Every Man in His Humour
The Curtain Theatre in Shoreditch, London, hosted the first performance of Every Man in His Humour in 1598. All available evidence points to this specific venue and year for the play's debut. The Lord Chamberlain's Men performed the work during that time. A textual clue within the play confirms the date. At act four scene four line fifteen, the text alludes to John Barrose. He was a Burgundian fencer who challenged all comers in 1598. Barrose was hanged for murder on the 10th of July 1598. This historical event anchors the play's creation firmly in that calendar year. The play also appeared at Court on the 2nd of February 1605. That later court performance proves the work remained active years after its initial staging.
A theatre legend recorded by Nicholas Rowe in 1709 claims Shakespeare advocated for the production when the company nearly rejected it. While that story cannot be verified, the 1616 edition playlist lists him as an original cast member. He continued acting until 1603 when he performed in Ben Jonson's Sejanus. Scholars have long debated which role he played. Tradition suggests he took Kno'well, the aged father, because he habitually played older characters like Adam in As You Like It. An alternative theory emerged in 2024 from Dr Darren Freebury-Jones. His textual analysis indicates Shakespeare absorbed phrases from Thorello or Kitely instead. These are jealous husband roles within the play. Freebury-Jones found similar phrasing in Othello, Hamlet and Twelfth Night. All three plays were written after Every Man in His Humour premiered. A book titled Shakespeare's borrowed feathers published in 2024 details this argument.
The Stationers Company entered the play into their Register on the 4th of August 1600. This entry appeared alongside As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing and Henry V under a mark reading to be stayed. The attempt to block publication failed since the other three plays appeared in print shortly thereafter. Booksellers Cuthbert Burby and Walter Burre re-registered the work ten days later on the 14th of August 1600. The first quarto edition arrived in 1601 with Burre's name on the title page. That version set the action in Florence. Jonson revised the text for his 1616 folio collection. He moved the setting from Italy to London. The revision formalized English background details by giving characters names like Kno'well and Kitely. Specific references to London places replaced vague Italian settings. The 1616 folio also included a cast list for the original 1598 production. It listed Richard Burbage, Augustine Phillips and John Heminges among others after Shakespeare.
Gerard Langbaine reported that the King's Company revived the play in 1675. John Rich brought it back to Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1725. David Garrick changed everything when he staged substantial alterations in 1751. His revisions focused attention on Kitely's jealousy. He trimmed lines from other plots and added a scene where he hides his jealousy while questioning Cob. Arthur Murphy praised this new scene as a favourite. Kitely became one of Garrick's signature roles. The play remained out of repertory only briefly during his tenure. George Frederick Cooke revived the work at Covent Garden later. Elizabeth Inchbald called Cooke's performance equal to Garrick's. Yet the play failed in Edinburgh in 1808. Charles Dickens mounted an unusual benefit production in 1845 with friends. Macready aided the effort while Dickens played Bobadill. Bulwer-Lytton wrote a prologue for an 1847 production attended by Tennyson. Ben Iden Payne produced the play in Manchester in 1909 and Stratford in 1937. John Caird directed it during the Swan Theatre inaugural season in 1986.
The play follows Latin models quite closely in its main plot structure. A gentleman named Kno'well attempts to spy on his son Edward. Their servant Brainworm subverts this espionage repeatedly. These figures represent Anglicized versions of Greek New Comedy types like senex, son and slave. In the subplot merchant Thomas Kitely suffers intense jealousy. He fears his wife is cuckolding him with wastrels brought home by Wellbred. Various humorous characters surround these two plots including Captain Bobadill the irascible soldier. Oliver Cob appears as a surly water-bearer. Justice Clement hears all grievances and exposes each character's humour or deceit. Jonson promised in his folio prologue to present deeds and language such as men do use. He aimed to show human follies rather than crimes. The work sticks carefully to Aristotelian unities throughout. Scenes form a genial collection depicting everyday life in a large Renaissance city.
Nineteenth-century critics tended to credit Ben Jonson with introducing humour comedy into English literature. Modern scholarship now knows George Chapman's An Humorous Day's Mirth preceded Jonson's play by over a year. Jonson himself was not especially intrigued by the trope of humours initially. Only Kitely is dominated by a humour as defined in Every Man Out of His Humour. It seems more likely that Jonson used contemporary taste aroused by Chapman to draw interest. This strategy turned the play into his first indisputable hit. Critics shifted their view from crediting invention to recognizing influence. The 1616 folio revision formalized the setting change from Florence to London. In 1599 Jonson wrote a sequel called Every Man out of His Humour which proved much less popular. The play declined in popularity during the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Critics noted its success arose more from Garrick than from Jonson itself.
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Common questions
When and where was Every Man in His Humour first performed?
The Curtain Theatre in Shoreditch, London hosted the first performance of Every Man in His Humour in 1598. All available evidence points to this specific venue and year for the play's debut.
Who played Shakespeare in the original cast of Every Man in His Humour?
The 1616 edition playlist lists Shakespeare as an original cast member in Every Man in His Humour. Tradition suggests he took Kno'well, the aged father, because he habitually played older characters like Adam in As You Like It.
What historical event anchors the date of Every Man in His Humour?
John Barrose was hanged for murder on the 10th of July 1598. This historical event anchors the play's creation firmly in that calendar year through a textual clue within act four scene four line fifteen.
How did Ben Jonson change the setting of Every Man in His Humour in the 1616 folio?
Jonson revised the text for his 1616 folio collection by moving the setting from Florence to London. The revision formalized English background details by giving characters names like Kno'well and Kitely and replacing vague Italian settings with specific references to London places.
When did David Garrick stage substantial alterations to Every Man in His Humour?
David Garrick changed everything when he staged substantial alterations to Every Man in His Humour in 1751. His revisions focused attention on Kitely's jealousy and added a scene where he hides his jealousy while questioning Cob.