William Kemp - Classic Literature William Kemp
William Kemp was an English actor and dancer who lived in the latter part of the sixteenth century and early seventeenth. He began his career as a member of the company of the Earl of Leicester.
His name first appears on a playbill in 1593. He was on a list of players authorized by the Privy Council outside of London. Lord Stronage was the patron of the company, and Kemp was a leading member until 1598.
In 1594, Kemp was summoned with Burbage and Shakespeare, to act before the Queen at Greenwich. He became, both in parts played and in reputation, the successor to Richard Tarlton.
Kemp was already known as a performer when he joined Chamberlains Men in 1594. He had played roles in "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Romeo and Juliet". He was also on of the first shareholders in the new Globe theatre. He sold his shares when he left the Chamberlains Men in 1599.
Kemp’s role in the theater were generally that of the clown. However he also played Falstaff in Henry IV, Part I and Part II. When he left the Chamberlains Men troupe, his place was taken by Robert Armin.
Kemp’s troupe was sponsored first by Henry Carey, 1st Lord Hundeson, who became Lord Chamberlain in 1585. In 1594, the troupe was reorganized and Burbage and Shakespeare became part. When Carey died, his son became Lord Chamberlain and the sponsorship and name continued until 1603, when James I acceded to the throne and they became the Kings Men.
Most of Shakespeare’s plays were written for Chamberlains Men and Kings Men troupes. In the theater at this time, there were no actresses. All women’s parts were played by boys and young men. Leading players, as was the case with Kemp, were sharers in the company, receiving part of the profits but also responsible for the assets.
Kemp was also well known as a dancer. He likely gained his greatest popularity as a dancer of jigs. He would have one or two others dancing with him in support, and what words were sung were usually improvised.
Kemp exhibited his dancing on the Continent. He traveled to France for a series of performances in 1601, which was unusual for the period.
Kemp’s portrait was painted by an unknown artist in 1600. It shows him in costume as an actor in one of Shakespeare’s plays. It hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
In 1600, Kemp wrote and performed a piece he called "Kemp’s Nine Day Wonder". In it he tells the true tale of his nine-day Morris or Morrice dance from London to Norwich.
Morris or Morrice dancing was popular in England in the 1500 and 1600’s. They probably began as fertility dancers performed at country festivals. In the North of England, there were troupes of dancers playing a number of characters, accompanied by a piper or drummer. It was an ambulatory dance and moved from village to village.
Kemp’s Morris or Morrice dance was apparently performed all by himself with some local accompaniment. He literally danced and performed all the way from London to Norwich and wrote of his exploits along the way. While he did dance for nine days, the episode took about thirty days overall, as there were numbers of rest days. His account of his "Morrice Dance" gives a very good view of the countryside and people of the time.
Kemp published the account in 1600, more or less to satisfy his friends, who viewed it as a magnificent accomplishment. After all he was both a well-known dancer and an actor renowned for playing a fool. He dedicated the book to a lady who served as Maid to Queen Elizabeth.
Kemp continued his dancing and his acting. In 1602, he was a member of the Earl of Worrcester’s players although apparently not a sharer. He died relatively young in 1603.