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Lord Strange's Men was an
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
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 ...
, comprising retainers of the household of Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange (pronounced "strang"). They are best known in their final phase of activity in the late 1580s and early 1590s. After 25 September 1593, they were known as the Earl of Derby's Men, that being the date of Stanley's accession to his father's title.


History

Early iterations of the company were active in the 1560s and 1570s; Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby, kept players both before and after his accession to the title in 1572. A later iteration was active throughout the 1580s, playing at Court in 1580–1, 1583, and 1585–6. And "active" was the key word: they were a troupe of acrobats, led by John Symons "the Tumbler." In 1588 the company went through a re-organization: Symons and the other tumblers left for a competing troupe,
Queen Elizabeth's Men Queen Elizabeth's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in English Renaissance theatre. Formed in 1583 at the express command of Queen Elizabeth, it was the dominant acting company for the rest of the 1580s, as the Admiral's Men and th ...
. Lord Strange's became a company more devoted to acting;
William Kempe William Kempe ( 1560 – 1603), commonly referred to as Will Kemp, was an English actor and dancer who specialised in comic roles. He was best known as one of the original stage actors in early dramas by William Shakespeare, and roles associa ...
, Thomas Pope, and
George Bryan George Bryan (1731January 27, 1791) was an Irish/American Pennsylvania businessman, and politician of the American Revolution, Revolutionary era. He served as the first Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania#Vice-Presiden ...
, all future
Lord Chamberlain's Men The Lord Chamberlain's Men was an English company of actors, or a "playing company" (as it then would likely have been described), for which William Shakespeare wrote during most of his career. Richard Burbage played most of the lead roles, includ ...
, may have joined the company at this time. In November 1589, the
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
ordered the company not to stage any performances within the city. In response, Strange's Men immediately went to the Cross Keys Inn to mount a performance. Lord Strange's Men were associated with the Lord
Admiral's Men The Admiral's Men (also called the Admiral's company, more strictly, the Earl of Nottingham's Men; after 1603, Prince Henry's Men; after 1612, the Elector Palatine's Men or the Palsgrave's Men) was a playing company or troupe of actors in the Eli ...
from 1590 to 1594; in the winter of 1591 Strange's Men gave six performances at Court. They were also performing at
The Theatre The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse in Shoreditch (in Curtain Road, part of the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. Built in 1576, after the Red Lion, it was the first permanent theatre built exclusiv ...
, and perhaps at the
Curtain A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain) water. Curtains are often hung on the inside of a building's windows to block the passage of light. For instan ...
as well. The "plot" of one of their plays, ''The Seven Deadly Sins'', survives from this era, with a cast list that includes
Richard Burbage Richard Burbage (6 January 1567 – 13 March 1619) was an English stage actor, widely considered to have been one of the most famous actors of the Globe Theatre and of his time. In addition to being a stage actor, he was also a theatre owne ...
,
William Sly William Sly (died August 1608) was an English actor in English Renaissance theatre, a colleague of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage in the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men. Biography Nothing is known of Sly's early life. ...
, Richard Cowley, and
Augustine Phillips Augustine Phillips (died May 1605) was an English actor in the Elizabethan theatre who performed in troupes with Edward Alleyn and William Shakespeare. He was one of the first generation of English actors to achieve wealth and a degree of socia ...
, more Lord Chamberlain's Men of the future. Between February and June 1592 they were at Henslowe's
Rose Theatre The Rose was an Elizabethan playhouse, built by theatre entrepreneur Philip Henslowe in 1587. It was the fifth public playhouse to be built in London, after the Red Lion in Whitechapel (1567), The Theatre (1576) and the Curtain (1577), both i ...
, where they acted a repertory of 23 plays that included one or more of Shakespeare's '' Henry VI'' trilogy. It has been argued that during that season William Shakespeare was a member of the company and had a hand in one of their plays, '' A Knack to Know a Knave.'' They gave three more Court performances in the winter of 1592–3; but on 28 January 1593
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 ...
broke out again in London, an outbreak so severe that it would disrupt the entire framework of professional theatre in the capital. A combination of Strange's and Admiral's actors, led by
Edward Alleyn Edward Alleyn (; 1 September 156621 November 1626) was an England, English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich. Early life Alleyn was born on 1 September 1566 in Bishop ...
, toured the countryside in 1593–4, visiting Kent, Southampton, Bath,
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, Shrewsbury, and perhaps to York and Chester before turning south again to
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
and Coventry. When Ferdinando Stanley died in April 1594, the company was still touring, in East Anglia and Hampshire. They returned to London in June, after the plague had abated. The company endured a radical re-organization at this time; many members left to join a new version of another troupe, under the patronage of Lord Hunsdon, the
Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
— which became famous as the company of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 ...
and
Richard Burbage Richard Burbage (6 January 1567 – 13 March 1619) was an English stage actor, widely considered to have been one of the most famous actors of the Globe Theatre and of his time. In addition to being a stage actor, he was also a theatre owne ...
, the
Lord Chamberlain's Men The Lord Chamberlain's Men was an English company of actors, or a "playing company" (as it then would likely have been described), for which William Shakespeare wrote during most of his career. Richard Burbage played most of the lead roles, includ ...
.


Derby's Men

A company of actors continued to function as Derby's Men, under the patronage of the sixth Earl; this organization probably included men who did not make the move to the Chamberlain's company.Chambers, Vol. 2, pp. 126–7. Derby's Men concentrated on touring the provincial towns outside London for the remainder of their career, down to 1618 – though they enjoyed one flurry of London activity under the leadership of Robert Browne around the turn of the century, including four performances at Court in 1600 and 1601.


References


External links


Provincial performances by Lord Strange's Men: ''Patrons and Performances Web Site''Provincial performances by Earl of Derby's Men: ''Patrons and Performances Web Site''
{{authority control English early modern theatre companies