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| Richard Cowley | |
|---|---|
memorial plaque in St Leonard's, Shoreditch commemorating Cowley and other actors. | |
| Died | 1619 London |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1591-1619 |
Richard Cowley (died 1619) was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a colleague of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage in the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men.
English Renaissance theatre—also known as Renaissance English theatre and Elizabethan theatre—refers to the theatre of England between 1562 and 1642.
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
Richard Burbage was an English stage actor, widely considered to have been one of the most famous actors of the Globe Theatre and of his time. In addition to being a stage actor, he was also a theatre owner, entrepreneur, and painter. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama. Burbage was a business associate and friend to William Shakespeare.
Cowley was in the c. 1591 production of The Seven Deadly Sins , performed by personnel from the Admiral's Men and Lord Strange's Men — a production that included Richard Burbage and other future King's Men. Cowley acted seven minor roles in that production. He also toured with some of the same personnel under Edward Alleyn in 1593. He is thought to have been an original shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain's Men when they re-formed in 1594; but little is known about his career, except for the fact that he played Verges in Much Ado About Nothing, along with William Kempe as Dogberry. For some reason he is not in the cast lists on the three Ben Jonson plays acted by the company in 1598–1603; but he is still one of the sharers when the company is chartered as the King's Men in 1603, and he receives a bequest in the 1605 will of Augustine Phillips. He is known to have married and had four children; two died young. His wife Elizabeth was buried on 28 September 1616 and his own burial followed on 12 March 1619. His will was witnessed by Cuthbert Burbage, John Heminges, Thomas Ravenscroft, and John Shank.
The Seven Deadly Sins was a two-part play written c. 1585, attributed to Richard Tarlton, and most likely premiered by his company, Queen Elizabeth's Men. The play drew upon the medieval tradition of the morality play; though it was very popular in its time, no copy of either part has survived.
The Admiral's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in the Elizabethan and Stuart eras. It is generally considered the second most important acting troupe of English Renaissance theatre.
Lord Strange's Men was an Elizabethan playing company, comprising retainers of the household of Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange. They are best known in their final phase of activity in the late 1580s and early 1590s. After 25 September 1593, they were known as the Earl of Derby's Men, that being the date of Stanley's accession to his father's title.
