The Profession of Player in Shakespeare’s Time, 1590-1642

331 Pages·1984·13.887 MB·English

by  Gerald Eades Bentley

THE PROFESSION OF PLAYER
IN SHAKESPEARE'S TIME, 1590-1642
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
The Profession
of Player in
Shakespeare's Time
1590-1642
GERALD EADES BENTLEY
Copyright © 1984 by Gerald Eades Bentley
Published by Princeton University Press,
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom:
Princeton University Press, Guildford, Surrey
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
will be found on the last printed page of this book
ISBN 0-691-06596-9
Publication of this book has been aided by the
Whitney Darrow Fund of Princeton University Press
This book has been composed in Linotron Janson
Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books are
printed on acid-free paper, and binding materials are
chosen for strength and durability
Printed in the United States of America by
Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey
For G.B.E.Jr.

Contents
Preface ix
I Introduction 3
II The Player and His Company 12
III Sharers 2 5
IV Hired Men 64
V Apprentices 113
VI Managers 147
VII London Companies on Tour 177
VIII Casting 206
IX Conclusions 2 34
Appendix: Casts and Lists of Players 247
Index 297

Preface
THIS BOOK is planned as a companion to The Profession of
Dramatist in Shakespeare's Time. Its purpose, like that of its
predecessor, is to set forth, as fully as I can, what was normal
in the conduct of one of the two major components in that
phenomenal creative outburst we call the "Elizabethan Drama."
Most of the great flood of modern studies concerning that
astounding florescence are confined to single dramatists or sin
gle plays or single themes in a limited group of writings for
the theater during the reigns of Elizabeth, James, and Charles.
Too many such studies simply assume conditions of compo
sition or performance for their plays that would have been
highly abnormal, if not impossible, in the theatrical milieu of
late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century London. If these
two studies can help to indicate the usual conduct of the Eliz-
IX