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. [1] 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 play is significant, however, because the "plot" of Part 2 still exists; it was discovered in the cover of a 17th-century manuscript play, The Tell Tale, in a collection at Dulwich College. Originally assumed to be part of Edward Alleyn's papers, subsequent investigation suggests it was part of the collection bequeathed by player-bookseller William Cartwright the younger (c.1606–86), and was obtained by Edmond Malone when he traded the college some old religious tracts for plays from the Cartwright bequest. [2] As the term was used in English Renaissance theatre, the "plot" of a play was a chart that summarized its action; it was posted in the "tiring house" or backstage area of a theatre. The plot of S.D.S. 2 has a square hole punched in its middle, where it was hung on a board for all to read. The cast members of an Elizabethan dramatic production had their own parts written out for them, with relevant entrances and cues — but they did not have their own individual copies of the play text as a whole. So the posted plot was an important resource in keeping the production organized. Surviving Elizabethan plots are extremely rare — only half a dozen exist. [3]
The existing plot for S.D.S. 2 is not from the original production c. 1585, but from a later production c. 1597–98. [4] It was acted by personnel from Chamberlain's Men at The Theatre, the first of the large public theatres of the Elizabethan era. [5] The plot shows that Part 2 consisted of episodes concerning three of the seven deadly sins, Envy, Sloth, and Lechery; S.D.S. 1 must therefore have dealt with Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, and Pride.
That cast names many of the players of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, including two boys apprenticed to John Heminges in 1595 and 1597. [6] The plot refers to the production's personnel sometimes under the actors' names, sometimes by nicknames, and sometimes only by their roles; but at least a partial reconstruction of the actors and their roles is possible: [7]
| Actor | Induction | Envy | Sloth | Lechery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Bryan | Warwick | Damascus | ||
| Richard Burbage | Gorboduc | Tereus | ||
| "Harry" (Henry Condell?) | Ferrex | a lord | ||
| Richard Cowley | a lieutenant | a soldier; a lord | Giraldus; a musician | a lord |
| Augustine Phillips | Sardanapalus | |||
| Thomas Pope | Arbactus | |||
| John Sinkler | a keeper | a soldier | a captain; a musician | Mercury (?) |
| William Sly | Porrex | a lord | ||
| "Ro. Go." | Aspasia | |||
| "Kit" | a soldier | a captain | ||
"Ro. Go.," the actor (most likely a boy player) who filled a female role, might have been Robert Gough, who was with the Chamberlain's/King's troupe down to 1621. "Kit" might have been Christopher Beeston, who was with the Chamberlain's in the 1598–1602 period. [8] The plot also mentions Robert Pallant, John Duke, and John Holland, all Lord Chamberlain's Men, and Thomas Goodale, a hired player. Other players named on the lot include Vincent (Thomas Vincent?), T. Belt (Thomas Belt), Saunder (Alexander Cooke), Nick (Nicholas Tooley?), Ned (Edmund Shakespeare?), and Will (William Ostler? William Ecclestone?). [9]
Philip Henslowe was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance London.
John Heminges was an actor in the King's Men, the playing company for which William Shakespeare wrote. Along with Henry Condell, he was an editor of the First Folio, the collected plays of Shakespeare, published in 1623. He was also the financial manager for the King's Men.
The Curtain Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Hewett Street, Shoreditch, just outside the City of London. It opened in 1577, and continued staging plays until 1624.
The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a company of actors, or a "playing company", for which Shakespeare wrote during most of his career. Richard Burbage played most of the lead roles, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Formed at the end of a period of flux in the theatrical world of London, it had become, by 1603, one of the two leading companies of the city and was subsequently patronized by James I.
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.
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.
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.
Boy player refers to children who performed in Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the adult companies and performed the female roles as women did not perform on the English stage in this period. Others worked for children's companies in which all roles, not just the female ones, were played by boys.
Augustine Phillips was an Elizabethan actor who performed in troupes with Edward Alleyn and William Shakespeare. He was one of the first generation of English actors to achieve wealth and a degree of social status by means of his trade.
Alexander Cooke was an actor in the King's Men and the Lord Chamberlain's Men, the acting companies of William Shakespeare, John Heminges and Richard Burbage.
Nicholas Tooley was a Renaissance actor in the King's Men, the acting company of William Shakespeare.
Thomas Pope was an Elizabethan actor, a member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men and a colleague of William Shakespeare. Pope was a "comedian and acrobat."
William Sly 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.
George Bryan was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men with William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage.
Valentine Simmes was an Elizabethan era and Jacobean era printer; he did business in London, "on Adling Hill near Bainard's Castle at the sign of the White Swan." Simmes has a reputation as one of the better printers of his generation, and was responsible for several quartos of Shakespeare's plays. [See: Early texts of Shakespeare's works.]
In the historical era of English Renaissance drama, an Inn-yard theatre or Inn-theatre was a common inn with an inner courtyard with balconies that provided a venue for the presentation of stage plays.
John Underwood was an early 17th-century actor, a member of the King's Men, the theatrics company of William Shakespeare.
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. The company was the major theatrical enterprise of its era and featured some of the leading actors of their generation — Richard Burbage, John Lowin, and Joseph Taylor among other — and some leading clowns and comedians, like Will Kempe and Robert Armin. The company benefitted from the services of William Shakespeare, John Fletcher, and Philip Massinger as regular dramatists.
Robert Browne was an English actor of the Elizabethan era, and the owner and manager of the Boar's Head Theatre. He was also part of an enduring confusion in the study of English Renaissance theatre.
Robert Browne was an English actor and theatre manager and investor of the later sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. He was also part of a long-standing confusion in the scholarship of English Renaissance theatre.
| Persons categorizing and describing the sins |  | |
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| In art and culture |
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