Richard Burbage
Richard Burbage was baptised at St Stephen's Church in London on the 7th of July 1568. He entered the world as the second son of James Burbage, a joiner who transformed into a theatrical impresario and entrepreneur. His father founded one of the first successful permanent playhouses in England. This family connection gave Richard an early start in the theatre world that few peers possessed. He worked alongside his father from a young age, learning the basics of working with colours and painting techniques. These skills would later prove essential to his career as both an actor and a painter. Three younger sisters followed him: Alice, Joane, and Ellen. The household grew around the bustling activity of building and managing a theatre. James Burbage acted for the Earl of Leicester's company, suggesting Richard likely got his start within that same troupe. By his early twenties, he had already become a popular actor despite the lack of documentation regarding his earliest years.
After the death of their father in February 1597, Richard and his brother Cuthbert stepped in to rescue the family's interests in two London theatres. They found themselves tied up in lawsuits over property rights and leases. The brothers kept the Blackfriars Theatre but leased it to lawyer and impresario Henry Evans. Evans used the space for a troupe of child actors while they managed other affairs. The other venue, called simply 'The Theatre', was dismantled when they could not resolve terms for a new lease with Giles Allen, the landowner. The beams, posts, and other remnants of 'The Theatre' were moved to a new location on the south side of the Thames River. There they reassembled into a new playhouse called the Globe in 1599. The Burbage brothers kept half the shares in the new theatre and gave the remainder to Shakespeare and other members of the Chamberlain's Men. Income from the Blackfriars lease helped fund the move to the Globe. In 1608 the brothers ended the Blackfriars lease and moved the company to the new theatre. Burbage performed there on the 29th of June 1613, when it caught fire and burned down.
Burbage was described as being short and stout but said to be an impressive figure with numerous praises written about him in contemporary accounts. His acting style allowed him to easily slip into character. He was known to play characters believably during a time when theatre was a newer form of formal entertainment in Elizabethan England. Actors could not rely on suspension of disbelief to aid their performance. He remained a crowd favourite even when younger actors emerged for thirty-five years. An anonymous poet composed A Funerall Elegye on the Death of the famous Actor Richard Burbage who died on Saturday in Lent the 13th of March 1619. His gravestone was said to read Exit Burbage though it is now lost. A memorial to him and his brothers was erected in a later century. The influence of his work extended beyond his lifetime through the development of English stage performance techniques that prioritized believable character portrayal over stylized delivery.
Richard Burbage's last recorded performance occurred in 1610, yet he
acted with the King's Men until his death in 1619. His death caused such an outpouring of grief that it threatened to overshadow the official mourning for the death of Anne of Denmark. He was buried in St Leonard's, Shoreditch, a church close to two theatres: 'The Theatre' and 'The Curtain Theatre'. Although his original gravestone is now lost, a memorial to him and his brothers was erected in a later century. The public reaction reflected how deeply he had touched the cultural consciousness of London. Contemporary accounts described him as quite rich because he earned income from being the primary housekeeper of two playhouses, a sharer in the King's Men, a lead actor, and a painter. At his death he left his widow better than £300 in land, a respectable estate but far less than Alleyn's substantial wealth or Shakespeare's net worth at his own passing.
London's National Portrait Gallery houses two portraits of Burbage alongside various theories
regarding his artistic contributions. It has sometimes been argued that the famous Chandos portrait of Shakespeare was painted by Burbage himself. Some believe that the anonymous oil painting used so often nowadays to show what Burbage looked like was actually a self-portrait. Dulwich College holds a painting of a female head in a roughly similar style that was generally regarded as his work until 1987 when it was found out to be misattributed. That piece turned out to be a work by a North Italian painter instead. The Felton portrait of Shakespeare is also attributed to Burbage along with a portrait of a woman currently preserved at Dulwich College in Southeast London. His skills were in demand beyond acting, leading some scholars to suggest he may have influenced aspects of Hamlet through his personal loss following his father James Burbage's death rather than solely through Shakespeare's son Hamnet.
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Common questions
When was Richard Burbage born and where?
Richard Burbage was baptised at St Stephen's Church in London on the 7th of July 1568. He entered the world as the second son of James Burbage, a joiner who transformed into a theatrical impresario and entrepreneur.
What theatres did Richard Burbage build or manage after his father died?
After the death of their father in February 1597, Richard Burbage and his brother Cuthbert stepped in to rescue the family's interests in two London theatres. They kept the Blackfriars Theatre but leased it to lawyer and impresario Henry Evans while they reassembled beams from The Theatre into a new playhouse called the Globe in 1599.
How did Richard Burbage die and when did he pass away?
An anonymous poet composed A Funerall Elegye on the Death of the famous Actor Richard Burbage who died on Saturday in Lent the 13th of March 1619. His gravestone was said to read Exit Burbage though it is now lost and he was buried in St Leonard's, Shoreditch.
Did Richard Burbage paint portraits and which ones are attributed to him?
It has sometimes been argued that the famous Chandos portrait of Shakespeare was painted by Burbage himself and some believe that the anonymous oil painting used so often nowadays to show what Burbage looked like was actually a self-portrait. The Felton portrait of Shakespeare is also attributed to Burbage along with a portrait of a woman currently preserved at Dulwich College in Southeast London.