Beeston's Boys
Encyclopedia
Beeston's Boys was the popular and colloquial name of The King and Queen's Young Company, a troupe of boy actors
of the Caroline period, active mainly in the years 1637–1642.
, during a time of disorder and reorganisation in the theatre profession; the London playhouses had been closed since the summer of 1636 because of bubonic plague
. The creation of a company of boy actors was a return to a practice of the early 17th century, the era of companies like the Children of Paul's
and the Children of the Chapel
. Those companies, while controversial in their time, had been effective at developing and educating young talent, to the eventual benefit of the adult companies and the theatrical profession as a whole. Beeston's formation of the Young Company was an attempt to recover that training function – as well as to provide effective drama while paying relatively less in actors' salaries.
(A similar attempt to form a boy's company had been made eight years previously, in 1629, by Richard Gunnell
, who built the Salisbury Court Theatre
. But it was not a success, because of a long theatre closure due to plague.)
The King and Queen's Young Company was onstage in early 1637, and was a hit; they and their reputation quickly entered public consciousness under their popular nickname. Yet the theatrical profession, in a time of plague and looming revolution, remained challenging; when Christopher Beeston died in 1638, his control of acting troupes and theatres (the Cockpit
and the Red Bull
) passed to his son and successor William Beeston
, who was notably less successful than his father. (This period of crisis would likely have been difficult to navigate, even for a very resourceful individual.)
, the previous occupants of Beeston's Cockpit Theatre
, joined the new group: Ezekiel Fenn, a boy player
experienced in female roles; Theophilus Bird
; Robert Axell; John Page; and George Stutfield, who apparently moved from performance to management. In 1638, Nicholas Burt
came from the King's Men
, and stayed with Beeston's Boys until the theatres closed in 1642.
A roster of the troupe from 1639 also lists Robert Cox
, Edward Davenport, Edward Gibbes, John Lacy
, Samuel Mannery, Michael Mohun
, Robert Shatterell
, William Trigg
, and John Wright. Both Mannery and Wright had played female roles in Holland's Leaguer
in 1631, with Prince Charles's Men
. Edward Gibbes had been with the King's Revels Men
, and was an accomplished fencer.
personally, by referring to his failure to suppress the Scottish Presbyterians during his recent expedition to the north. (Though the identity of the play it not known with certainty, Richard Brome
's The Court Beggar
is perhaps the best candidate. The offending passages did not survive into the printed text.)
William Beeston was sent to the Marshalsea
prison on 4 May 1640; Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels
, gave control of the theatres and their associated actors' companies to Sir William Davenant
, playwright, manager, and reputed bastard son of Shakespeare
. Davenant, however, was largely occupied by the year's pressing political concerns, and gave little attention to the theatre; Beeston was able to regain control of the family enterprise in the latter part of 1641.
Also in 1640, Beeston's Boys were combined with adult actors to form the King and Queen's Company.
. Contrary to popular opinion, all dramatic activity in London did not cease with the 1642 closing of the theatres; there was a notable burst of activity in the late 1640s – players would perform plays for audiences, the London authorities would suppress them, and players would try again, whenever they thought they could get away with it. In the midst of this activity, William Beeston paid for repairs to the Cockpit Theatre and attempted to gather together a group of "apprentices and covenant servants" to train them for the stage. The effort, unfortunately, came to nothing in a new and harsher round of suppression by local authorities.
Beeston had better luck at the start of the Restoration
, when he was able to recruit a new troupe of Beeston's Boys for a time. They played at the Cockpit and the Salisbury Court Theatre
in the first few years of the Restoration era.
Boy player
Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the mainstream companies and performed the female roles, as women did not perform on the English stage in this period...
of the Caroline period, active mainly in the years 1637–1642.
Origin
The troupe was formed in early 1637, under a royal warrant, by the theatre manager and impressario Christopher BeestonChristopher Beeston
Christopher Beeston was a successful actor and a powerful theatrical impresario in early 17th century London. He was associated with a number of playwrights, particularly Thomas Heywood.-Early life:...
, during a time of disorder and reorganisation in the theatre profession; the London playhouses had been closed since the summer of 1636 because of bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
. The creation of a company of boy actors was a return to a practice of the early 17th century, the era of companies like the Children of Paul's
Children of Paul's
The Children of Paul's was the name of a troupe of boy actors in Elizabethan and Jacobean London. Along with the Children of the Chapel, the Children of Paul's were the most important of the companies of boy players that constituted a distinctive feature of English Renaissance theatre.St...
and the Children of the Chapel
Children of the Chapel
The Children of the Chapel were the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who formed part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so....
