The Roman Actor
Encyclopedia
The Roman Actor is a Caroline era
stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger
; it was first performed in 1626
, and first published in 1629
. A number of critics have agreed with its author, and judged it one of Massinger's best plays.
, on 11 October 1626, and performed later that year by the King's Men
at the Blackfriars Theatre
. Joseph Taylor
, then the company's leading man, played the role of Paris, the title character. There is no record of another production of the play till 1692
, when Thomas Betterton
played Paris in a production by the United Company. The play was performed again in 1722 at Lincoln's Inn Fields
. After that date the complete play fell out of fashion, though many actors, starting with John Philip Kemble
in 1781, performed Paris's defense of the acting profession in Act I, scene 3 "as a short dramatic show-piece." Kemble also cut Massinger's text down to a two-Act play that concentrated on Domitia's love for Paris; he staged this in 1781–82 and 1796.
in 1629 by the bookseller Robert Allot
. Massinger dedicated the volume to three friends and supporters, Sir Philip Knyvett, "Knight and Baronet," Sir Thomas Jay, and Thomas Bellingham "of Newtimber in Essex." The commendatory poems that prefaced the play were written by John Ford
, Thomas Goffe
, Thomas May
, and Joseph Taylor.
In addition, James Horn
and George Vernon
played two lictors. (Several roles in the play are left off the list.) The 13-year-old John Honyman made his acting debut in this production; he would play female roles for the King's Men for the next three years, through their production of Massinger's The Picture (1629); at the age of 17 he would switch to young male roles.
on the work of Suetonius
(most likely in Philemon Holland
's 1606
translation), supplemented by works of Tacitus
and Dio Cassius
, plus the second Satire of Horace
and Book XIV of Ovid
's Metamorphoses, among other ancient sources. Ben Jonson
's first Roman tragedy, Sejanus
, was Massinger's model "in style and in structure" and for "scene outlines;" "the trial of Paris (I,3)...is written in close imitation of the trial of Cordus in Sejanus, Act III."
and two actors in his troupe, Latinus and Aesopus; they discuss the poor professional prospects they face. Their one great advantage is the patronage of the Romen Emperor Domitian
; otherwise, the current atmosphere of political uncertainty leaves them with little audience; their "amphitheatre...Is quite forsaken." Two lictor
s appear to summon Paris to the Senate, where he must "answer / What shall be urg'd against you." As Paris and his actors leave with the lictors, they are watched by three senators, Aelius Lamia, Junius Rusticus
, and Palphurius Sura. The senators complain of the conditions under Domitian, and contrast the better times that prevailed under his predecessors, his father Vespasian
and his brother Titus
.
The play's second scene shows Domitia
, the beautiful young wife of Aelius Lamia, being sexually solicited by Parthenius, a freed slave of Domitian. Parthenius wants her not for himself, but as Domitian's mistress; Domitia's resistance is less than vigorous. Aelius Lamia enters, and is outraged at what he finds; but Parthenius has a centurion
and soldiers at his back, and forces the senator to agree to a divorce.
The third scene shows Paris defending himself before the Senate. Aretinus, a cynical informer, has accused Paris of libel and treason — he complains that the actors "traduce / Persons of rank" with "satirical, and bitter jests." Paris defends himself and his profession eloquently. (It is this material that was given a life of its own in later centuries, as discussed above.) The hearing breaks up without a conclusion when word arrives that Domitian has returned to Rome.
Domitian is shown to be a braggart and a cruel egomaniac. He confronts Aelius Lamia, who has dared to be offended over losing his wife, and executes him. Domitia quickly takes to the privilege and power of being Domitian's wife, to the distress of the other women in the imperial circle: Domitilla, Caesar's cousin and former lover; Julia, Caesar's niece and another former lover; and Caenis, the concubine of Vespasian.
Parthenius and the actors stage a short play to try to influence Parthenius's father Philargus; the old man is a rich miser who scrimps on his food and wardrobe to save money. The playlet is designed to show the old miser the error of his ways, by depicting a very similar figure. The strategy fails: Philargus sympathizes with the stage miser and persists in his stubborn course. Domitian, as is his way, sentences the old man to death for his recalcitrance; Parthenius's plea for mercy is ignored. The playlet fails in its purpose — but Paris's performance captivates the attention of Domitia; she quickly becomes obsessed with the actor, and begins spending her time with him and his troupe.
