Martin Powell was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. Powell was a member of the

King's Company The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London, after the London theatre closure had been lifted at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682, when it merged wit ...

from 1669 onwards at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

in London. He was one of several actors who briefly left for Scotland in 1678 after a dispute with the management, before returning to Drury Lane. In 1682 he joined the merged

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&ndas ...

. Billed throughout his career as Mr. Powell, some of his later appearances can be confused with those of his son George Powell. In 1675 along with

John Coysh John Coysh was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. He was a member of the King's Company, based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He first headed a nursery of young actors at Hatton Garden, including the future star Sarah Cooke. ...

he appeared in a private production of

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

's '' The Indian Emperour'' staged by the

Duchess of Portsmouth Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

and an otherwise amateur cast.Walkling p.78

Selected roles

* Gomel in '' The Conquest of Granada'' by

(1670) * Larasco in '' The Spanish Rogue'' by Thomas Duffet (1673) * Furfante in ''

The Amorous Old Woman ''The Amorous Old Woman; Or, 'Tis Well If It Take'' is a 1674 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Duffet. It was originally staged by the King's Company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. It was part of the tradition of Restoration comedy. ...

'' by Thomas Duffett (1674) * Mirmilon in ''

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

'' by Nathaniel Lee (1674) * Proveditor in '' Love in the Dark'' by Francis Fane (1675) * Costard in ''

Psyche Debauched ''Psyche Debauched'' is a 1675 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Duffett. It was first staged by the King's Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The original cast included Mary Corbett as King Andrew, Mary Knep as Nicholas, Edward Ly ...

'' by Thomas Duffet (1675) * Leander in ''

Gloriana ''Gloriana'', Op. 53, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten to an English libretto by William Plomer, based on Lytton Strachey's 1928 ''Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History''. The first performance was presented at the Royal Opera Ho ...

'' by Nathaniel Lee (1676) * Mr William in '' The Country Innocence'' by John Leanerd (1677) * Philip in ''

The Rival Queens ''The Rival Queens, or the Death Of Alexander the Great'' is a Restoration tragedy written by Nathaniel Lee . Regarded as one of his best tragedies, the play revolves around Alexander the Great and his two wives, Roxana and Statira, whose compe ...

'' by Nathaniel Lee (1677) * Vanlore in '' Wits Led by the Nose'' by William Chamberlayne (1677) * Sir Arthur Twilight in '' The Rambling Justice'' by John Leanerd (1678) * Andravar in ''

Mithridates, King of Pontus ''Mithridates, King of Pontus'' is a 1678 tragedy by the English writer Nathaniel Lee. It was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London by the King's Company. John Dryden wrote the play's epilogue. The original Drury Lane cast ...

'' by Nathaniel Lee (1678) * Nonsuch in '' The Man of Newmarket'' by Edward Howard (1678) * Sir Peregreen in '' Trick for Trick'' by

Thomas D'Urfey Thomas d'Urfey (a.k.a. Tom Durfey; 165326 February 1723) was an English writer and wit. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera. Life D'Urfey was born in Devonsh ...

(1678) * Whigg in '' Sir Barnaby Whigg'' by

(1681) * Trebellius in ''

Sophonisba Sophonisba (in Punic, 𐤑𐤐𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 Ṣap̄anbaʿal) (fl. 203 BC) was a Carthaginian noblewoman who lived during the Second Punic War, and the daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco. She held influence over the Numidian political landscape, con ...

'' by Nathaniel Lee (1681) * Bakam in ''

The Island Princess ''The Island Princess'' is a late Jacobean tragicomedy by John Fletcher, initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647. The play The authorship and the stage premier of the play are generally thought to have occurred ...

'' by

Nahum Tate Nahum Tate ( ; 1652 – 30 July 1715) was an Irish poet, hymnist and lyricist, who became Poet Laureate in 1692. Tate is best known for ''The History of King Lear'', his 1681 adaptation of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', and for his libretto for ...

(1687) * Usher in ''

A Fool's Preferment ''A Fool's Preferment; Or, The Three Dukes Of Dunstable'' is a 1688 comedy play by the English writer Thomas D'Urfey. It is a reworking of John Fletcher's Jacobean work ''The Noble Gentleman''. It was first performed by the United Company at th ...

'' by

(1688) * Attorney in ''

The Squire of Alsatia ''The Squire of Alsatia'' is a 1688 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Shadwell. Alsatia was a nickname for the Whitefriars area of London, deriving from Alsace in northeastern France. A restoration comedy, it was performed at the Drury ...

'' by

Thomas Shadwell Thomas Shadwell ( – 19 November 1692) was an English poet and playwright who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1689. Life Shadwell was born at either Bromehill Farm, Weeting-with-Broomhill or Santon House, Lynford, Norfolk, and educated at B ...

(1688)

References

Bibliography

* Highfill, Philip H, Burnim, Kalman A. & Langhans, Edward A. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660–1800: Volume 12''. SIU Press, 1973. * Walking, Andrew R. ''Masque and Opera in England, 1656–1688''. Taylor & Francis, 2016. * Wilson, John Harold. ''Mr. Goodman the Player''. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1964. 17th-century English people English male stage actors 17th-century English male actors Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{England-stage-actor-stub