William Cartwright (actor)
Encyclopedia
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 (fl.
1598 – 1636), an actor of the previous generation.
at that time. James Wright's Historia Histrionica
(1699
) maintains that the younger Cartwright was associated with the Salisbury Court Theatre
— which may refer to his time with his father's troupe, or may indicate that he was with Queen Henrietta's Men
in the 1637–42 period.
The parish records of St. Giles in the Fields show that he married his first wife, Elisabeth Cooke, on 1 May 1633 — and his second wife, Andria Robins, just three years later, on 28 April 1636.
and the Commonwealth (1642–1660) when the theatres were closed, little evidence of the activities of the former actors survives. Yet it is known that Cartwright was one of the performers who tried to maintain clandestine dramatic activity in the mid-to-late 1640s. Later in the period, Cartwright became a stationer
or bookseller; his shop was in Turnstile Alley in the neighborhood of Lincoln's Inn Fields
. (Other former actors, Andrew Pennycuicke
and Alexander Gough
, also shifted into the book business in the Commonwealth period.)
In this era, booksellers also functioned as publishers; but evidence of only one publication by Cartwright is extant. In 1658
he issued a new edition of Thomas Heywood
's An Apology for Actors (originally printed in 1612), under the title The Actor's Vindication. Cartwright made one major addition to Heywood's text: a passage in praise of Edward Alleyn
, with whom his father had been associated.
Cartwright's second wife Andria was buried on 12 May 1652. He married Jane Hodgson, his third wife, on 19 November 1654.
when Thomas Killigrew
organized that troupe. Cartwright remained with the company until it was absorbed into the United Company
in 1682
.
Cartwright performed a range of roles with the King's Company, including:
Cartwright received a minor mention in the anti-Dryden satire The Rehearsal
, in which he supposedly plays "Thunder." When the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
burned down in 1672
, Cartwright invested £150 in its replacement.
Cartwright remained with the United Company after 1682, until the end of his acting career. He was active even at an advanced age; with the United Company he played Cacafogo in Fletcher's
Rule a Wife and Have a Wife
.
. The collection comprised 239 portraits, plus drawings, prints, books, and manuscripts; Cartwright also willed the College money (£400 of "broad old gold") and even personal effects ("two silver tankards, damask linen, an Indian quilt, and a Turkey carpet"). The portrait collection included public figures like Sir Thomas Gresham
, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
, and Mary, Queen of Scots; Richard Burbage
and Richard Perkins
among other actors; and personal items — pictures of Cartwright, his father, and his first and third wives.
Disputes over Cartwright's last will and testament, between his servants and the College, generated an extensive legal record. Cartwright's will mentions that he was childless; if he and any of his three wives had offspring, they did not survive him.
Given his connection with Dulwich, Cartwright was likely also responsible for donating MS. Egerton 1994
, a collection of play manuscripts, to the College.
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...
to 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...
. He is sometimes known as William Cartwright, Junior or William Cartwright the younger to distinguish him from his father, another William Cartwright (fl.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1598 – 1636), an actor of the previous generation.
Early career
William Cartwright the younger was about eighty years old when he died; he was therefore born around 1606 or 1607. Nothing is known of his early life; it is reasonable to assume that he began his stage career under his father's tutelage. He was included with his father on a 1635 list of actors; apparently they both belonged to the King's Revels MenKing's Revels Men
The 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...
at that time. James Wright's Historia Histrionica
Historia Histrionica
Historia Histrionica is a 1699 literary work by James Wright , on the subject of theatre in England in the seventeenth century. It is an essential resource for information on the actors and theatrical life of the period, providing data available nowhere else.The work's full title is Historia...
(1699
1699 in literature
The year 1699 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Jonathan Swift is out of work after the death of his employer, Sir William Temple.*Joseph Addison receives a pension of £300 to enable him to travel abroad.-New books:...
) maintains that the younger Cartwright was associated with the Salisbury Court Theatre
Salisbury 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...
