The Earl of Pembroke's Men was an
Elizabethan era
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 ...
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
English Renaissance theatre
The English Renaissance theatre or Elizabethan theatre was the theatre of England from 1558 to 1642. Its most prominent playwrights were William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson.
Background
The term ''English Renaissance theatr ...
. They functioned under the patronage of
Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, KG, KB (19 January 1601) was an English peer and politician. He was the nephew of Katherine Parr and brother-in-law of Lady Jane Grey through his first wife. During Elizabeth's reign, he held administr ...
. Early and equivocal mentions of a Pembroke's company reach as far back as 1575; but the company is known for certain to have been in existence in 1592. In that year, a share in the company was valued at £80 (more than
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 ...
would pay for New Place in
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...
five years later).
Shakespeare
Some think that Shakespeare spent time as both an actor and writer for Pembroke's Men in the early 1590s. Two of the earliest
quarto
Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...
publications of individual Shakespearean plays are both linked to this company: the title page of the earliest text of ''
Henry VI, Part 3
''Henry VI, Part 3'' (often written as ''3 Henry VI'') is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591 and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas ''Henry VI, Part 1, ...
'' (1595) states that the play was performed by Pembroke's Men, while the title page of Q1 of ''
Titus Andronicus
''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus'', often shortened to ''Titus Andronicus'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first t ...
'' (1594) states that that play was acted by three companies, Pembroke's Men,
Derby's Men, and
Sussex's Men. The mention of three acting companies for one play is unusual; but the early 1590s were difficult years for the professional actors of the day. Severe epidemics 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 ...
forced a halt to public performances in and around London; the actors' troupes toured the provinces, splintered and recombined, and generally did whatever was necessary to continue.
Difficult years
The company that toured under Pembroke's patronage in 1592 is generally considered to have been formed by personnel from
Lord Strange's Men
Lord Strange's Men was an Elizabethan playing company, 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 ...
and 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 ...
, two companies that had been working together at
Philip Henslowe
Philip Henslowe ( – 6 January 1616) was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance London. ...
's
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
Theatre in 1591. The tour lasted about ten months and was a financial failure. Their tour of 1593 featured ''3 Henry VI;'' other plays in their repertory at the time were
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...
's ''
Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...
'', and ''
The Taming of a Shrew
''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a Frame story, framing device, often referred to as the Induction (play), inducti ...
'' (a different version of the Shakespeare play known today). The 1593 tour was also a disappointment; a letter that Henslowe wrote to
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 ...
in September 1593 states that Pembroke's Men had been home from their tour for five of six weeks, and had had to pawn their costumes. The company's members struggled through, however; they were touring the provinces again in 1595 and 1596.
''The Isle of Dogs''
Pembroke's Men achieved their one great peak of fame, notoriety, infamy in 1597. In February of that year they signed an exclusive contract with
Francis Langley
Francis Langley (1548–1602) was a theatre builder and theatrical producer in Elizabethan era London. After James Burbage and Philip Henslowe, Langley was the third significant entrepreneurial figure active at the height of the development of Eng ...
, to perform at his new
Swan Theatre. Their standing roster was augmented by two actors from the Admiral's Men, Thomas Downton and Richard Jones. Their season began in the spring and early summer without incident, as far as is known; but in July 1597 they performed
''The Isle of Dogs'', by
Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe (also Nash; baptised 30 November 1567 – c. 1601) was an English Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel '' The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including '' Pierce P ...
and
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...
. Something in this lost play (no copy survived its suppression) offended the
Privy Council; in response to its "very seditious and scandalous matter," the Council ordered all the public theatres closed for the rest of the summer. Ben Jonson and two of the actors in the cast, Robert Shaw and
Gabriel Spencer, were thrown into the
Marshalsea
The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners—including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition—it became known, ...
prison till October 3; Thomas Nashe escaped only by fleeing to Great Yarmouth in Norfolk (not, as this is often confused, Yarmouth, which is on the Isle of Wight). The documents relating to the case specify that Jonson was not only a part-author of the play, but also a member of the cast — one of the few indications of Jonson's early career on the boards.
The other theatre companies in London were allowed to resume activity after the summer was over; but the Privy Council decided to punish Langley in particular (he was in trouble for additional, non-theatre-related causes), and kept the Swan closed. (Langley may have staged occasional performances despite the ban; but he was unable to resume regular performances, which would have provided a regular income for all concerned.) This presented the Pembroke's Men with a critical problem: they were legally bound to act only for Langley — but couldn't act for Langley. The company broke apart under the strain: Jones and Downton returned to the Admiral's, and three more Pembroke men, William Borne and the recently released Shaw and Spencer, followed them. (Spencer would be killed by Jonson in their famous duel a year later.) They appear to have taken some Pembroke's playscripts with them, titles that may have included a ''Dido and Aeneas'', plus ''Hardicanute, Black Joan, Friar Spendleton, Alice Pierce,'' and others.
[Chambers, Vol. 2, p. 132.]
Langley sued over this breach of contract; but apparently he reached some kind of agreement with Henslowe, since the five actors stayed with Henslowe's company. The rump of Pembroke's Men, perhaps augmented with replacement recruits, toured the provinces from late 1597 through 1599. After two unsuccessful performances at the Rose Theatre in October 1600, the company disappears from history; some of its members may have joined
Worcester's Men
The Earl of Worcester's Men was an acting company in English Renaissance, Renaissance England. An early formation of the company, wearing the livery of William Somerset, 3rd Earl of Worcester, is among the companies known to have toured the coun ...
, a company that was re-forming at the time. Langley himself died a year after the company, in 1601.
References
{{authority control
English early modern theatre companies