. Those companies, while controversial in their time, had been effective at developing and educating young talent, to the eventual benefit of the adult companies and the theatrical profession as a whole. Beeston's formation of the Young Company was an attempt to recover that training function – as well as to provide effective drama while paying relatively less in actors' salaries.
(A similar attempt to form a boy's company had been made eight years previously, in 1629, by Richard Gunnell
Richard Gunnell
Richard Gunnell was an actor, playwright, and theatre manager in Jacobean and Caroline era London. He is best remembered for his role in the founding of the Salisbury Court Theatre.-Actor and playwright:...
, who built the Salisbury Court Theatre
Salisbury Court Theatre
The Salisbury Court Theatre was a theatre in 17th-century London. It was located in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Court, which was formerly the London residence of the Bishops of Salisbury. Salibury Court was acquired by Richard Sackville in 1564; when Thomas Sackville was created Earl of Dorset...
. But it was not a success, because of a long theatre closure due to plague.)
The King and Queen's Young Company was onstage in early 1637, and was a hit; they and their reputation quickly entered public consciousness under their popular nickname. Yet the theatrical profession, in a time of plague and looming revolution, remained challenging; when Christopher Beeston died in 1638, his control of acting troupes and theatres (the Cockpit
Cockpit Theatre
The Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was christened The Phoenix....
and the Red Bull
Red Bull Theatre
The Red Bull was a playhouse in London during the 17th century. For more than four decades, it entertained audiences drawn primarily from the northern suburbs, developing a reputation for rowdy, often disruptive audiences...
) passed to his son and successor William Beeston
William Beeston
William Beeston was a 17th century actor and theatre manager, the son and successor to the more famous Christopher Beeston.-Early phase:...
, who was notably less successful than his father. (This period of crisis would likely have been difficult to navigate, even for a very resourceful individual.)
Personnel
Beeston's boys were older than the pre-pubescent actors of the previous generation; they tended to be adolescents and young men in their 20s. Some veterans from Queen Henrietta's MenQueen Henrietta's Men
Queen Henrietta's Men was an important playing company or troupe of actors in Caroline era London. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men.-Beginnings:...
, the previous occupants of Beeston's Cockpit Theatre
Cockpit Theatre
The Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was christened The Phoenix....
, joined the new group: Ezekiel Fenn, a boy player
Boy player
Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the mainstream companies and performed the female roles, as women did not perform on the English stage in this period...
experienced in female roles; Theophilus Bird
Theophilus Bird
Theophilus Bird, or Bourne, was a seventeenth-century English actor. Bird began his stage career in the Stuart era of English Renaissance theatre, and ended it in the Restoration period; he was one of the relatively few actors who managed to resume their careers after the eighteen-year enforced...
; Robert Axell; John Page; and George Stutfield, who apparently moved from performance to management. In 1638, Nicholas Burt
King's Men personnel
King's Men personnel were the people who worked with and for the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men from 1594 to 1642...
came from the King's Men
King's Men (playing company)
The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it became The King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron.The...
, and stayed with Beeston's Boys until the theatres closed in 1642.
A roster of the troupe from 1639 also lists Robert Cox
Robert Cox
Robert Cox may refer to:* Robert E. Cox , American optician and telescope maker* Robert Edward Cox , American Medal of Honor recipient* Robert O. Cox, mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 1988–1991...
, Edward Davenport, Edward Gibbes, John Lacy
John Lacy (playwright)
John Lacy was an English comic actor and playwright during the Restoration era. In his own time he gained a reputation as "the greatest comedian of his day" and was the favorite comic of King Charles II.-Life:...
, Samuel Mannery, Michael Mohun
Michael Mohun
Michael Mohun was a leading British actor both before and after the 1642—60 closing of the theatres.Mohun began his stage career as a boy player filling female roles; he was part of Christopher Beeston's theatrical establishment at the Cockpit Theatre, "eventually becoming a key member of Queen...
, Robert Shatterell
Robert Shatterell
Robert Shatterell was an English actor of the seventeenth century. He was one of the limited group of actors who began their careers in the final period of English Renaissance theatre, and resumed stage work in the Restoration, after the long theatre closure of the English Civil War and the...
, William Trigg
King's Men personnel
King's Men personnel were the people who worked with and for the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men from 1594 to 1642...
, and John Wright. Both Mannery and Wright had played female roles in Holland's Leaguer
Holland's Leaguer
Holland's Leaguer is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Shackerley Marmion. It premiered onstage in 1631 and was first published in 1632...
in 1631, with Prince Charles's Men
Prince Charles's Men
Prince Charles's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in Jacobean and Caroline England.-The Jacobean era troupe:...
