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'''Player'''<br>
'''Player'''<br>
:Richard Burbage first appears in theatrical records not as a player but as a brawler. The records are depositions by John Alleyn (brother of Edward Alleyn) in a 1589-90 lawsuit filed in the Court of Chancery concerning business at the Shoreditch playhouse, the Theater. Alleyn said that Burbage hurled abuse at two complainants in the suit (Margaret Brayne, Robert Myles) and threatened them with a broomstick. Theater historians have deduced from this testimony that Richard was "probably playing with the Admiral's men" at the time (Nungezer, p. 68). Burbage does not appear in theatrical records again until 1594, when he is named in the Declared Accounts of the Treasurer of the Chamber for March 1594 along with William Kempe and William Shakespeare as payees of £20 for performances at court by the Lord Chamberlain's men on the previous holidays of St. Stephen's Day and Holy Innocents (26, 27 December 1594). In the absence of evidence for 1591 to mid-1594, theater historians have found it appealing to consider him with the earl of Pembroke's men (1592-3) in large part because that company had versions of several plays in which William Shakespeare had a hand including ''The First Part of the Contention betwixt the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster'' and ''The True Tragedy of Richard, Duke of York, and the Death of Good King Henry VI.'' <br>
:1589-1594: Richard Burbage first appears in theatrical records not as a player but as a brawler. The records are depositions by John Alleyn (brother of Edward Alleyn) in a 1589-90 lawsuit filed in the Court of Chancery concerning business at the Shoreditch playhouse, the Theater. Alleyn said that Burbage hurled abuse at two complainants in the suit (Margaret Brayne, Robert Myles) and threatened them with a broomstick. Theater historians have deduced from this testimony that Richard was "probably playing with the Admiral's men" at the time (Nungezer, p. 68). Burbage does not appear in theatrical records again until 1594, when he is named in the Declared Accounts of the Treasurer of the Chamber for March 1594 along with William Kempe and William Shakespeare as payees of £20 for performances at court by the Lord Chamberlain's men on the previous holidays of St. Stephen's Day and Holy Innocents (26, 27 December 1594). In the absence of evidence for 1591 to mid-1594, theater historians have found it appealing to consider him with the earl of Pembroke's men (1592-3) in large part because that company had versions of several plays in which William Shakespeare had a hand including ''The First Part of the Contention betwixt the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster'' and ''The True Tragedy of Richard, Duke of York, and the Death of Good King Henry VI.'' <br>


:An anecdote that probably belongs to Burbage's early years as a Chamberlain's man, and which displays a different kind of confrontational behavior, was told in 1602-3 by John Manningham, a student of Middle Temple in his 1602-3 diary: "Vpon a tyme when Burbidge played Richard III. there was a citizen grone soe farr in liking with him, that before shee went from the play shee appointed him to come that night vnto hir by the name of Richard the Third. Shakespeare ouerhearing their conclusion went before, was intertained and at his game ere Burbidge came. Then message being brought that Richard the Third was at the dore, Shakespeare caused returne to be made that William the Conqueror was before Richard the Third. Shakespeare's name William" (Manningham, 13 March 1601).  
:An anecdote that probably belongs to Burbage's early years as a Chamberlain's man, and which displays a different kind of confrontational behavior, was told in 1602-3 by John Manningham, a student of Middle Temple in his 1602-3 diary: "Vpon a tyme when Burbidge played Richard III. there was a citizen grone soe farr in liking with him, that before shee went from the play shee appointed him to come that night vnto hir by the name of Richard the Third. Shakespeare ouerhearing their conclusion went before, was intertained and at his game ere Burbidge came. Then message being brought that Richard the Third was at the dore, Shakespeare caused returne to be made that William the Conqueror was before Richard the Third. Shakespeare's name William" (Manningham, 13 March 1601).  


:transition from Theater to Curtain to Globe and Blackfriars, Christmas 1598-1619
:1594-1619: As lead actor for the Chamberlain's men when the company was formed (c. mid-May 1594), Burbage was undoubtedly a player in the repertory offered at the Newington playhouse from June 3 through June 13. Philip Henslowe recorded the performances in his memorandum book with the heading, "... begininge at newington my Lord Admeralle men & my Lorde chamberlen men ..." without a clue as to the performance features of the companies' joint venture. Because the Admiral's men subsequently performed three of the seven plays listed by Henslowe, theater historians have considered it likely that the remaining four were among the offerings of the Chamberlain's men as they sought venues in the provinces and in London in the months ahead. The story of the Chamberlain's men in London, 1594-99, is best followed by their access first to the Theater, then the Curtain, and finally the Globe; and its centerpiece is the dismantling of the Theater building and reconstructing it as the Globe, where the company would remain well past the stage lifetime of Richard Burbage.
 