The situation at court provokes resentment and conspiracy; the freedman Stephanos offers to assassinate the emperor for Julia and Domitilla. Parthenius earns Domitian's ire by suggesting caution in the treatment of two senators and friends of Lamia, Junius Rusticus and Palphurius Sura. Domitian has had them arrested; the two men are tortured onstage, but their Stoic philosophy
empowers them to resist the torture with equanimity. Domitian is shaken by their imperviousness to suffering.
Domitia's extravagant responses to Paris's acting reveals her emotional state to everyone except Domitian. Aretinus joins with the imperial women to inform Domitian of his wife's infatuation. They lead the emperor to spy on Domitia and Paris. Domitia uses both love and intimidation to try to seduce Paris; the actor resists at first, but equivocates to the point of kissing the empress. Domitian breaks in upon them, and has Domitia arrested; but he also orders Aretinus killed and the imperial women exiled, for showing him what he did not want to know.
Domitian confronts Paris alone; Paris humbly acknowledges his fault, and accepts his inevitable fate so sincerely that he almost seems able to talk his way out of his dire predicament. Domitian has Paris and his actors play a scene from a drama called The False Servant, that parallels their present situation; Domitian himself plays the injured husband. When the time comes for the emperor to play his part, he kills Paris, stabbing him with his real sword instead of the "foil, / The point and edge rebutted," that the actors use for their pretend fights. Domitian grants Paris a noble funeral.
Domitian sees the ghosts of the two Stoics Rusticus and Sura in his sleep; the figures wave bloody swords over their heads and remove a statue of Minerva
, Domitian's divine patroness. When Domitian awakes, he finds the statue gone in fact. Thunder and lightning tell him that Jove
has turned against him.
Resentment at Domitian's capricious tyranny grows; Parthenius and Stephano plan his assassination. An astrologer has predicted the emperor's death; Domitian executes the soothsayer, but surrounds himself with soldiers as he fearfully waits the time appointed for his death. Parthenius convinces Domitian that the appointed time has passed; the emperor dismisses his guards — and is stabbed to death by a crowd of his enemies, including Parthenius, Stephano, Domitilla, Julia, Caenis — and Domitia as well.
at he Swan Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon
, directed by Sean Holmes. http://extra.shu.ac.uk/emls/08-2/barkerev.html It has most recently been revived as part of the 2010 Actors' Renaissance Season at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia
.
Caroline era
The Caroline era refers to the era in English and Scottish history during the Stuart period that coincided with the reign of Charles I , Carolus being Latin for Charles...
stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger
Philip 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....
; it was first performed in 1626
1626 in literature
The year 1626 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Izaak Walton marries Rachel Floud.*John Beaumont is made a baronet.-New books:*Francis Bacon - The New Atlantis*Robert Fludd - Philosophia Sacra...
, and first published in 1629
1629 in literature
The year 1629 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*April 6 - Tommaso Campanella is released from custody in Rome, and gains the confidence of Pope Urban IV....
. A number of critics have agreed with its author, and judged it one of Massinger's best plays.
Performance
The play was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the RevelsMaster 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,...
, on 11 October 1626, and performed later that year by 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...
at the Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre was the name of a theatre in the Blackfriars district of the City of London during the Renaissance. The theatre began as a venue for child actors associated with the Queen's chapel choirs; in this function, the theatre hosted some of the most innovative drama of Elizabeth and...
. Joseph Taylor
Joseph Taylor (17th-century actor)
Joseph Taylor was a 17th-century actor. As the successor of Richard Burbage with the King's Men, he was arguably the most important actor in the later Jacobean and the Caroline eras....
, then the company's leading man, played the role of Paris, the title character. There is no record of another production of the play till 1692
1692 in literature
The year 1692 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Nahum Tate becomes Poet Laureate.*Thomas Rymer is made Historiographer Royal, and mounts a major effort to preserve and publish historical documents....
