William Kempe

He was best known as one of the original stage actors in early dramas by William Shakespeare, and roles associated with his name may have included the comic creation Falstaff.He left the company shortly afterwards, and despite his fame as a performer and his intention to continue his career, he appears to have died unregarded and in poverty circa 1603.Leicester's nephew, Philip Sidney, sent letters home by way of a man he called "Will, my Lord of Lester's jesting player" and it is now generally accepted this was Kempe.After a brief return to England, Kempe accompanied two other future Lord Chamberlain's Men, George Bryan and Thomas Pope, to Elsinore where he entertained Frederick II of Denmark.Evidence from Shakespeare's Henry V, in which there is no promised continuation of a role for Falstaff, and from Hamlet, with its complaint about improvised clowning (Act 3, Scene 2), may suggest the circumstances in which Kempe was dropped.On evidence from The Travels of the Three English Brothers, he is assumed to have made another European tour, perhaps reaching Italy, but by 1601 he was borrowing money from Philip Henslowe and had joined Worcester's Men.From these hints, a probable list of Kempe's parts has been deduced as follows: Costard in Love's Labours Lost, Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lancelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice, and Cob in Ben Jonson's Every Man in His Humour.In 2008, comedian Tim FitzHigham re-enacted Kemp's Nine Day's Wonder by Morris dancing from London to Norwich, forming the basis of his play The Bard's Fool, performed at the Edinburgh Fringe.[16] During the COVID-19 Lockdowns 2020–2021, Hexachordia, a Musical trio created KEMP’S JIG - a fifty-five minute “Docu-Concert” following the exploits of the Shakespearean comic actor and available to view online.
Wood carving of Kempe in Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich
William Kempe (disambiguation)Woodcutmorris dancingSouthwarkWilliam ShakespeareFalstaffRichard TarltonLord Chamberlain's MenRichard BurbageLeicester's MenLeicester HouseLeicesterLow CountriesEighty Years' WarPhilip SidneyFrancis WalsinghamLady LeicesterFrances WalsinghamGeorge BryanThomas PopeElsinoreFrederick II of DenmarkThomas NashequartoA Knack to Know a KnaveimproviseStationers' RegisterLord Strange's MenPrivy CouncilGlobe TheatreHenry VHamletWilliam OstlerJohn HemingesOlantighSir Anthony ShirleyWood carvingNorwichmorris dancedThe Travels of the Three English BrothersPhilip HensloweWorcester's MenSt. Saviourstage jigscommedia dell'arteJohn DowlandCambridge University LibraryJohn PlayfordThe English Dancing MasterJan AkkermanGryphonDogberryMuch Ado About NothingRomeo and JulietFirst FolioLove's Labours LostBottomA Midsummer Night's DreamThe Merchant of VeniceBen JonsonEvery Man in His HumourThe Return from Parnassus, or The Scourge of SimonyWill ShakespeareDerek RoyleRobert ArminEssex RebellionJohn MaddenShakespeare in LovePatrick BarlowA Waste of ShameJohn VoceDoctor WhoThe Shakespeare CodeDavid WestheadsitcomUpstart CrowSpencer JonesRicky GervaisWilliam HoustonKevin SylvesterNeil GaimanKing of ShadowsHarry Turtledovealternate historyRuled BritanniaGeoffrey HillWilliam GibsonA Cry of PlayersTim FitzHighamEdinburgh FringeBen HumphreyshillingsSchoenbaum, SamuelOld StyleCollier, J. P.Project GutenbergInternet Archivepublic domainChisholm, HughEncyclopædia Britannica