:Burbage as a stage character: In ''2 Return from Parnassus'' (c.1602) two players, Dick Burbage and Will Kempe are approached by the main characters (two adrift Cambridge graduates) about the prospects of acting as a road to riches. In ''The Malcontent'' (c.1603), Burbage plays himself in a newly-written Induction that "explains" to the audience how a play once in the repertory of a boys' company now belongs to the King's men. 1618, pageant celebrating the announcement of Prince Henry as Prince of Wales<br>


other: character with Kempe in ''2 Return from Parnasus''; appears as self in Induction to ''The Malcontent'' 1604 (with Condell and Lowin; 1618, pageant celebrating the announcement of Prince Henry as Prince of Wales<br>
<br>
<br>


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:?Urganda ?King Egereon, ?Eschines, [[Dead Man's Fortune, The|"The Dead Man's Fortune"]] (Guesses: Greg, "Urganda," pp. 102-3, note to ll. 34-6; McMillin, King Egereon, p. 239; Bradley, Eschines, p. 97).  <br>
:?Urganda ?King Egereon, ?Eschines, [[Dead Man's Fortune, The|"The Dead Man's Fortune"]] (Guesses: Greg, "Urganda," pp. 102-3, note to ll. 34-6; McMillin, King Egereon, p. 239; Bradley, Eschines, p. 97).  <br>
:King Gorboduc ("Envy"), Tereus ("Lechery"), [[Second Part of the Seven Deadly Sins, The|"The Second Part of the Seven Deadly Sins"]]<br>
:King Gorboduc ("Envy"), Tereus ("Lechery"), [[Second Part of the Seven Deadly Sins, The|"The Second Part of the Seven Deadly Sins"]]<br>
other lost plays assigned to the Chamberlain's King's men during Burbage's active stage life:
::
* "Hester and Ahasuerus"
* "Bad Beginning Makes a Good Ending"
* "Cardenio"
* "Cloth Breeches and Velvet Hose"
*
<br>
<br>



Revision as of 15:21, 8 April 2022

Richard Burbage, son of James Burbage and younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage, was the leading player of the Chamberlain's men as constituted in 1594; at his father's death (February 1597), Richard became a leading businessman with the company as well, having the Globe playhouse and later also Blackfriars Playhouse under his and his brother Cuthbert's control.

Player

1589-1594: Richard Burbage first appears in theatrical records not as a player but as a brawler. The records are depositions by John Alleyn (brother of Edward Alleyn) in a 1589-90 lawsuit filed in the Court of Chancery concerning business at the Shoreditch playhouse, the Theater. Alleyn said that Burbage hurled abuse at two complainants in the suit (Margaret Brayne, Robert Myles) and threatened them with a broomstick. Theater historians have deduced from this testimony that Richard was "probably playing with the Admiral's men" at the time (Nungezer, p. 68). Burbage does not appear in theatrical records again until 1594, when he is named in the Declared Accounts of the Treasurer of the Chamber for March 1594 along with William Kempe and William Shakespeare as payees of £20 for performances at court by the Lord Chamberlain's men on the previous holidays of St. Stephen's Day and Holy Innocents (26, 27 December 1594). In the absence of evidence for 1591 to mid-1594, theater historians have found it appealing to consider him with the earl of Pembroke's men (1592-3) in large part because that company had versions of several plays in which William Shakespeare had a hand including The First Part of the Contention betwixt the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster and The True Tragedy of Richard, Duke of York, and the Death of Good King Henry VI.
An anecdote that probably belongs to Burbage's early years as a Chamberlain's man, and which displays a different kind of confrontational behavior, was told in 1602-3 by John Manningham, a student of Middle Temple in his 1602-3 diary: "Vpon a tyme when Burbidge played Richard III. there was a citizen grone soe farr in liking with him, that before shee went from the play shee appointed him to come that night vnto hir by the name of Richard the Third. Shakespeare ouerhearing their conclusion went before, was intertained and at his game ere Burbidge came. Then message being brought that Richard the Third was at the dore, Shakespeare caused returne to be made that William the Conqueror was before Richard the Third. Shakespeare's name William" (Manningham, 13 March 1601).
1594-1619: As lead actor for the Chamberlain's men when the company was formed (c. mid-May 1594), Burbage was undoubtedly a player in the repertory offered at the Newington playhouse from June 3 through June 13. Philip Henslowe recorded the performances in his memorandum book with the heading, "... begininge at newington my Lord Admeralle men & my Lorde chamberlen men ..." without a clue as to the performance features of the companies' joint venture. Because the Admiral's men subsequently performed three of the seven plays listed by Henslowe, theater historians have considered it likely that the remaining four were among the offerings of the Chamberlain's men as they sought venues in the provinces and in London in the months ahead. The story of the Chamberlain's men in London, 1594-99, is best followed by their access first to the Theater, then the Curtain, and finally the Globe; and its centerpiece is the dismantling of the Theater building and reconstructing it as the Globe, where the company would remain well past the stage lifetime of Richard Burbage.
Burbage as a stage character: In 2 Return from Parnassus (c.1602) two players, Dick Burbage and Will Kempe are approached by the main characters (two adrift Cambridge graduates) about the prospects of acting as a road to riches. In The Malcontent (c.1603), Burbage plays himself in a newly-written Induction that "explains" to the audience how a play once in the repertory of a boys' company now belongs to the King's men. 1618, pageant celebrating the announcement of Prince Henry as Prince of Wales