, when Thomas Betterton
Thomas Betterton
Thomas Patrick Betterton , English actor, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London.-Apprentice and actor:...
played Paris in a production by the United Company. The play was performed again in 1722 at Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London, UK. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observes...
. After that date the complete play fell out of fashion, though many actors, starting with John Philip Kemble
John Philip Kemble
John Philip Kemble was an English actor. He was born into a theatrical family as the eldest son of Roger Kemble, actor-manager of a touring troupe. His elder sister Sarah Siddons achieved fame with him on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane...
in 1781, performed Paris's defense of the acting profession in Act I, scene 3 "as a short dramatic show-piece." Kemble also cut Massinger's text down to a two-Act play that concentrated on Domitia's love for Paris; he staged this in 1781–82 and 1796.
Publication
The play was first published in quartoBook size
The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
in 1629 by the bookseller Robert Allot
Robert Allot
Robert Allot was a London bookseller and publisher of the early Caroline era; his shop was at the sign of the black bear in St. Paul's Churchyard...
. Massinger dedicated the volume to three friends and supporters, Sir Philip Knyvett, "Knight and Baronet," Sir Thomas Jay, and Thomas Bellingham "of Newtimber in Essex." The commendatory poems that prefaced the play were written by John Ford
John Ford (dramatist)
John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
, Thomas Goffe
Thomas Goffe
Thomas Goffe a minor Jacobean dramatist.-Life:Thomas Goffe was born in Essex in 1591. He first studied at Westminster School where he was considered a Queen Scholar. Goffe received a scholarship on 3 November 1609 to attend Christ Church, Oxford...
, Thomas May
Thomas May
Thomas May was an English poet, dramatist and historian of the Renaissance era.- Early life and career until 1630 :...
, and Joseph Taylor.
Cast
The 1629 quarto also provides a list of the principal cast of the 1626 production:| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Domitianus Caesar | John Lowin John Lowin John Lowin was an English actor born in the St Giles-without-Cripplegate, London, the son of a tanner. Like Robert Armin, he was apprenticed to a goldsmith. While he is not recorded as a free citizen of this company, he did perform as a goldsmith, Leofstane, in a 1611 city pageant written by... |
| Paris, the tragedian | Joseph Taylor Joseph Taylor (17th-century actor) Joseph Taylor was a 17th-century actor. As the successor of Richard Burbage with the King's Men, he was arguably the most important actor in the later Jacobean and the Caroline eras.... |
| Parthenius, a freedman of Caesar's | Richard Sharpe Richard Sharpe (actor) Richard Sharpe was an actor with the King's Men, the leading theatre troupe of its time and the company of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage... |
| Aelius Lamia, and Stephanos | Thomas Pollard Thomas Pollard Thomas Pollard was an actor in the King's Men — a prominent comedian in the acting troupe of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage.... |
| Junius Rusticus | Robert Benfield Robert Benfield Robert Benfield was a seventeenth-century actor, noted for his longtime membership in the King's Men in the years and decades after William Shakespeare's retirement and death.Nothing is known of Benfield's early life... |
| Aretinus Clemens, Caesar's spy | Eliard Swanston Eliard Swanston Eliard Swanston , alternatively spelled Heliard, Hilliard, Elyard, Ellyardt, Ellyaerdt, and Eyloerdt, was an English actor in the Caroline era. He became a leading man in the King's Men, the company of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage, in the final phase of its existence.-Career:Swanston... |
| Aesopus, a player | Richard Robinson Richard Robinson (17th-century actor) Richard Robinson was an actor in English Renaissance theatre and a member of Shakespeare's company the King's Men.Robinson started out as a boy player with the company; in 1611 he played the Lady in their production of The Second Maiden's Tragedy. He was cast in their production of Ben Jonson's... |
| Philargus, a rich miser | Anthony Smith 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... |
| Palphurius Sura, a senator | William Patrick 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... |
| Latinus, a player | Curtis Greville 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... |
| Domitia, the wife of Aelius Lamia | John Thompson John Thompson (actor) John Thompson was a noted boy player acting women's roles in English Renaissance theatre. He served in the King's Men, the acting troupe formerly of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage.Thompson's career is notable for his length... |
| Domitilla, cousin-german to Caesar | John Honyman John Honyman John Honyman , also Honeyman, Honiman, Honnyman, or other variants, was an English actor of the Caroline era. He was a member of the King's Men, the most prominent playing company of its era, best known as the company of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage.Honyman belonged to the generation... |
| Julia, Titus's daughter | 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... |
| Caenis, Vespasian's concubine | Alexander Gough Alexander Gough Alexander Gough , also Goughe or Goffe, was an English actor in the Caroline era. He started out as a boy player filling female roles; during the period of the English Civil War and the Interregnum when the theatres were closed and actors out of work, Gough became involved in the publication of... |
In addition, James Horn
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 George Vernon
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...
