fletcher's
The Mad Lover
, c. 1630.
With Baxter as with many other actors of his time, some of the best evidence on his career comes from legal documents. In March 1622, a feltmaker complained that Baxter had wounded him during a performance, while the feltmaker had been seated at the side of the stage. Apparently, nothing came of the man's complaint. In the following year, 1623, Baxter gave testimony in a legal suit, the so-called Baskervile
or Worth/Baskerville suit, that involved most of the members of his acting troupe. (Baxter's signatures on legal documents, in 1623 and in 1665, prove that the pre-1642 and post-1660 actors are the same man.)
and Paris
, in the years 1644 and 1645.
He was also involved in a 1648 effort to re-start the King's Men. In December of that year, Baxter and nine other actors, most of them veterans of the company, signed a contract with an upholsterer named Robert Conway; Conway was to provide financial backing for the group in return for a portion of their income, and the ten would be the sharers or partners in the new version of the old company. This effort produced limited drama but enduring litigation: Conway's heirs sued the actors in 1661, claiming that the 1648 contract granted them a share in the profits of the newly formed King's Company
. In the complainants' interpretation, the King's Company was a continuation of the 1648 group, and Conway's contract applied. The resulting suit has been called "the Baxter suit," since in some documents Baxter is listed first among the involved actors. Baxter himself gave a deposition in the case in 1665, in which he identified himself as being 72 years old at the time.
The documents in the case specify that during the years of the theatre closure the actors often could act only in private homes for relatively small sums; and even then they were sometimes arrested and jailed. The authorities used confiscation of the actors' costumes as an effective means of suppression, since a troupe's stock of costumes constituted its main material wealth and financial investment.
Baxter was probably the father of two actors of the next generation, John Baxter and another Richard Baxter.
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 his era. His long career illustrates the conditions during the difficult years of transition from the period of English Renaissance theatre
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...
, through the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and 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...
, and into the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
era.
Early years
Baxter worked with Queen Anne's MenQueen Anne's Men
Queen Anne's Men was a playing company, or troupe of actors, in Jacobean era London. -Formation:...
through most of that company's existence, from 1606 to 1623. He was paid 10 shillings a week as a hired man; he became a sharer (a partner in the company) in 1623, the year the company folded. Unfortunately, that company was in financial difficulties for much of its existence; its hired men were sometimes paid half their wages, or less, or nothing. "Baxter kept a record of these deficits, which he considered as arrears, but could never recover them from the company." (Baxter may have received his share in 1623 as compensation for the arrearages.)
Baxter was 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...
in the years from 1628 to 1637; he appeared in their productions of Ford's
John Ford (dramatist)
John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
The Lover's Melancholy
The Lover's Melancholy
The Lover's Melancholy is an early Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Ford. While the dating of the works in Ford's canon is very uncertain, this play has sometimes been regarded as "Ford's first unaided drama," an anticipation of what would follow through the remainder of his...
(1628
1628 in literature
The year 1628 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Ben Jonson is appointed city chronologer of London.*Ten-year-old Abraham Cowley produces his Tragicall History of Piramus and Thisbe....
) and Massinger's
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....
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....
), and their revival of Fletcher's
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...
The Mad Lover
The Mad Lover
The Mad Lover is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy by John Fletcher that was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647....
, c. 1630.
With Baxter as with many other actors of his time, some of the best evidence on his career comes from legal documents. In March 1622, a feltmaker complained that Baxter had wounded him during a performance, while the feltmaker had been seated at the side of the stage. Apparently, nothing came of the man's complaint. In the following year, 1623, Baxter gave testimony in a legal suit, the so-called Baskervile
Susan Baskervile
Susan Shore Browne Greene Baskervile , or Baskerville, was one of the most influential and significant women involved in English Renaissance theatre, as theatre investor, litigant, and wife, widow, and mother of actors....
or Worth/Baskerville suit, that involved most of the members of his acting troupe. (Baxter's signatures on legal documents, in 1623 and in 1665, prove that the pre-1642 and post-1660 actors are the same man.)
Dark years
From 1642 to 1660, during the years of the Civil War and Commonwealth, the theatres were formally closed. Actors performed clandestinely when they could, though they were repeatedly harassed, arrested, imprisoned, and generally persecuted by the authorities. Legal documents once again throw light upon the careers of Baxter and his fellow actors in these years. Baxter was one of several English actors who performed on the Continent, mainly in The HagueThe Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, in the years 1644 and 1645.
He was also involved in a 1648 effort to re-start the King's Men. In December of that year, Baxter and nine other actors, most of them veterans of the company, signed a contract with an upholsterer named Robert Conway; Conway was to provide financial backing for the group in return for a portion of their income, and the ten would be the sharers or partners in the new version of the old company. This effort produced limited drama but enduring litigation: Conway's heirs sued the actors in 1661, claiming that the 1648 contract granted them a share in the profits 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:...
. In the complainants' interpretation, the King's Company was a continuation of the 1648 group, and Conway's contract applied. The resulting suit has been called "the Baxter suit," since in some documents Baxter is listed first among the involved actors. Baxter himself gave a deposition in the case in 1665, in which he identified himself as being 72 years old at the time.
The documents in the case specify that during the years of the theatre closure the actors often could act only in private homes for relatively small sums; and even then they were sometimes arrested and jailed. The authorities used confiscation of the actors' costumes as an effective means of suppression, since a troupe's stock of costumes constituted its main material wealth and financial investment.
In the Restoration
Baxter was one of the thirteen actors who became sharers in the new King's Company when it was organized at the start of the Restoration period. He continued with that organization for the remainder of his stage career. His 1665 deposition indicated that he received a "salary," apparently more like a pension, of 20 shillings per week since 1663. He likely died not long prior to February 8, 1668, "when his name is cancelled in a livery warrant."Baxter was probably the father of two actors of the next generation, John Baxter and another Richard Baxter.