Businessman

Berry,"The Theatre," pp. 320-387; "The Curtain," pp. 404-18; "The first Globe," pp. 493-500; "The second Blackfriars," pp. 501-30.
Theater
Curtain
Pembroke's men??
Blackfriars
Globe
2nd Blackfriars

Family
St. Leonard's Shoreditch

Julia (?Juliet), christened 2 January 1603; buried 12 September 1608
Frances, christened 16 September 1604; buried 16 September 1604
Anne, christened 8 August 1607
Richard, buried 16 August 1607
Winifred, christened 10 October 1613; buried 16 October 1616
Julia, christened 27 December 1614; buried 15 August 1615
William, christened 6 November 1616
Sara, christened 5 August 1619; buried 29 April 1625
Richard (himself) buried 16 March 1619

Numerous elegies and elegiac references followed Richard Burbage's death for years afterwards; the most succinct: "Exit Burbage" (Nungezer, p. 73).
Closeness with brother Cuthbert: bought houses together in 1608, also 1617 (Eccles, 43)

Roles
Presumably, Burbage was the lead adult male player in the Chamberlain's men after its formation by June 1594 as well as in the King's men; a list of those roles being lengthy, the focus here is on his roles in lost plays.

?Urganda ?King Egereon, ?Eschines, "The Dead Man's Fortune" (Guesses: Greg, "Urganda," pp. 102-3, note to ll. 34-6; McMillin, King Egereon, p. 239; Bradley, Eschines, p. 97).
King Gorboduc ("Envy"), Tereus ("Lechery"), "The Second Part of the Seven Deadly Sins"

other lost plays assigned to the Chamberlain's King's men during Burbage's active stage life:

* "Hester and Ahasuerus"
* "Bad Beginning Makes a Good Ending"
* "Cardenio"
* "Cloth Breeches and Velvet Hose"
* 



Works Cited

Berry, Herbert. "Aspects of the Design and Use of the First Public Playhouse." In The First Public Playhouse: The Theatre in Shoreditch 1576-1598. Ed. Herbert Berry. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1979. pp. 29-45.
———. Shakespeare's Playhouses, with illustrations by C. Walter Hodges. New York: AMS Press, 1987.
———. "Part Three: Playhouses, 1560-1660." In English Professional Theatre, 1530-1660. Ed. Glynne Wickham, Herbert Berry, and William Ingram. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2000. pp. 297-403.
Bradley, David. From Text to Performance in the Elizabethan Theatre. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Eccles, Mark. "Elizabethan Actors I: A-D," Notes and Queries 236.1 (1991): 38-48.
Greg, W. W. ‘’Dramatic Documents from the Elizabethan Playhouses’’. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1931, rpt. 1969.
Honigmann, E. A. J. and Susan Brock. Playhouse Wills 1558-1642. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1993.
Kathman, David. "Reconsidering The Seven Deadly Sins," Early Theatre 7.1 (2004). 13-44.
Manley, Lawrence and Sally-Beth MacLean. Lord Strange's Men and Their Plays. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2014.
Manningham, John. "Diary of John Manningham." The Project Gutenberg EBook of Diary of John Manningham, by John Manningham. (Web)
McMillin, Scott. "The Plots of The Dead Man's Fortune and 2 Seven Deadly Sins: Inferences for Theatre Historians," Studies in Bibliography 26 (1973): 235-43.
Munro, Lucy. Shakespeare in the Theatre: The King's Men. The Arden Shakespeare. London: Bloomsbury, 2020.
Nungezer, Edwin. ‘’A Dictionary of Actors’’. New York: Greenwood Press, 1968 (orig. Yale University Press, 1929).


Subcategories

This category has the following 7 subcategories, out of 7 total.

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G

K

N

T

Pages in category "Richard Burbage"

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