played two lictors. (Several roles in the play are left off the list.) The 13-year-old John Honyman made his acting debut in this production; he would play female roles for the King's Men for the next three years, through their production of Massinger's The Picture (1629); at the age of 17 he would switch to young male roles.
Sources
Massinger based his portrait of the Roman Emperor DomitianDomitian
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
on the work of Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
(most likely in Philemon Holland
Philemon Holland
Philemon Holland was an English translator.His father, John Holland, was a clergyman who fled the Kingdom of England during the persecutions of Mary I of England...
's 1606
1606 in literature
The year 1606 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*May 27 - The English Parliament passes An Act to Restrain Abuses of Players, which tightens the censorship controls on public theatre performances, most notably on the question of profane oaths.*December 26 - Shakespeare's King...
translation), supplemented by works of Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
and Dio Cassius
Dio Cassius
Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus , known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was a Roman consul and a noted historian writing in Greek...
, plus the second Satire of Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
and Book XIV of Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
's Metamorphoses, among other ancient sources. Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
's first Roman tragedy, Sejanus
Sejanus (play)
Sejanus His Fall, a 1603 play by Ben Jonson, is a tragedy about Lucius Aelius Seianus, the favorite of the Roman emperor Tiberius. It was possibly an allegory of James I and his corrupt court....
, was Massinger's model "in style and in structure" and for "scene outlines;" "the trial of Paris (I,3)...is written in close imitation of the trial of Cordus in Sejanus, Act III."
Synopsis
The play opens with a conversation between ParisParis (actor under Domitian)
Paris was an actor in Rome in the 1st century AD.Born in Egypt, he came to Rome in the reign of Domitian, where his skills as a pantomimus won him popular favour, noblewomen as lovers, influence within the imperial court and the power to promote his favourites within the court...
and two actors in his troupe, Latinus and Aesopus; they discuss the poor professional prospects they face. Their one great advantage is the patronage of the Romen Emperor Domitian
Domitian
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
; otherwise, the current atmosphere of political uncertainty leaves them with little audience; their "amphitheatre...Is quite forsaken." Two lictor
Lictor
The lictor was a member of a special class of Roman civil servant, with special tasks of attending and guarding magistrates of the Roman Republic and Empire who held imperium, the right and power to command; essentially, a bodyguard...
s appear to summon Paris to the Senate, where he must "answer / What shall be urg'd against you." As Paris and his actors leave with the lictors, they are watched by three senators, Aelius Lamia, Junius Rusticus
Arulenus Rusticus
Quintus Junius Arulenus Rusticus, , is more usually called Arulenus Rusticus, but sometimes also Junius Rusticus. He was a friend and follower of Thrasea Paetus, and, like the latter, an ardent admirer of Stoic philosophy...
, and Palphurius Sura. The senators complain of the conditions under Domitian, and contrast the better times that prevailed under his predecessors, his father Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
and his brother Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
.
The play's second scene shows Domitia
Domitia Longina
Domitia Longina was an Empress of Rome and wife to the Roman Emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Domitia divorced her first husband Lucius Aelius Lamia in order to marry Domitian in 71...
, the beautiful young wife of Aelius Lamia, being sexually solicited by Parthenius, a freed slave of Domitian. Parthenius wants her not for himself, but as Domitian's mistress; Domitia's resistance is less than vigorous. Aelius Lamia enters, and is outraged at what he finds; but Parthenius has a centurion
Centurion
A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army .Centurion may also refer to:-Military:* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy...
and soldiers at his back, and forces the senator to agree to a divorce.
