Children of Paul's
Encyclopedia
The Children of Paul's was the name of a troupe of boy actors
in Elizabethan
and Jacobean
London
. Along with the Children of the Chapel
, the Children of Paul's were the most important of the companies of boy players that constituted a distinctive feature of English Renaissance theatre
.
St. Paul's Cathedral in London had had a boys choir since the 12th century; it was only in the 16th century that the boys of the choir began to act in dramatic performances. Sebastian Westcott
was Master of the Children of Paul's in the years 1557–82; in his era, the boys performed 27 times at Court, more than any other troupe, adult or child. Under Master Thomas Giles (1584–99?), the Children of Paul's became closely identified with the plays of John Lyly
; they performed at Court nine times in the years 1587–90. The boys acted Lyly's Gallathea
at Court, probably on 1 January 1588; they acted his Endymion
at Court a month and a day later, on 2 February; and his Midas
on 6 January 1590. Other of Lyly's plays, Mother Bombie
and Love's Metamorphosis
, were also presented at Court in these years.
Also in the 1580s, the Children of Paul's joined the Children of the Chapel in public performances at the first Blackfriars Theatre
(1583–4), a foretaste of the period of public performance that was to follow for both companies at the start of the 17th century.
In 1590, however, the Children of Paul's were banned from dramatic performance; they had become involved in the Marprelate controversy
through Lyly's actions. For the next ten years the boy companies were out of fashion on the stage.
By 1600, conditions had changed; a new Master, Edward Peers (d.1612), allowed the Children of Paul's to resume acting, and apparently faced no significant opposition. The anonymous plays The Maid's Metamorphosis
and The Wisdom of Doctor Dodypoll
illustrate the kind of drama the boys acted in their first year. The Children of Paul's performed the works of John Marston
, George Chapman
, and Thomas Middleton
, among other dramatists of their generation. Marston was mainly identified with the Children of Paul's, as Jonson was identified with the Children of the Chapel; in the Poetomachia, the War of the Theatres
of 1599–1601, the Children of Paul's acted Marston's side of the contest, with the plays Jack Drum's Entertainment
(1600) and What You Will
(1601), plus Thomas Dekker's Satiromastix
(1601).
However, unlike the Children of the Chapel, who worked in the second Blackfriars Theatre
, the Children of Paul's had no dedicated theatrical space of their own; when they weren't playing at Court, they acted in the church where they trained as choristers—St. Gregory's Church, just to the southwest of St. Paul's Cathedral. This tended to limit their drama; sometimes plays had to be cut short to accommodate the schedules of the religious institutions in the middle of which the boy players operated.
The Children of Paul's ceased playing around 1606, for unclear reasons. Some scholars have believed that the King's Revels Children
, another company that formed c. 1606, might have been, to some significant degree, the Children of Paul's under another name; but this is uncertain. (The King's Revels Children never gelled as an enterprise; they collapsed in litigation among their backers in 1609.)
Boy player
Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the mainstream companies and performed the female roles, as women did not perform on the English stage in this period...
in Elizabethan
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
and Jacobean
Jacobean era
The Jacobean era refers to the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of King James VI of Scotland, who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I...
London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Along with the Children of the Chapel
Children of the Chapel
The Children of the Chapel were the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who formed part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so....
, the Children of Paul's were the most important of the companies of boy players that constituted a distinctive feature of English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
.
St. Paul's Cathedral in London had had a boys choir since the 12th century; it was only in the 16th century that the boys of the choir began to act in dramatic performances. Sebastian Westcott
Sebastian Westcott
Sebastian Westcott was an English organist at St. Paul's Cathedral. He is especially known for staging performances of plays with the Children of Paul's.-Life:...
was Master of the Children of Paul's in the years 1557–82; in his era, the boys performed 27 times at Court, more than any other troupe, adult or child. Under Master Thomas Giles (1584–99?), the Children of Paul's became closely identified with the plays of John Lyly
John Lyly
John Lyly was an English writer, best known for his books Euphues,The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England. Lyly's linguistic style, originating in his first books, is known as Euphuism.-Biography:John Lyly was born in Kent, England, in 1553/1554...
