Robert Dawes ( fl. 1610–1614) was an English actor of the

Jacobean era The Jacobean era was the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of James VI of Scotland who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I. The Jacobean era succeeds the Elizabethan era and precedes the Ca ...

. He is unique in the extant records of

English Renaissance theatre English Renaissance theatre, also known as Renaissance English theatre and Elizabethan theatre, refers to the theatre of England between 1558 and 1642. This is the style of the plays of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson ...

, in that his individual employment contract with one of his acting companies has survived. Dawes was an early and perhaps an original member and "sharer" (a partner who shared in the profits, rather than a hired man who worked for a wage) with

Prince Charles's Men Prince Charles's Men (known as the Duke of York's Men from 1608 to 1612) was a playing company or troupe of actors in Jacobean and Caroline England. The Jacobean era troupe The company was formed in 1608 as the Duke of York's Men, under the titu ...

, from at least 1610 on. He remained with that company only until 1614, however, when he left for the

Lady Elizabeth's Men The Lady Elizabeth's Men, or Princess Elizabeth's Men, was a company of actors in Jacobean London, formed under the patronage of King James I's daughter Princess Elizabeth. From 1618 on, the company was called The Queen of Bohemia's Men, afte ...

. Dawes was admitted as a sharer in the Lady Elizabeth's troupe; his personal 3-year contract with managers Philip Henslowe and Jacob Meade, dated 7 April of that year, spells out a schedule of graduated penalties for minor and major infractions of the rules:Alwin Thaler, "The Elizabethan Dramatic Companies," ''Papers of the Modern Language Association'', Vol. 35 No. 1 (1920), pp. 123-59; see pp. 134-6. * If Dawes was late for a rehearsal, he had to pay a fine of "twelve pence," one shilling (1 ''s.''). * If he missed a rehearsal entirely, the fine was 2 ''s.'' * If he was late for a performance, the fine rose to 3 ''s.'' * If he was drunk at the start of a performance (in the judgement of four troupe members), the fine was 10 ''s.'' * If he missed a performance with no adequate excuse, the fine rose to one pound (£1). * And if he was found guilty of appropriating any of the company's expensive costumes or other property (as by wearing a costume outside the theatre), the fine was a hefty (almost astronomical) £40. (As a comparison,

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

paid £60 for

New Place New Place () was William Shakespeare's final place of residence in Stratford-upon-Avon. He died there in 1616. Though the house no longer exists, the site is owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which maintains it as a specially-desig ...

, the largest house in Stratford-upon-Avon, in 1597.) Since no other comparable contract for an actor of the period exists, scholars cannot be certain that the Dawes document is representative. Yet there is nothing in Dawes's career that suggests he was particularly unusual, so that his contract was probably within the range of what was normal and typical for the actors of the period.

References

English male stage actors 17th-century English male actors Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{england-actor-stub