Robert Cox (actor)
Encyclopedia
Robert Cox was a seventeenth-century English actor, best known for creating and performing the "droll
s" that were a permitted form of dramatic entertainment during the English Civil War
and the Interregnum
, when theatres were officially closed and standard plays were not allowed.
Gerard Langbaine
called Cox an "excellent comedian." His origins and early history are obscure; he was with Beeston's Boys
in 1639, but nothing else is known about his early life. "Cox probably was a strolling or country player..." through much of his career. Cox had one known connection with one of the theatre companies
of the era: he was one of ten men who tried to re-organize the King's Men
in December 1648, an attempt that, perhaps unsurprisingly, did not succeed.
Cox won his personal fame in writing and performing drolls — interludes or farces that usually consisted of comic scenes extracted and adapted from old dramas of English Renaissance theatre
, by William Shakespeare
(Bottom the Weaver was one droll), Ben Jonson
, John Fletcher
, and many others. Cox created at least eleven drolls, with titles like Simpleton the Smith, Bumpkin, Hobbinat, Simpkin, and John Swabber the Seaman. As a performer, Cox was said to have been "irresistible" in his role of Young Simpleton.
Cox performed most often at the Red Bull Theatre
, long a center of popular entertainment. By some reports he bribed local officials into looking the other way when his drolls grew too much like plays. If so, he was not entirely successful in his corruption: Puritan
authorities raided the Red Bull in June 1653 looking for unauthorized drama, and found Cox, playing Swabber. The gentry among the audience were required to pay five-shilling fines to exit.
A selection of Cox's drolls, including Simpleton, Oenone, and Acteon and Diana, was published by the bookseller Edward Archer in 1656. Francis Kirkman
printed some of Cox's drolls in his famous collections The Wits, or Sport upon Sport (1662, 1672).
Droll
A droll is a short comical sketch of a type that originated during the Puritan Interregnum in England. With the closure of the theatres, actors were left without any way of plying their art. Borrowing scenes from well-known plays of the Elizabethan theatre, they added dancing and other...
s" that were a permitted form of dramatic entertainment during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and the Interregnum
English Interregnum
The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the Commonwealth of England after the English Civil War...
, when theatres were officially closed and standard plays were not allowed.
Gerard Langbaine
Gerard Langbaine
Gerard Langbaine was an English dramatic biographer and critic, best known for his An Account of the English Dramatic Poets , the earliest work to give biographical and critical information on the playwrights of English Renaissance theatre...
called Cox an "excellent comedian." His origins and early history are obscure; he was with Beeston's Boys
Beeston's Boys
Beeston's Boys was the popular and colloquial name of The King and Queen's Young Company, a troupe of boy actors of the Caroline period, active mainly in the years 1637–1642.-Origin:...
in 1639, but nothing else is known about his early life. "Cox probably was a strolling or country player..." through much of his career. Cox had one known connection with one of the theatre companies
Playing company
In Renaissance London, playing company was the usual term for a company of actors. These companies were organized around a group of ten or so shareholders , who performed in the plays but were also responsible for management. The sharers employed "hired men" — that is, the minor actors and...
of the era: he was one of ten men who tried to re-organize the King's Men
King's Men (playing company)
The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it became The King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron.The...
in December 1648, an attempt that, perhaps unsurprisingly, did not succeed.
Cox won his personal fame in writing and performing drolls — interludes or farces that usually consisted of comic scenes extracted and adapted from old dramas 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...
, by 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"...
(Bottom the Weaver was one droll), Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
, John Fletcher
John Fletcher (playwright)
John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
, and many others. Cox created at least eleven drolls, with titles like Simpleton the Smith, Bumpkin, Hobbinat, Simpkin, and John Swabber the Seaman. As a performer, Cox was said to have been "irresistible" in his role of Young Simpleton.
Cox performed most often at the Red Bull Theatre
Red Bull Theatre
The Red Bull was a playhouse in London during the 17th century. For more than four decades, it entertained audiences drawn primarily from the northern suburbs, developing a reputation for rowdy, often disruptive audiences...
, long a center of popular entertainment. By some reports he bribed local officials into looking the other way when his drolls grew too much like plays. If so, he was not entirely successful in his corruption: Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
authorities raided the Red Bull in June 1653 looking for unauthorized drama, and found Cox, playing Swabber. The gentry among the audience were required to pay five-shilling fines to exit.
A selection of Cox's drolls, including Simpleton, Oenone, and Acteon and Diana, was published by the bookseller Edward Archer in 1656. Francis Kirkman
Francis Kirkman
Francis Kirkman appears in many roles in the English literary world of the second half of the seventeenth century, as a publisher, bookseller, librarian, author and bibliographer...
printed some of Cox's drolls in his famous collections The Wits, or Sport upon Sport (1662, 1672).