Thomas Killigrew
Encyclopedia
Thomas Killigrew was an English
dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England
.
, of Hanworth, a courtier to James I
and his wife Mary née Woodhouse; he became a page to King Charles I
at about the age of thirteen. According to Samuel Pepys
, the boy Killigrew used to volunteer as an extra, or "devil," at the Red Bull Theatre
, so that he could see the plays for free. The young Killigrew had limited formal education; the Court and the playhouse were his schoolroom.
Before the English Civil War
, Killigrew wrote several plays—tragicomedies
like Claracilla and The Prisoners, as well as his most popular play, The Parson's Wedding (1637). The latter play has been criticized for its coarse humour; but it also contains prose readings of John Donne
's poetry to pique a literate audience.
Killigrew was present at the exorcism of the possessed nuns of Loudun
. In 1635 he left a sceptical account of the proceedings.
A Royalist and Roman Catholic, Killigrew followed Prince Charles (the future Charles II
) into exile in 1647. In the years 1649-51, he was in Paris, Geneva, and Rome, and in the later year was appointed Charles' representative in Venice. (It has been said that Killigrew wrote each of his plays in a different city; Thomaso, or the Wanderer was written in Madrid.)
At the Restoration
in 1660, Killigrew returned to England along with many other Royalist exiles. Charles rewarded his loyalty by making him Groom of the Bedchamber and Chamberlain to Queen Catherine
. He had a reputation as a wit; in his famous Diary, Samuel Pepys
wrote that Killigrew had the office of the King's fool and jester, with the power to mock and revile even the most prominent without penalty
Along with Sir William Davenant
, he was given a royal warrant to form a theatre
company in 1660—which gave Killigrew a key role in the revival of English drama. Killigrew beat Davenant to a debut, at Gibbon's Tennis Court
in Clare Market
, with the new King's Company
. Its original members were Michael Mohun
, William Wintershall
, Robert Shatterell
, William Cartwright
, Walter Clun
, Charles Hart
and Nicholas Burt
. They played for a time at the old Red Bull Theatre
, but in 1663 the company moved to the new Theatre Royal in Drury Lane
. (Unfortunately, Killigrew gained a reputation as an incompetent manager; he was constantly in disputes with his actors and had to bribe his stars to keep working for him.) Killigrew staged plays by Aphra Behn
, John Dryden
, William Wycherley
...and Thomas Killigrew, as well as revivals of Beaumont and Fletcher
. Having inherited the rights and repertory of the old King's Men
, the King's Company performed many of Shakespeare's
works, in the rewritten forms that were so popular at the time and so disparaged later. Two Killigrew productions of his own Parson's Wedding, in 1664 and 1672-3, were cast entirely with women.
In 1673, Killigrew was appointed Master of the Revels
. He lost control of his theatre in a conflict with his son Charles in 1677. (Charles, in turn, went bust a year later.) Thomas Killigrew died at Whitehall on 19 March 1683.
Thomas Killigrew's dramas are:
In 1664, Henry Herringman
published in a collected edition of Killigrew's dramas, titled Comedies and Tragedies (rather inaccurately, since the majority of the plays are tragicomedies
). Only his two earliest plays had been printed previously. The collected edition identifies the city in which Killigrew supposedly wrote each play.
The Parson's Wedding and Claricilla were successful stage plays. Of his last three works, Thomaso is a broad comedy based on Killigrew's experiences in European exile, while Bellamira and Cicillia are heroic romances—but all three are closet drama
s, ten-act double plays never intended for the stage. Yet oddly enough, Aphra Behn adapted Thomaso for her successful The Rover
(1677). The tragedy The Pilgrim, apparently never performed, borrows its plot from James Shirley
's The Politician
and reveals many allusions to Shakespeare.
Some critics have considered The Parson's Wedding as a Restoration play written before the Restoration, an anticipation of what was to come—and Killigrew himself as a central figure in the transition from English Renaissance theatre
to Restoration drama
.
1 Cecilia Crofts (16??-1638) in 1636, a maid of honour to Queen Henrietta Maria with a son:
2 Charlotte de Hesse (1629–1716) in 1655; with children:
His second wife and their 3 sons were naturalised in an Act of Parliament in 1683.
For the other six, see Robert Killigrew
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
.
Life and work
Killigrew was one of twelve children of Sir Robert KilligrewRobert Killigrew
Sir Robert Killigrew was an English courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1629. He served as Ambassador the the United Provinces.-Life:...
, of Hanworth, a courtier to James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
and his wife Mary née Woodhouse; he became a page to King Charles I
Charles 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...
at about the age of thirteen. According to Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
, the boy Killigrew used to volunteer as an extra, or "devil," at the Red Bull Theatre
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...
, so that he could see the plays for free. The young Killigrew had limited formal education; the Court and the playhouse were his schoolroom.
Before the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, Killigrew wrote several plays—tragicomedies
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
like Claracilla and The Prisoners, as well as his most popular play, The Parson's Wedding (1637). The latter play has been criticized for its coarse humour; but it also contains prose readings of John Donne
John Donne
John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
's poetry to pique a literate audience.