— which may refer to his time with his father's troupe, or may indicate that he was with Queen Henrietta's Men
Queen Henrietta's Men
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.-Beginnings:...
in the 1637–42 period.
The parish records of St. Giles in the Fields show that he married his first wife, Elisabeth Cooke, on 1 May 1633 — and his second wife, Andria Robins, just three years later, on 28 April 1636.
Theatre closure
During the years of the English Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and the Commonwealth (1642–1660) when the theatres were closed, little evidence of the activities of the former actors survives. Yet it is known that Cartwright was one of the performers who tried to maintain clandestine dramatic activity in the mid-to-late 1640s. Later in the period, Cartwright became a stationer
Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was founded in 1403; it received a Royal Charter in 1557...
or bookseller; his shop was in Turnstile Alley in the neighborhood of Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London, UK. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observes...
. (Other former actors, Andrew Pennycuicke
Andrew Pennycuicke
Andrew 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...
and Alexander Gough
Alexander Gough
Alexander Gough , also Goughe or Goffe, was an English actor in the Caroline era. He started out as a boy player filling female roles; during the period of the English Civil War and the Interregnum when the theatres were closed and actors out of work, Gough became involved in the publication of...
, also shifted into the book business in the Commonwealth period.)
In this era, booksellers also functioned as publishers; but evidence of only one publication by Cartwright is extant. In 1658
1658 in literature
The year 1658 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Molière arrives in Paris to act at the Louvre.* Edward Phillips continues the Chronicle of the Kings of England from the Time of the Romans' Government unto the Death of King James to this date.-New books:* Sir Thomas Browne -...
he issued a new edition 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 An Apology for Actors (originally printed in 1612), under the title The Actor's Vindication. Cartwright made one major addition to Heywood's text: a passage in praise of Edward Alleyn
Edward Alleyn
Edward Alleyn was an English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of Dulwich College and Alleyn's School.-Early life:...
, with whom his father had been associated.
Cartwright's second wife Andria was buried on 12 May 1652. He married Jane Hodgson, his third wife, on 19 November 1654.
Restoration
Cartwright's stage career revived with the re-opening of the theatres in 1660. He was one of the thirteen actors who were the original "sharers" (partners) in the King's CompanyKing'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 Thomas Killigrew
Thomas Killigrew
Thomas 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:...
organized that troupe. Cartwright remained with the company until it was absorbed into the United Company
United Company
The United Company was a London theatre company formed in 1682 with the merger of the King's Company and the Duke's Company.Both the Duke's and King's Companies suffered poor attendance during the turmoil of the Popish Plot period, 1678–81...
in 1682
1682 in literature
The year 1682 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* In London, the King's Company and the Duke's Company join to form the United Company.-New books:*John Bunyan - The Holy War...
.
Cartwright performed a range of roles with the King's Company, including:
- FalstaffFalstaffSir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In the two Henry IV plays, he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is...
in Shakespeare's Henry IV plays - Brabantio in OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
- Corbachio 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...
VolponeVolponeVolpone is a comedy by Ben Jonson first produced in 1606, drawing on elements of city comedy, black comedy and beast fable... - Sir Epicure Mammon in The AlchemistThe Alchemist (play)The Alchemist is a comedy by English playwright Ben Jonson. First performed in 1610 by the King's Men, it is generally considered Jonson's best and most characteristic comedy; Samuel Taylor Coleridge claimed that it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature...
- Morose in 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...
- Lygones in Beaumont and FletcherBeaumont and FletcherBeaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I ....
's A King and No KingA King and No KingA King and No King is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher and first published in 1619. It has traditionally been among the most highly-praised and popular works in the canon of Fletcher and his collaborators.The play's title became almost... - Apollonius in Dryden'sJohn DrydenJohn Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
Tyrannick LoveTyrannick LoveTyrannick Love, or The Royal Martyr is a tragedy by John Dryden in rhymed couplets, first acted in June 1669, and published in 1670. It is a retelling of the story of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and her martyrdom by the Roman Emperor Maximinus, the "tyrant" of the title, who is enraged at... - Mario in The AssignationThe AssignationThe Assignation, or Love in a Nunnery is a Restoration comedy written by John Dryden. The play was first acted late in 1672, by the King's Company at their theatre at Lincoln's Inn Fields, but was not a success with its audience....