The third scene shows Paris defending himself before the Senate. Aretinus, a cynical informer, has accused Paris of libel and treason — he complains that the actors "traduce / Persons of rank" with "satirical, and bitter jests." Paris defends himself and his profession eloquently. (It is this material that was given a life of its own in later centuries, as discussed above.) The hearing breaks up without a conclusion when word arrives that Domitian has returned to Rome.
Domitian is shown to be a braggart and a cruel egomaniac. He confronts Aelius Lamia, who has dared to be offended over losing his wife, and executes him. Domitia quickly takes to the privilege and power of being Domitian's wife, to the distress of the other women in the imperial circle: Domitilla, Caesar's cousin and former lover; Julia, Caesar's niece and another former lover; and Caenis, the concubine of Vespasian.
Parthenius and the actors stage a short play to try to influence Parthenius's father Philargus; the old man is a rich miser who scrimps on his food and wardrobe to save money. The playlet is designed to show the old miser the error of his ways, by depicting a very similar figure. The strategy fails: Philargus sympathizes with the stage miser and persists in his stubborn course. Domitian, as is his way, sentences the old man to death for his recalcitrance; Parthenius's plea for mercy is ignored. The playlet fails in its purpose — but Paris's performance captivates the attention of Domitia; she quickly becomes obsessed with the actor, and begins spending her time with him and his troupe.
The situation at court provokes resentment and conspiracy; the freedman Stephanos offers to assassinate the emperor for Julia and Domitilla. Parthenius earns Domitian's ire by suggesting caution in the treatment of two senators and friends of Lamia, Junius Rusticus and Palphurius Sura. Domitian has had them arrested; the two men are tortured onstage, but their Stoic philosophy
Stoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early . The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.Stoics were concerned...
empowers them to resist the torture with equanimity. Domitian is shaken by their imperviousness to suffering.
Domitia's extravagant responses to Paris's acting reveals her emotional state to everyone except Domitian. Aretinus joins with the imperial women to inform Domitian of his wife's infatuation. They lead the emperor to spy on Domitia and Paris. Domitia uses both love and intimidation to try to seduce Paris; the actor resists at first, but equivocates to the point of kissing the empress. Domitian breaks in upon them, and has Domitia arrested; but he also orders Aretinus killed and the imperial women exiled, for showing him what he did not want to know.
Domitian confronts Paris alone; Paris humbly acknowledges his fault, and accepts his inevitable fate so sincerely that he almost seems able to talk his way out of his dire predicament. Domitian has Paris and his actors play a scene from a drama called The False Servant, that parallels their present situation; Domitian himself plays the injured husband. When the time comes for the emperor to play his part, he kills Paris, stabbing him with his real sword instead of the "foil, / The point and edge rebutted," that the actors use for their pretend fights. Domitian grants Paris a noble funeral.
Domitian sees the ghosts of the two Stoics Rusticus and Sura in his sleep; the figures wave bloody swords over their heads and remove a statue of Minerva
Minerva
Minerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...
, Domitian's divine patroness. When Domitian awakes, he finds the statue gone in fact. Thunder and lightning tell him that Jove
JOVE
JOVE is an open-source, Emacs-like text editor, primarily intended for Unix-like operating systems. It also supports MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. JOVE was inspired by Gosling Emacs but is much smaller and simpler, lacking Mocklisp...
has turned against him.
Resentment at Domitian's capricious tyranny grows; Parthenius and Stephano plan his assassination. An astrologer has predicted the emperor's death; Domitian executes the soothsayer, but surrounds himself with soldiers as he fearfully waits the time appointed for his death. Parthenius convinces Domitian that the appointed time has passed; the emperor dismisses his guards — and is stabbed to death by a crowd of his enemies, including Parthenius, Stephano, Domitilla, Julia, Caenis — and Domitia as well.
Modern productions
The Roman Actor received a noteworthy modern production in 2002, by the Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
at he Swan Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
, directed by Sean Holmes. http://extra.shu.ac.uk/emls/08-2/barkerev.html It has most recently been revived as part of the 2010 Actors' Renaissance Season at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
.