Killigrew was present at the exorcism of the possessed nuns of Loudun
Loudun Possessions
The Loudun possessions were a group of supposed demonic possessions which took place in Loudun, France, in 1634. This case involved the Ursuline nuns of Loudun who were allegedly visited and possessed by demons: Father Urbain Grandier was convicted of the crimes of sorcery, evil spells, and the...
. In 1635 he left a sceptical account of the proceedings.
A Royalist and Roman Catholic, Killigrew followed Prince Charles (the future Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
) into exile in 1647. In the years 1649-51, he was in Paris, Geneva, and Rome, and in the later year was appointed Charles' representative in Venice. (It has been said that Killigrew wrote each of his plays in a different city; Thomaso, or the Wanderer was written in Madrid.)
At 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...
in 1660, Killigrew returned to England along with many other Royalist exiles. Charles rewarded his loyalty by making him Groom of the Bedchamber and Chamberlain to Queen Catherine
Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza was a Portuguese infanta and queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles II.She married the king in 1662...
. He had a reputation as a wit; in his famous Diary, Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
wrote that Killigrew had the office of the King's fool and jester, with the power to mock and revile even the most prominent without penalty
Along with 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...
, he was given a royal warrant to form a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
company in 1660—which gave Killigrew a key role in the revival of English drama. Killigrew beat Davenant to a debut, at Gibbon's Tennis Court
Gibbon's Tennis Court
Gibbon's Tennis Court was a building off Vere Street and Clare Market, near Lincoln's Inn Fields in London, England. Originally built as a real tennis court, it was used as a playhouse from 1660 to 1663, shortly after the English Restoration...
in Clare Market
Clare Market
Clare Market was an area of London to the west of Lincoln's Inn Fields, between the Strand and Drury Lane, with Vere Street adjoining its western side...
, with the new King's Company
King's Company
The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682.-History:...
. Its original members were 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...
, William Wintershall
William Wintershall
William Wintershall , also Wintersall or Wintersell, was a noted seventeenth-century English actor. His career spanned the difficult years of mid-century, when English theatres were closed from 1642 to 1660, during the English Civil War and the Interregnum.According to James Wright's Historia...
, 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 Cartwright
William Cartwright (actor)
William Cartwright was an English actor of the seventeenth century, whose career spanned the Caroline era to the Restoration. He is sometimes known as William Cartwright, Junior or William Cartwright the younger to distinguish him from his father, another William Cartwright William Cartwright...
, Walter Clun
Walter Clun
Walter Clun was a noted English actor of the seventeenth century. His career spanned the difficult period when the theatres were closed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum, from 1642 to 1660....
, Charles Hart
Charles Hart (17th-century actor)
Charles Hart was a prominent British Restoration actor.A Charles Hart was christened on 11 December 1625, in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, in London. It is not absolutely certain that this was the actor, though the name was not common at the time...
and Nicholas Burt
Nicholas Burt
Nicholas Burt , or Birt or Burght among other variants, was a prominent English actor of the seventeenth century. In a long career, he was perhaps best known as the first actor to play the role of Othello in the Restoration era.A "Nicholas Bert" was christened on 27 May 1621, in Norwich; the record...
. They played for a time at the old Red Bull Theatre
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...
, but in 1663 the company moved to the new Theatre Royal in Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
. (Unfortunately, Killigrew gained a reputation as an incompetent manager; he was constantly in disputes with his actors and had to bribe his stars to keep working for him.) Killigrew staged plays by Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers. Her writing contributed to the amatory fiction genre of British literature.-Early life:...
, John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
, William Wycherley
William Wycherley
William Wycherley was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for the plays The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer.-Biography:...
...and Thomas Killigrew, as well as revivals of Beaumont and Fletcher
Beaumont and Fletcher
Beaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I ....
. Having inherited the rights and repertory of the old 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...
, the King's Company performed many of Shakespeare's
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"...
works, in the rewritten forms that were so popular at the time and so disparaged later. Two Killigrew productions of his own Parson's Wedding, in 1664 and 1672-3, were cast entirely with women.
In 1673, Killigrew was appointed 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,...
. He lost control of his theatre in a conflict with his son Charles in 1677. (Charles, in turn, went bust a year later.) Thomas Killigrew died at Whitehall on 19 March 1683.
Thomas Killigrew's dramas are:
- The PrisonersThe Prisoners (play)The Prisoners is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Thomas Killigrew. It was premiered onstage c. 1635, acted by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre; and was first printed in 1641...
(written c. 1632-5 in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; printed 1641) - ClaricillaClaricillaClaricilla is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Thomas Killigrew. The drama was acted c. 1636 by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre, and first published in 1641...
(c. 1636, RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
; printed 1641) - The Princess, or Love at First SightThe Princess (Killigrew)The Princess, or Love at First Sight is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Thomas Killigrew. The play was most likely written c. 1636, while Killigrew was travelling in Italy, and was acted on the stage c...
