The King's Revels Men or King's Revels Company was a

playing company In Renaissance-era London, playing company was the usual term for a company of actors. These companies were organised around a group of ten or so shareholders (or "sharers"), who performed in the plays but were also responsible for management. T ...

or troupe of actors in seventeenth-century England. In the confusing theatre nomenclature of that era, it is sometimes called the ''second'' King's Revels Company, to distinguish it from an earlier troupe with the same title that was active in the 1607-9 period. Since the earlier group was a company of boy actors, they are alternatively referred to as the

King's Revels Children The King's Revels Children or Children of the King's Revels were a troupe of actors, or playing company, in Jacobean era London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both Engl ...

, while the later troupe is termed the King's Revels Men. The King's Revels Men received a royal charter on 27 February 1615. They spent their early years touring the cities and towns outside

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, though they later took up residence in the city. By the second quarter of the century they were acting at the

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. From 1989 until 2023 the theatre hosted the long running play '' The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by aut ...

and at the

Salisbury Court Theatre The Salisbury Court Theatre was a theatre in 17th-century London. It was in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Court, which was formerly the London residence of the Bishops of Salisbury. Salisbury Court was acquired by Richard Sackville in 1564 du ...

(the latter in 1630–31 and 1633–36). They played Thomas Randolph's ''The Muses' Looking-Glass'' in the summer of

1630 Events January–March * January 2 – A shoemaker in Turin is found to have the first case of bubonic plague there as the plague of 1630 begins spreading through Italy. * January 5 – A team of Portuguese military advisers ...

, and

James Shirley James Shirley (or Sherley) (September 1596 – October 1666) was an English dramatist. He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Charles Lamb (writer), Charles Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of ...

's '' Love in a Maze'' in

1632 Events January–March * January 8 – University of Amsterdam is established at the site of the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam. * January 31 – The dissection of a body for the benefit of medical students is carried o ...

– one of the few Shirley plays that was not acted by the rival

Queen Henrietta's Men Queen Henrietta's Men was an important playing company or troupe of actors of the Caroline era in London, England. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men. Beginnin ...

. In

1635 Events January–March * January 23 – 1635 Capture of Tortuga: The Spanish Navy captures the Caribbean island of Tortuga off of the coast of Haiti after a three-day battle against the English and French Navy. * January 25 & ...

they had a major success with

Richard Brome Richard Brome ; (c. 1590? – 24 September 1652) was an English dramatist of the Caroline era. Life Virtually nothing is known about Brome's private life. Repeated allusions in contemporary works, like Ben Jonson's '' Bartholomew Fair'', in ...

's play ''

The Sparagus Garden ''The Sparagus Garden'' is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy by Richard Brome. It was the greatest success of Brome's career, and one of the major theatrical hits of its period. Performance and publication ''The Sparagus Garden'' was acted b ...

'', which reportedly earned £1000 at the box office. Other plays in the company's repertory included Brome's '' The Queen and Concubine'', Randolph's ''Amyntas'', Thomas Rawlins's ''The Rebellion'', Nathanael Richards's ''Messalina'',

William Heminges William Heminges (1602 – c. 1653?), also Hemminges, Heminge, and other variants, was an English playwright and theatrical figure of the Caroline period. He was the ninth child and third son of John Heminges, the actor and colleague of William ...

's ''The Madcap'', and

Henry Glapthorne Henry Glapthorne (baptised, 28 July 1610 – c. 1643) was an English dramatist and poet, baptized in Cambridgeshire, the son of Thomas Glapthorne and Faith ''née'' Hatcliff. His father was a bailiff of Lady Hatton, the wife of Sir Edward Cok ...

's '' The Lady Mother''. The company's personnel included Curtis Greville,

William Hall William Hall, Will Hall or Bill Hall may refer to: Actors *William Brad Hall (born 1958), American actor * William Hall (actor), American actor *William Hall (actor, born 1903) (1903–1986), American actor * William Hall Jr. (died 2025), American ...

William Hart William Hart, also Will, Willy, Bill, or Billy Hart may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Hart (actor) (died 1650), English Caroline actor * William Hart (painter) (1823–1894), Scottish-American painter * William Hart (singer) (1945– ...

, Thomas Loveday, and the two William Cartwrights, father and son; Edward Gibbes, Christopher Goad, John Robinson, and William Wilbraham.Nunzeger, pp. 86-7, 154, 171, 177, and ff. Timothy Read was famous as their chief clown and comedian. During the long closure of the London theatres from May 1636 to October 1637, due to an outbreak of

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

, the King's Revels Men was the group most severely affected: it broke up completely. Some of its members, like Read, passed on to

Notes

Sources

* Gurr, Andrew. ''The Shakespearean Stage 1574–1642.'' Third edition, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992. * Nunzeger, Edwin. ''A Dictionary of Actors and of Others Associated with the Representation of Plays in England Before 1642''. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1929. * Thomson, Peter, Jane Milling, and Joseph W. Donohue, eds. ''The Cambridge History of British Theatre.'' 3 Volumes, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005. English early modern theatre companies {{UK-theat-stub