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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. The play is thought to date from c. 1626. It was published in quarto in 1629, printed by Nicholas Okes for the bookseller John Grove. This first edition contained commendatory verses, including one by John Ford; the play was dedicated to William Gowre, Esq., a personal friend of the author. A second quarto was published in 1632; the title page of Q2 states that the play was "lately acted" by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre (also called the Phoenix) in Drury Lane. ''The Wedding'' was included among eight of Shirley's plays that were published in one volume in 1640. Another individual edition appeared in 1660, at the start of the Restoration era, published by William Leake. The scholar and critic Alfred Harb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Literature In English
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines English literature more narrowly as, "the body of written works produced in the English language by inhabitants of the British Isles (including Ireland) from the 7th century to the present day. The major literatures written in English outside the British Isles are treated separately under American literature, Australian literature, Canadian literature, and New Zealand literature." However, despite this, it includes literature from the Republic of Ireland, "Anglo-American modernism", and discusses post-colonial literature. ; See also full articles on American literature and other literatures in the English language. The English language has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Angl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venetia Stanley
Venetia Anastasia Digby (née Stanley) (December 1600 – 1 May 1633) was a celebrated beauty of the Stuart period and the wife of a prominent courtier and scientist, Kenelm Digby. She was a granddaughter of Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland. and a great- granddaughter of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby. Life Venetia Stanley was the third daughter of Sir Edward Stanley (died 1629?), of Tong Castle, Shropshire, a baronet (and grandson of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby), and Lucy Percy (daughter and co-heiress of the Earl of Northumberland who had been imprisoned for treason for his part in a Catholic plot against Elizabeth I). Lucy Stanley died a few months after giving birth to Venetia. According to ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'', "Venetia" is most likely a Latinization of "Gwyneth", and the name was popularized by Venetia Stanley. A celebrated beauty, Venetia was presented at the court of James I in her teens. At some point around this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timothy Read
Timothy Read ( fl. 1626–1647) was a comic actor of the Caroline era, and one of the most famous and popular performers of his generation. Biography As with many other performers of his historical era, nothing is known of Read's early life. The first evidence of his career comes in 1626, when he played Cardona, a woman's role, in James Shirley's '' The Wedding'' with Queen Henrietta's Men. Read appears to have spent the early 1630s with the King's Revels Men, but returned to the Queen Henrietta's company after the bubonic plague epidemic of 1636–37, when personnel of the two troupes combined. With the Queen's company, Read played Buzzard in Richard Brome's '' The English Moor'', perhaps in 1637. He won his fame as a dancer. Performances in English Renaissance theatre, even tragedies, ended with a clown dancing a jig, and Read was one of a long line of comics, reaching from Richard Tarlton through John Shank, who earned a large and welcoming audience through this pra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Clark (actor)
Hugh Clark (died 1653) 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. Clark was with Queen Henrietta's Men during the first and most significant phase of their existence, from 1625 to 1636. Like some other actors of English Renaissance theatre, Clark began as a boy player filling female roles. He played Gratiana in Shirley's '' The Wedding'' in 1626, and Bess Bridges in both parts of Heywood's ''The Fair Maid of the West'' in 1630–31. Not long after that time, though, Clark switched to adult male roles. He played Syphax and Nuntius in Nabbes's '' Hannibal and Scipio'' ( 1635), and Hubert in Davenport's '' King John and Matilda''. The Queen Henrietta's company was disrupted and fractured by the bubonic plague epidemic of 1636–37. Clark, like some other members of the troupe, disappears from the available records in 1637 and 1638; he may have been one of se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Allen (actor)
William Allen (died 1647) 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. Allen was a member of the Queen Henrietta's company through the main phase of its existence, from 1625 to 1636. Six cast lists for five plays survive for the company; Allen is one of only two men (the other being Michael Bowyer) who is included in all six lists. Allen played major roles: * Captain Landby in Shirley's '' The Wedding'' * Pandolph in Davenport's '' King John and Matilda'' * Grimaldi the Renegado in Massinger's '' The Renegado'' * Hannibal in Nabbes's '' Hannibal and Scipio'' * Mullisheg in Heywood's ''The Fair Maid of the West'' (both parts). The Queen Henrietta's company was disrupted and fractured by the long theatre closure from May 1636 to October 1637, due to a severe outbreak of bubonic plague. Allen was one of several members of the troupe who disappear fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Turner (actor)
