George Bryan was an actor in 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...

, a member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men

Lord Chamberlain's Men

The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a playing company for whom Shakespeare worked for most of his career. Formed at the end of a period of flux in the theatrical world of London, it had become, by 1603, one of the two leading companies of the city and was subsequently patronised by James I.It was...

 with William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

 and Richard Burbage

Richard Burbage

Richard Burbage was an English actor and theatre owner. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama....

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Bryan enters the historical record as one of a quintet of English actors who toured Denmark and Saxony in the years 1586 and 1587. He was in the Admiral's Men

Admiral's Men

The Admiral's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in the Elizabethan and Stuart eras...

/Lord Strange's Men

Lord Strange's Men

Lord Strange's Men was an Elizabethan playing company, comprising retainers of the household of Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange . They are best known in their final phase of activity in the late 1580s and early 1590s...

 production of The Seven Deadly Sins

The Seven Deadly Sins (play)

The Seven Deadly Sins was a two-part play written c. 1585, attributed to Richard Tarlton, and most likely premiered by his company, Queen Elizabeth's Men...

, c. 1591, with Augustine Phillips

Augustine Phillips

Augustine Phillips was an Elizabethan actor who performed in troupes with Edward Alleyn and William Shakespeare. He was one of the first generation of English actors to achieve wealth and a degree of social status by means of his trade....

 and William Sly

William Sly

William Sly was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a colleague of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage in the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men....

 and other future Lord Chamberlain's Men. Bryan may also have toured with the same group of actors under Edward Alleyn

Edward Alleyn

Edward Alleyn was an English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of Dulwich College and Alleyn's School.-Early life:...

 in 1593. He is generally believed to have been one of the original members and sharers in the Lord Chamberlain's Men when that company was re-constituted in 1594; he certainly was a key member in 1596, when he and John Heminges

John Heminges

John Heminges was an English Renaissance actor. Most noted now as one of the editors of William Shakespeare's 1623 First Folio, Heminges served in his time as an actor and financial manager for the King's Men.-Life:Heminges was born in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire in 1556...

 received payment for a performance at Court. After that point, however, he apparently left the theatrical profession; he seems to have quit acting around 1597. He hadn't died: in 1603 and in the 1611–13 period, he was recorded as a Groom of the Chamber

Groom of the Chamber

Groom of the Chamber and Groom of the Privy Chamber were positions in the Royal Household of the English monarchy, the latter considerably more elevated. Other Ancien Régime royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles...

 under James I

James I of England

James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

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