Contents  The Life and Times of William Shakespeare

Costumes and Sets in Shakespearean Theatre

Actors who played in Shakespeare's theatre

Richard Burbage (left)  the son of James Burbage who built the Globe and established the Blackfriars Theatre. Burbage was one of the great tragic actors of his day and the roles of Hamlet, Othello and Lear were probably written for him

Will Kemp on the right played the part of a clown/comedian. As a comic actor he played the part of Dogberry in 'Much Ado About Nothing' but he probably left the company soon afterwards. He was one of the original shareholders of the newly founded Globe in 1599, but very soon he left the Chamberlain's men, to morris-dance his way from London to Norwich - about 180 km and it is this which is depicted here; the original is made from an old woodcut. The journey is recorded in 'Kempe's Nine Daie Wonder'

When Kemp left the company he was followed as Clown by Robert Armin - a more 'subtle' comic, possibly while As You Like It was being written (shown here on the left). It is believed that Armin played Feste in 'Twelfth Night' and also Lear's Fool; he was himself a playwright and a well-educated man, proud of his knowledge of Latin

Below is a picture of William Sly, who was in Shakespeare's Company between the years 1594 -1605. It is believed that he took youthful, romantic or soldierly parts such as Tybalt in 'Romeo and Juliet', Laertes in 'Hamlet' or Hotspur in 'Henry IV'

Pictures of William Shakespeare

The Chandos Portrait of William Shakespeare (on the left) is held in the National Portrait Gallery, London. This is believed to be a good likeness of Shakespeare; it has been suggested that the artist was Richard Burbage who must have een very talented. The portrait is known as the Chandos portrait because at one time it was owned by the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos

Probably the best known of all the portraits of William Shakespeare is the Droeshout engraving on the right, which was used as frontispiece to the First Folio. Shakespeare was a Player of course; his apprenticeship, like that of most Elizabethan dramatists, was the stage itself; he is generally credited with playing the Ghost in 'Hamlet' and this is probably the level of part that he played - enough to keep him in direct touch with acting but not so much that he did not have time to write and direct his plays

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