Anthony Turner (fl. 1622 – 1659) 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. Nothing is known of Turner's early life or the start of his career; by 1622 he was already a leading player with the Lady Elizabeth's Men. In 1625, Christopher Beeston formed a new company under the patronage of the new queen, Henrietta Maria; some members of the Lady Elizabeth's troupe, including Turner, joined the organization. Turner was a consistent presence in the known casts of the Queen Henrietta's company; he played — * Justice Landby in Shirley's '' The Wedding'' * Old Lord Bruce in Davenport's '' King John and Matilda'' * Bashaw Alcade in Part 2 of Heywood's ''The Fair Maid of the West'' * Crates and two other minor parts in Nabbes's '' Hannibal and Scipio''. Turner tended to play older men, like Justice Landby and Old Lord Bruce; yet he also took the role of a ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Robbins (actor)
William Robbins (died October 1645), also Robins, Robinson, or Robson, was a prominent comic actor in the Jacobean and Caroline eras. During the English Civil War he was a captain in the Royalist army and was killed during the Siege of Basing House. Biography Robbins career began by 1617, when he was with Queen Anne's Men; he remained with that company for the remainder of its existence. In 1625 Robbins joined the newly formed Queen Henrietta's Men, and worked with that company until 1636. His role as Rawbone in their production of James Shirley's '' The Wedding'' shows that he was a thin-man clown, what his own era called a "lean fool," like John Sinklo or John Shank. Robbins also played Carazie the eunuch in Philip Massinger's ''The Renegado'', Clem in Thomas Heywood's ''The Fair Maid of the West'', and the title character, the "changeling" Antonio, in Middleton and Rowley's '' The Changeling''. The Queen Henrietta's company was disrupted by a long theatre closure due to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Sumner (17th-century Actor)
John Sumner (died May 1649) was an English theatre actor during the Caroline era (1625–1642). 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 of King Charles I. The existing evidence suggests that Sumner played with the company throughout its existence, from 1625 to 1642. Sumner was cast in all five of the company's productions for which casting information exists. He played these roles: * Mustapha in Philip Massinger's '' The Renegado'' * Marwood in James Shirley's '' The Wedding'' * Himulco in Thomas Nabbes's '' Hannibal and Scipio'' * Young Bruce in Robert Davenport's '' King John and Matilda'' * the Duke of Florence in Thomas Heywood's ''The Fair Maid of the West, Part 2''. He probably also played in the company's production of John Ford's '' Love's Sacrifice'' as well. Ford, John; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Perkins (17th-century Actor)
Richard Perkins (c. 1579/c. 1585–1650) 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''. At the peak of his career in the 1630s, many contemporaries judged Perkins to be the premier tragedy, tragedian of his generation. Early life Nothing is known about the early life of Perkins, and the year of his birth has been estimated at 1579 or 1585. His professional career had begun by 1602, when he was a member of Worcester's Men; he remained with that company throughout its next incarnation as Queen Anne's Men, 1603–1619. With the death of Anne of Denmark in 1619, the troupe lost its name and patron, but continued in its theatre, and was known as the Red Bull Theatre, Red Bull company or the Revels company. After a relatively brief stint with the King's Men (playing company), King's Men, 1623–1625, Perkins became a founding member of the new Queen Henrietta's Men in 1625 in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. The play has attracted critical attention for its treatment of cultural conflict between Christian Europe and Muslim North Africa. Massinger based the plot of his play on a novel by Miguel de Cervantes titled ''Los Baños de Argel,'' which had been printed in 1615. Performance and publication ''The Renegado'' was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on 17 April 1624. It was acted at the Cockpit Theatre by the Lady Elizabeth's Men; when that troupe was merged or re-organized into Queen Henrietta's Men in the following year, 1625, the play remained in their repertory. The 1630 quarto was printed by Augustine Matthews for the bookseller John Waterson; it bears commendatory verses, including one by James Shirley. Massinger dedicated his drama to George Harding, 8th Baron Berkeley, a prominent litera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 provides valuable information on some of the actors of English Renaissance theatre. Performance and publication No certain information survives on the play's date of authorship or earliest production. Scholars generally date the play to c. 1628–29, though dates as early as 1624 and as late as 1634 have been proposed. The title page of the first edition states that the play was acted by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre; the actors in the cast list belonged to that company. The troupe staged a revival of Davenport's play c. 1638–39, perhaps a decade after its initial appearance. The 1655 quarto was published by actor-turned-stationer Andrew Pennycuicke. The volume includes an epistle addressed "To the knowning Reader" that is signed with the initials "R. D." This has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. The first edition of the play contained a cast list of the original production, making the 1637 quarto an important information source on English Renaissance theatre. Literary connections As its title indicates, the play relates the historical rivalry between Hannibal and Scipio Africanus. Out of the vast array of historical source material on the subject, Nabbes relied primarily upon the account of the Second Punic War given by Livy in his history of Rome, ''Ab Urbe condita'', and upon Plutarch's ''Lives of Hannibal and Scipio.'' Earlier English plays on the subject had been written and acted. A ''Scipio Africanus,'' author unknown, was staged at the English Court on 3 January 1580; a ''Hannibal and Hermes'' by Thomas Dekker, Michael Drayton, and Robert Wilson dated from 1598; it w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