. Edward Gibbes had been with the King's Revels Men
King's Revels Men
The King's Revels Men or King's Revels Company was a playing company 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...
, and was an accomplished fencer.
Controversy
In 1640 Beeston's Boys acted a play that offended King Charles ICharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
personally, by referring to his failure to suppress the Scottish Presbyterians during his recent expedition to the north. (Though the identity of the play it not known with certainty, Richard Brome
Richard Brome
Richard Brome 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, indicate that Brome started out as a servant of Jonson, in some capacity...
's The Court Beggar
The Court Beggar
The Court Beggar is a Caroline era stage play written by Richard Brome. It was first performed by the acting company known as Beeston's Boys at the Cockpit Theatre. It has sometimes been identified as the seditious play, performed at the Cockpit in May 1640, which the Master of the Revels moved to...
is perhaps the best candidate. The offending passages did not survive into the printed text.)
William Beeston was sent to the Marshalsea
Marshalsea
The Marshalsea was a prison on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark, now part of London. From the 14th century until it closed in 1842, it housed men under court martial for crimes at sea, including those accused of "unnatural crimes", political figures and intellectuals accused of...
prison on 4 May 1640; Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels
Master of the Revels
The Master of the Revels was a position within the English, and later the British, royal household heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally had responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels, and later also became responsible for stage censorship,...
, gave control of the theatres and their associated actors' companies to Sir William Davenant
William Davenant
Sir William Davenant , also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned both the Caroline and Restoration eras and who was active both before and after the English Civil...
, playwright, manager, and reputed bastard son of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Davenant, however, was largely occupied by the year's pressing political concerns, and gave little attention to the theatre; Beeston was able to regain control of the family enterprise in the latter part of 1641.
Also in 1640, Beeston's Boys were combined with adult actors to form the King and Queen's Company.
Repertory
Thanks to the decades-long career of their founder, the Beeston's Boys had a rich repertory of stage plays to draw upon, including works by the best playwrights of the Caroline age. In their short heyday, the boys acted:- All's Lost by LustAll's Lost by LustAll's Lost by Lust is a Jacobean tragedy by William Rowley. A "tragedy of remarkable frankness and effectiveness," "crude and fierce," it was written between 1618 and 1620.-Publication:...
(William RowleyWilliam RowleyWilliam Rowley was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626...
) - Argalus and Parthenia (Henry GlapthorneHenry GlapthorneHenry Glapthorne was a Caroline era dramatist.Glapthorne was baptized in Cambridgeshire, the son of Thomas Glapthorne and Faith nee Hatcliff. His father was a bailiff of Lady Hatton, the wife of Sir Edward Coke...
) - The Bloody BanquetThe Bloody BanquetThe Bloody Banquet is an early 17th-century play, a revenge tragedy of uncertain date and authorship, attributed on its title page only to "T.D." It has attracted a substantial body of critical and scholarly commentary, chiefly for the challenging authorship problem it presents...
("T. D.") - The BondmanThe BondmanThe Bondman is a later Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, first published in 1624. The play has been called "the finest of the more serious tragicomedies" of Massinger.-Performance and publication:...
(Philip MassingerPhilip MassingerPhilip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
) - The Bride (Thomas NabbesThomas NabbesThomas Nabbes was an English dramatist.He was born in humble circumstances in Worcestershire, and educated at Exeter College, Oxford in 1621...
) - The ChangelingThe Changeling (play)The Changeling is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley. Widely regarded as "among the best" tragedies of the English Renaissance, the play has accumulated a significant body of critical commentary....
(MiddletonThomas MiddletonThomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
/Rowley) - The Cid Part 1 (Joseph Rutter)
- The City NightcapThe City NightcapThe City Nightcap, or Crede Quod Habes, et Habes is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Robert Davenport. It is one of only three dramatic works by Davenport that survive.-Date:...
(Robert DavenportRobert DavenportRobert Davenport was an English dramatist of the early seventeenth century. Nothing is known of his early life or education; the title pages of two of his plays identify him as a "Gentleman," though there is no record of him at either of the two universities or the Inns of Court. Scholars have...
) - The CoronationThe CoronationThe Coronation is the title of*a 1630s play, The Coronation *a 2000 novel, The Coronation...
(James ShirleyJames ShirleyJames Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
) - The Court BeggarThe Court BeggarThe Court Beggar is a Caroline era stage play written by Richard Brome. It was first performed by the acting company known as Beeston's Boys at the Cockpit Theatre. It has sometimes been identified as the seditious play, performed at the Cockpit in May 1640, which the Master of the Revels moved to...
(Richard BromeRichard BromeRichard Brome 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, indicate that Brome started out as a servant of Jonson, in some capacity...
