Patronage and Plays: William Stanley and the Revival of the Children of Paul's in 1599

Abstract

Patronage and PlaysWilliam Stanley and the Revival of the Children of Paul's in 1599 Edel Lamb William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby, was, according to one tantalizing reference, a key financier and patron of an important—but often perceived as minor—playing company in early modern London: the Children of Paul's. In a letter reporting on London affairs to Sir Robert Sidney in 1599, Rowland Whyte comments "My Lord Derby hath put up the plays of the Children in Paul's to his great pains and charge" (cited in Wickham, Berry and Ingram 313). This allusion to a connection between the Earl and the children's company based at St Paul's Cathedral is unspecific but intriguing. The late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century version of the Paul's playing company was a central component in the history of the children's playing companies. This connection is made at a critical moment in that history. In the autumn of 1599, the Children of Paul's resumed theatrical activities after an eight-year hiatus (see Gair, Children; Lamb). Whyte's letter of 13 November 1599 coincides with the earliest performances of the new version of the company. As a result, most scholars have interpreted the reference to Stanley's "pains and charge" in supporting the children's "plays" as evidence that he was the financial backer for the revived company (see Gair, Children; Wickham, Berry and Ingram; Thomson). But what exactly might the Earl's interest in and relationship to the company have been? Was he instrumental in reviving performances by this company? The performance of John Marston's Antonio and Mellida by Children of Paul's in autumn 1599 marked not only their revival but also the beginning of an intense period of commercial and professional performances by children's theatre companies. These companies flourished from 1599 until 1613, and, although they were short-lived, they were an integral part of early modern English theatrical culture (see Lamb; McCarthy; [End Page 427] Munro, Children; Shapiro). Did Stanley play a role in instigating this unique phase of children's performance in English theatre history? The exact nature or extent of Stanley's involvement with the Children of Paul's is not definitively disclosed by any other piece of evidence. However, this essay will re-evaluate this key moment in the history of early modern children's performance and the 6th Earl of Derby's place in it by bringing together evidence about the children's playing companies at this time and about William Stanley's role as theatrical patron. In doing so, I follow Elspeth Graham and Rosemary Tyler's micro-historical method in seeking to develop a "fuller understanding" of the relationship between Stanley and this theatrical phenomenon (Graham and Tyler 115). Like Graham and Tyler, I seek to do so by privileging connections and contextualization. This essay will thus explore what the Earl's relationship to the company might have been via an evaluation of the necessity of such support for Paul's revival and of the benefits of such patronage to Stanley. Focusing firstly on the conditions that enabled the revival of this company after they had been dissolved for almost a decade, it will begin by scrutinizing the practices of managing, financing, and writing for a children's playing company. It will then situate the allusion to Stanley's patronage in the context of these practices, his involvement in theatre, and the wider history of the family's theatrical patronage to investigate his role in the revival of this company. Evidence of the Earl's other theatrical ventures indicate his enthusiasm for patronage of players; and his attempts at writing plays just a few months before Whyte's letter raise the alluring possibility that he may have not only financed but also written for this company. Considering the novelty and prestige of these highly trained and well-educated performers with a history of proximity to the court, this essay will examine the potential benefits of patronizing such a company, for both the Earl and the Children of Paul's, to shed new light on Stanley's contribution to this distinct element of early modern...