John Fletcher and Francis Beaumont wrote a significant portion of their plays in collaboration. Historian John Aubrey even claimed that they not only worked together but also lived in the same house, shared a wardrobe, and had a common mistress. It is no surprise that in the public’s mind, the playwrights merged into the singular “Beaumont and Fletcher,” although modern literary scholars have learned to distinguish their styles.
Already recognized individually (Beaumont for the comedies “The Woman Hater” and “The Knight of the Burning Pestle,” and Fletcher for the play “The Triumph of Women, or The Tamer Tamed”), they met in the circle of poet and playwright Ben Jonson, soon became co-authors, and after Shakespeare’s departure to Stratford, they took his place as the leading playwrights for the King’s Men troupe performing at the “Globe.”
Their works were noted for their captivating plots, bawdiness, and Epicurean attitude toward life, such as “Cupid’s Revenge” (1608), “The Coxcomb” (1609), “The Maid’s Tragedy” (1610), “A King and No King” (1611), “Four Plays in One” (1612), and “The Scornful Lady” (1613). Perhaps for these reasons, after the 1660 repeal of the Puritan ban on theatrical performances, their plays were staged more often than the more profound Shakespeare. The partnership between Beaumont and Fletcher ended after they both married, one after the other. Beaumont died young, and after his death, Fletcher teamed up with Philip Massinger, who became the troupe’s chief playwright after Fletcher’s death.
Edward Alleyn
Edward Alleyn was considered one of the most talented actors of his time. He led the troupe at London’s “Rose” theatre (where Shakespeare was starting his career) and played all the leading roles in the plays of the time, including Faust in Christopher Marlowe’s play. In 1592, Alleyn married the stepdaughter of theatre entrepreneur Philip Henslowe and became a co-owner of his entertainment business, which included several theatres, brothels, and a menagerie. In 1600, he and Henslowe built the “Fortune” theatre, a future competitor of the “Globe.”
Having become wealthy (a rare achievement among actors), Alleyn left the stage at the height of his fame to live with his wife on their estate, and even Her Majesty Elizabeth herself pleaded with him to return. Succumbing to her pleas, Alleyn occasionally returned to the stage until the queen passed away. After that, he settled permanently in his Dulwich estate, where he founded the College of God’s Gift with his own funds. After his first wife’s death, he married the daughter of poet John Donne. Three years after this marriage, Alleyn died of a cold.
Richard Burbage (1567–1619)
Richard Burbage, the son of “The Theatre” creator James Burbage and brother of theatre manager Cuthbert Burbage, took lessons from the already famous Edward Alleyn. He later became renowned as the greatest tragedian of the Shakespearean stage, playing Hamlet, Richard III, Lear, Henry V, Othello, Romeo, Macbeth, and others. His contemporaries left accounts of his magical impact on the audience. Richard was also a talented entrepreneur (continuing his father’s theatre business after his death) and an artist—he is credited with one of Shakespeare’s portraits. When Burbage passed away, theatrical London was overwhelmed with grief, especially remembering his many roles, particularly that of the asthmatic Hamlet.
Thomas Kyd (1558–1594)
Playwright and translator Thomas Kyd was friends with Christopher Marlowe and even shared an apartment with him for a time. When Marlowe got into trouble over his atheistic statements, Kyd was also arrested, tortured, and ultimately forced to denounce his friend. This whole ordeal broke Kyd, and he died a few months after these events.
Only one play by him is known for certain—“The Spanish Tragedy”; his other works are either lost or their authorship is unproven. But this sole drama introduced a new genre to English theatre, filled with crimes and retributions—the “revenge tragedy.” Some elements first used by Kyd, such as a play within a play and a ghost calling for revenge, later appeared in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
John Webster (c. 1580 — c. 1634)
John Webster is remembered in the history of drama as the “master of the bloody tragedy,” featuring a duchess’s sepulchral voice, dances of madmen, the murder of children and husbands, and other gruesome details depicting a world pervaded by evil. His main works—”The White Devil” (about the grim events in the debauched Italy of the Medici era and the courtesan Corombona) and “The Duchess of Malfi” (a bloody tragedy about corruption, unequal love, and revenge)—are considered precursors to the Gothic literature of the 18th century.
Some scholars argue that Webster’s tragedies marked the decline of English drama; others see him as a genius, second only to Shakespeare, and poet Thomas Eliot described him as someone who always “saw the skull beneath the skin.” Besides his plays, Webster is known for a cocktail named after him, consisting of apricot brandy, vermouth, gin, lime juice, and ice.
Thomas Middleton (1580–1627)
Playwright Thomas Middleton began his literary career with anti-government pamphlets (his first book mocking the Anglican Church was burned) and went on to write plays in all genres, moving from ironic and skeptical to dark revenge tragedies. Although his drama is marked by a particularly cynical view of humanity—almost all his characters are greedy and selfish, London is filled with sinners, and courtiers weave endless plots ending in bloody massacres—he was one of the most successful and prolific playwrights of his time.
Unlike many contemporaries, Middleton was not attached to a single troupe or theatre; he freelanced for everyone, writing works such as “The Honest Whore,” “A Trick to Catch the Old One,” “The Revenger’s Tragedy,” “Women Beware Women,” “The Changeling,” and “A Game at Chess,” which continue to be performed and adapted to this day. In 1620, Middleton was appointed official chronicler of London.
