William Kempe
In May 1585, William Kempe appeared at Leicester House as a performer for the Earl of Leicester. The Earl made a special payment of ten shillings for this specific event. This appearance marks his first entry into the historical record as a professional actor. He continued to serve the troupe even after the Earl departed England to fight in the Low Countries during the Eighty Years War. Philip Sidney sent letters home from abroad and referred to a man named Will as Lord Lester's jesting player. Sidney complained that this Will delivered letters to Lady Leicester instead of his own wife Frances Walsingham. Thomas Nashe later dedicated An Almond for a Parrot to Kempe in 1590. Nashe called him the vicegerent general to the ghost of Dick Tarlton. This title suggests contemporaries viewed him as the successor to the great clown Richard Tarlton.
In February and March 1600, William Kempe undertook an ordeal to prove his physical endurance. He morris danced from London to Norwich covering a distance of about 110 miles or 177 km. This journey took him nine days spread over several weeks amid cheering crowds. Later that year he published a description called Kempes Nine Daies Wonder to prove doubters it was true. The year Kempe gave was 1599 Old Style causing later confusion. A record of payment for his prize money by the Norwich City Corporation establishes the event happened in 1600 New Style. Thomasina Ostler brought a lawsuit in 1615 referring to him as a gentleman. This legal document mentions Willelmo Kempe nuper de Londonia generoso defuncto suggesting possible family connections to Kent.
Kempe was famous for stage jigs featuring up to five performers in partially improvised song-and-dance routines. These rustic cousins to commedia dellarte had plots often bawdy but emphasized dancing and physical comedy. Two of Kempe's jigs survive in English while two more exist in German manuscripts. John Dowland collected examples now held at Cambridge University Library. A famous 17th century jig tune named Kemp's Jig appeared in Playford's The English Dancing Master of 1651. Modern renditions include those by Jan Akkerman and the folk band Gryphon. Entries in the Stationers Register indicate three jigs possibly written by Kempe were published between 1591 and 1595. Critics generally viewed scenes where Kempe performed as flat yet assumed they provided frameworks for improvisation.
Kempe is with certainty associated with Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing and Peter in Romeo and Juliet. Speech prefixes and stage directions identify him in both quarto texts and First Folio versions. From these hints scholars deduce probable parts like Costard in Love's Labours Lost or Bottom in A Midsummer Night Dream. Lancelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice and Cob in Every Man in His Humour also appear on lists. Falstaff remains less certain despite presenting features of an Elizabethan dramatic clown. His character class was higher and more complex than Kempe's other roles. Robert Hornback suggests Shakespeare wrote his own strict puritan clown for Kemp to replace him. This theory aligns with the fact that Falstaff presents some features of a foolish justice or mayor.
After leaving the Chamberlain's Men in early 1599, Kempe continued pursuing his career as a performer. By 1601 he was borrowing money from Philip Henslowe and had joined Worcester's Men. The last undoubted mention occurs in Henslowe's diary in late 1602. He appears to have made another European tour perhaps reaching Italy based on The Travels of the Three English Brothers. The parish register of St Saviour Southwark records the death of William Kempe a man on the 2nd of November 1603. While this is not necessarily the comedian the record fits his departure from the documentary record. He died unregarded and in poverty circa 1603 after years of financial struggle.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When did William Kempe first appear in the historical record as a professional actor?
William Kempe appeared at Leicester House in May 1585 for the Earl of Leicester. This event marks his first entry into the historical record as a professional actor.
What distance did William Kempe cover during his morris dance from London to Norwich?
William Kempe morris danced from London to Norwich covering a distance of about 110 miles or 177 km. The journey took him nine days spread over several weeks amid cheering crowds.
Who was Richard Tarlton and how does he relate to William Kempe?
Richard Tarlton was a great clown whom Thomas Nashe called the ghost that William Kempe succeeded. Nashe referred to Kempe as the vicegerent general to the ghost of Dick Tarlton, suggesting contemporaries viewed him as the successor to the great clown Richard Tarlton.
Which Shakespeare plays feature roles performed by William Kempe?
William Kempe is with certainty associated with Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing and Peter in Romeo and Juliet. Scholars deduce probable parts like Costard in Love's Labours Lost or Bottom in A Midsummer Night Dream based on speech prefixes and stage directions.
When did William Kempe die according to parish records?
The parish register of St Saviour Southwark records the death of William Kempe a man on the 2nd of November 1603. He died unregarded and in poverty circa 1603 after years of financial struggle.