; they performed at Court nine times in the years 1587–90. The boys acted Lyly's Gallathea
Gallathea
Gallathea is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy by John Lyly. It is unusual among Lyly's plays in that it has a record of modern productions.-Early history:...
at Court, probably on 1 January 1588; they acted his Endymion
Endymion (play)
Endymion, the Man in the Moon is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy by John Lyly. The play provides a vivid example of the cult of flattery in the royal court of Queen Elizabeth I, and has been called "without doubt, the boldest in conception and the most beautiful in execution of all Lyly's...
at Court a month and a day later, on 2 February; and his Midas
Midas (play)
Midas is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy written by John Lyly. It is arguably the most overtly and extensively allegorical of Lyly's allegorical plays.-Performance and Production:...
on 6 January 1590. Other of Lyly's plays, Mother Bombie
Mother Bombie
Mother Bombie is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy by John Lyly. It is unique in Lyly's dramatic canon as a work of farce and social realism; in Mother Bombie alone, Lyly departs from his dream world of classical allusion and courtly comedy to create a "vulgar realistic play of rustic life"...
and Love's Metamorphosis
Love's Metamorphosis
Love's Metamorphosis is an Elizabethan era stage play, an allegorical pastoral written by John Lyly. It was the last of his dramas to be printed.-Performance and Publication:...
, were also presented at Court in these years.
Also in the 1580s, the Children of Paul's joined the Children of the Chapel in public performances at the first Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre was the name of a theatre in the Blackfriars district of the City of London during the Renaissance. The theatre began as a venue for child actors associated with the Queen's chapel choirs; in this function, the theatre hosted some of the most innovative drama of Elizabeth and...
(1583–4), a foretaste of the period of public performance that was to follow for both companies at the start of the 17th century.
In 1590, however, the Children of Paul's were banned from dramatic performance; they had become involved in the Marprelate controversy
Marprelate Controversy
The Marprelate Controversy was a war of pamphlets waged in England and Wales in 1588 and 1589, between a puritan writer who employed the pseudonym Martin Marprelate, and defenders of the Established Church....
through Lyly's actions. For the next ten years the boy companies were out of fashion on the stage.
By 1600, conditions had changed; a new Master, Edward Peers (d.1612), allowed the Children of Paul's to resume acting, and apparently faced no significant opposition. The anonymous plays The Maid's Metamorphosis
The Maid's Metamorphosis
The Maid's Metamorphosis is a late Elizabethan stage play, a pastoral first published in 1600. The play, "a comedy of considerable merit," was published anonymously, and its authorship has been a long-standing point of dispute among scholars....
and The Wisdom of Doctor Dodypoll
The Wisdom of Doctor Dodypoll
The Wisdom of Doctor Dodypoll is a later Elizabethan stage play, an anonymous comedy first published in 1600. It is illustrative of the type of drama staged by the companies of child actors when they returned to public performance in that era....
illustrate the kind of drama the boys acted in their first year. The Children of Paul's performed the works of John Marston
John Marston
John Marston was an English poet, playwright and satirist during the late Elizabethan and Jacobean periods...
, George Chapman
George Chapman
George Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
, and Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
, among other dramatists of their generation. Marston was mainly identified with the Children of Paul's, as Jonson was identified with the Children of the Chapel; in the Poetomachia, the War of the Theatres
War of the Theatres
The War of the Theatres is the name commonly applied to a controversy from the later Elizabethan theatre; Thomas Dekker termed it the Poetomachia....
of 1599–1601, the Children of Paul's acted Marston's side of the contest, with the plays Jack Drum's Entertainment
Jack Drum's Entertainment
Jack Drum's Entertainment is a late Elizabethan play written by the dramatist and satirist John Marston c. 1599–1600. It was first performed by the Children of Paul's, one of the troupes of boy actors popular in that era....
(1600) and What You Will
What You Will
What You Will is a late Elizabethan comedy by John Marston, written in 1601 and probably performed by the Children of Paul's, one of the companies of boy actors popular in that period....
(1601), plus Thomas Dekker's Satiromastix
Satiromastix
Satiromastix, or The Untrussing of the Humorous Poet is a late Elizabethan stage play by Thomas Dekker, one of the plays involved in the Poetomachia or War of the Theatres....
(1601).
However, unlike the Children of the Chapel, who worked in the second Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre was the name of a theatre in the Blackfriars district of the City of London during the Renaissance. The theatre began as a venue for child actors associated with the Queen's chapel choirs; in this function, the theatre hosted some of the most innovative drama of Elizabeth and...
, the Children of Paul's had no dedicated theatrical space of their own; when they weren't playing at Court, they acted in the church where they trained as choristers—St. Gregory's Church, just to the southwest of St. Paul's Cathedral. This tended to limit their drama; sometimes plays had to be cut short to accommodate the schedules of the religious institutions in the middle of which the boy players operated.
The Children of Paul's ceased playing around 1606, for unclear reasons. Some scholars have believed that the King's Revels Children
King's Revels Children
The King's Revels Children or Children of the King's Revels were a troupe of actors, or playing company, in Jacobean era London, active in the 1607-9 period...
, another company that formed c. 1606, might have been, to some significant degree, the Children of Paul's under another name; but this is uncertain. (The King's Revels Children never gelled as an enterprise; they collapsed in litigation among their backers in 1609.)