) - The Cunning Lovers (Alexander BromeAlexander BromeAlexander Brome was an English poet.He was by profession an attorney, and was the author of many drinking songs and of satirical verses in favor of the Royalists and in opposition to the Rump Parliament...
?) - The ExampleThe ExampleThe Example is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, first published in 1637. The play has repeatedly been acclaimed both as one of Shirley's best comedies and one of the best works of its generation...
(Shirley) - A Fair QuarrelA Fair QuarrelA Fair Quarrel is a Jacobean tragicomedy, a collaboration between Thomas Middleton and William Rowley that was first published in 1617.-Performance and Publication:...
(Middleton/Rowley)
- The Grateful ServantThe Grateful ServantThe Grateful Servant is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1630. Its publication marked a significant development in Shirley's evolving literary career....
(Shirley) - The Great Duke of FlorenceThe Great Duke of FlorenceThe Great Duke of Florence is an early Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, and first published in 1636. It has been called "one of Massinger's best dramas," and "a masterpiece of dramatic construction."...
(Massinger) - A Jovial CrewA Jovial CrewA Jovial Crew, or the Merry Beggars is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Richard Brome. First staged in 1641 or 1642 and first published in 1652, it is generally ranked as one of Brome's best plays, and one of the best comedies of the Caroline period; in one critic's view, Brome's The...
(Brome) - King John and MatildaKing John and MatildaKing John and Matilda is a Caroline era stage play, a historical tragedy written by Robert Davenport. It was initially published in 1655; the cast list included in the first edition is provides valuable information on some of the actors of English Renaissance theatre.-Performance and publication:No...
(Davenport) - The Maid of HonourThe Maid of HonourFor attendants upon a queen in the royal households, see Maids of HonourThe Maid of Honour is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, first published in 1632...
(Massinger) - The Maid's RevengeThe Maid's RevengeThe Maid's Revenge is an early Caroline era stage the play, the earliest extant tragedy by James Shirley. It was first published in 1639.The Maid's Revenge was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on February 9, 1626. It was the second of Shirley's plays to be...
(Shirley) - A New Way to Pay Old DebtsA New Way to Pay Old DebtsA New Way to Pay Old Debts is a play of English Renaissance drama, the most popular drama of Philip Massinger. Its central chararacter, Sir Giles Overreach, became one of the more popular villains on English and American stages through the 19th century.-Performance:Massinger most likely wrote the...
(Massinger) - The Rape of Lucrece (Thomas HeywoodThomas HeywoodThomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...
) - The RenegadoThe RenegadoThe Renegado, or The Gentleman of Venice is a late Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and first published in 1630...
(Massinger) - 'Tis Pity She's a Whore'Tis Pity She's a Whore'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a tragedy written by John Ford. It was likely first performed between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre. The play was first published in 1633, in a quarto printed by Nicholas Okes for the bookseller Richard Collins...
(John FordJohn Ford (dramatist)John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
) - The WeddingThe Wedding (1629 play)The Wedding is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley. Published in 1629, it was the first of Shirley's plays to appear in print. An early comedy of manners, it is set in the fashionable world of genteel London society in Shirley's day....
(Shirley) - Wit in a Constable (Glapthorne)
- The Young AdmiralThe Young AdmiralThe Young Admiral is a Caroline era tragicomedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1637. It has often been considered Shirley's best tragicomedy, and one of his best plays....
(Shirley)
Aftermath
Even after the London theatres were closed in 1642, William Beeston maintained a long-term commitment to re-establishing the Beeston's Boys company. He made a significant effort in 1650, during the InterregnumEnglish Interregnum
The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the Commonwealth of England after the English Civil War...
. Contrary to popular opinion, all dramatic activity in London did not cease with the 1642 closing of the theatres; there was a notable burst of activity in the late 1640s – players would perform plays for audiences, the London authorities would suppress them, and players would try again, whenever they thought they could get away with it. In the midst of this activity, William Beeston paid for repairs to the Cockpit Theatre and attempted to gather together a group of "apprentices and covenant servants" to train them for the stage. The effort, unfortunately, came to nothing in a new and harsher round of suppression by local authorities.
Beeston had better luck at the start of the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, when he was able to recruit a new troupe of Beeston's Boys for a time. They played at the Cockpit and the Salisbury Court Theatre
Salisbury Court Theatre
The Salisbury Court Theatre was a theatre in 17th-century London. It was located in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Court, which was formerly the London residence of the Bishops of Salisbury. Salibury Court was acquired by Richard Sackville in 1564; when Thomas Sackville was created Earl of Dorset...
in the first few years of the Restoration era.