(c. 1636; NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
) - The Parson's WeddingThe Parson's WeddingThe Parson's Wedding is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Thomas Killigrew. Often regarded as the author's best play, the drama has sometimes been considered an anticipation of Restoration comedy, written a generation before the Restoration; "its general tone foreshadows the comedy of...
(c. 1637; BaselBaselBasel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) - The Pilgrim (ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) - Bellamira Her Dream, or Love of Shadows (two-part play; VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
) - Cicilia and Clorinda, or Love in ArmsCicilia and ClorindaCicilia and Clorinda, or Love in Arms is a 17th-century closet drama, a two-part, ten-Act tragicomedy by Thomas Killigrew. The work was composed in Italy c...
(two-part play; Cicilia, c. 1650, TurinTurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
; Clorinda, 1651, FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
) - Thomaso, or the WandererThomasoThomaso, or the Wanderer is mid-seventeenth-century stage play, a two-part comedy written by Thomas Killigrew, The work was composed in Madrid, c. 1654...
(two-part play; MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
).
In 1664, Henry Herringman
Henry Herringman
Henry Herringman was a prominent London bookseller and publisher in the second half of the 17th century. He is especially noted for his publications in English Renaissance drama and English Restoration drama; he was the first publisher of the works of John Dryden...
published in a collected edition of Killigrew's dramas, titled Comedies and Tragedies (rather inaccurately, since the majority of the plays are tragicomedies
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
). Only his two earliest plays had been printed previously. The collected edition identifies the city in which Killigrew supposedly wrote each play.
The Parson's Wedding and Claricilla were successful stage plays. Of his last three works, Thomaso is a broad comedy based on Killigrew's experiences in European exile, while Bellamira and Cicillia are heroic romances—but all three are closet drama
Closet drama
A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group. A related form, the "closet screenplay," developed during the 20th century.-Form:...
s, ten-act double plays never intended for the stage. Yet oddly enough, Aphra Behn adapted Thomaso for her successful The Rover
The Rover
The Rover may refer to:*The Rover by Joseph Conrad*The Rover by Aphra Behn*The Rover by Terence Young*"The Rover" by Led Zeppelin*"The Irish Rover", a traditional Irish song...
(1677). The tragedy The Pilgrim, apparently never performed, borrows its plot from James Shirley
James Shirley
James 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...
's The Politician
The Politician
The Politician is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy by written James Shirley, and first published in 1655.-Publication:The Politician, along with another Shirley play, The Gentleman of Venice, was published by the bookseller Humphrey Moseley in 1655 in alternative quarto and octavo formats...
and reveals many allusions to Shakespeare.
Some critics have considered The Parson's Wedding as a Restoration play written before the Restoration, an anticipation of what was to come—and Killigrew himself as a central figure in the transition from English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
to Restoration drama
Restoration comedy
Restoration comedy refers to English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710. After public stage performances had been banned for 18 years by the Puritan regime, the re-opening of the theatres in 1660 signalled a renaissance of English drama...
.
Family
He married twice.1 Cecilia Crofts (16??-1638) in 1636, a maid of honour to Queen Henrietta Maria with a son:
- Henry Killigrew (bapt 16 April 1637 St Martin's-in-the-Fields)
2 Charlotte de Hesse (1629–1716) in 1655; with children:
- Charles Killigrew (born cir 1656)
- Thomas Killigrew (the younger) (1657–1719), who had one successful play, called Chit-Chat (1719)
- Robert (Roger) Killigrew (born 17 September 1663)
- Elizabeth Killigrew (born 3 July 1666)
His second wife and their 3 sons were naturalised in an Act of Parliament in 1683.
The other Killigrews
Among his 8 siblings known to have survived to adulthood, Thomas had two brothers who also wrote plays:- Sir William KilligrewWilliam KilligrewSir William Killigrew was an English court official under Charles I and Charles II.He was the son of Sir Robert Killigrew and Mary Woodhouse, of Kimberley, Norfolk, his wife. He was the elder brother to Thomas Killigrew...
(1606–1695), was a Court official (vice chamberlain to the Queen) who wrote four plays: Selindra; Pandora; and Ormasdes, or Love and Friendship—all printed in 1664; and The Siege of Urbin (1666), generally considered his best work. - Henry Killigrew (1613–1700), a clergyman, wrote only one play ... but he wrote it twice. His The Conspiracy was published in 1638, apparently pirated; he revised it into Pallantus and Eudora (1653). Henry was the father of the poet Anne KilligrewAnne KilligrewAnne Killigrew was an English poet. Born in London, Killigrew is perhaps best known as the subject of a famous elegy by the poet John Dryden entitled To The Pious Memory of the Accomplish'd Young Lady Mrs. Anne Killigrew . She was however a skilful poet in her own right, and her Poems were...
.
For the other six, see Robert Killigrew
Robert Killigrew
Sir Robert Killigrew was an English courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1629. He served as Ambassador the the United Provinces.-Life:...