- the Priest in The Indian EmperourThe Indian EmperourThe Indian Emperour, or the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, being the Sequel of The Indian Queen is an English Restoration era stage play, a heroic drama written by John Dryden that was first performed in the Spring of 1665...
- Abenamar in The Conquest of GranadaThe Conquest of GranadaThe Conquest of Granada is a Restoration era stage play, a two-part tragedy written by John Dryden that was first acted in 1670 and 1671 and published in 1672...
- Hermogenes in Marriage A-la-ModeMarriage A-la-ModeMarriage à la Mode is a Restoration comedy by John Dryden, first performed in London in 1673 by the King's Company. It is written in a combination of prose, blank verse and heroic couplets...
- Lord Latimer in Boyle'sRoger Boyle, 1st Earl of OrreryRoger Boyle redirects here. For others of this name, see Roger Boyle Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery was a British soldier, statesman and dramatist. He was the third surviving son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork and Richard's second wife, Catherine Fenton. He was created Baron of Broghill on...
The Black PrinceThe Black Prince (play)The Black Prince is a Restoration era stage play, a historical tragedy written by Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery. It premiered on stage in 1667 and was first published in 1669... - Sir Jasper Fidget in Wycherly's The Country WifeThe Country WifeThe Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. The title itself contains a lewd pun...
- Major Oldfox in The Plain Dealer.
Cartwright received a minor mention in the anti-Dryden satire The Rehearsal
The Rehearsal
The Rehearsal may refer to:* The Rehearsal , 1672, by George Villiers.* The Rehearsal , 1974, about the Greek junta.* The Rehearsal , 2008, by Eleanor Catton.* The Rehearsal, a short film....
, in which he supposedly plays "Thunder." When the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
burned down in 1672
1672 in literature
The year 1672 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* In London, the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is destroyed by fire. The King's Company moves into the theatre at Lincoln's Inn Fields, which their rivals the Duke's Company left the previous year.* During the 1672–73 theatre...
, Cartwright invested £150 in its replacement.
Cartwright remained with the United Company after 1682, until the end of his acting career. He was active even at an advanced age; with the United Company he played Cacafogo in 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...
Rule a Wife and Have a Wife
Rule a Wife and Have a Wife
Rule a Wife and Have a Wife is a late Jacobean stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher. It was first performed in 1624 and first published in 1640....
.
Bequest
Cartwright was a collector as well as an actor and bookseller. At his death he willed his collection to Dulwich CollegeDulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
. The collection comprised 239 portraits, plus drawings, prints, books, and manuscripts; Cartwright also willed the College money (£400 of "broad old gold") and even personal effects ("two silver tankards, damask linen, an Indian quilt, and a Turkey carpet"). The portrait collection included public figures like Sir Thomas Gresham
Thomas Gresham
Sir Thomas Gresham was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edward's half-sisters, Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I.-Family and childhood:...
, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...
, and Mary, Queen of Scots; 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....
and Richard Perkins
Richard 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...
among other actors; and personal items — pictures of Cartwright, his father, and his first and third wives.
Disputes over Cartwright's last will and testament, between his servants and the College, generated an extensive legal record. Cartwright's will mentions that he was childless; if he and any of his three wives had offspring, they did not survive him.
Given his connection with Dulwich, Cartwright was likely also responsible for donating MS. Egerton 1994
MS. Egerton 1994
MS. Egerton 1994 is a manuscript collection of English Renaissance plays, now in the Egerton Collection of the British Library. Probably prepared by the actor William Cartwright around 1642, and later presented by him to Dulwich College, the collection contains unique copies of several...
, a collection of play manuscripts, to the College.