Leicester's Men and their Plays

The first full history of the first great Elizabethan play company, responsible for developing the main features of Shakespearean theatre.

In this first full history of the first great Elizabethan play company, Laurie Johnson shows the vital role of Leicester's Men in developing the main features of Shakespearean theatre. Unearthing new discoveries from wide-ranging primary material, he tells the fascinating stories of the lives of the earliest Elizabethan players.For three decades, the Earl of Leicester's Men dominated the early Elizabethan stage and helped develop the main features of Shakespearean theatre. Leicester's Men and their Plays is the first book-length study of this foundational playing company, who toured more widely than any other company, performed more often for Queen Elizabeth's court than any other adult troupe, and established the first major playhouses near London. Building on decades of established scholarship, Laurie Johnson makes exciting new discoveries from primary sources and unearths the rich and fascinating life stories of the first Elizabethan players. His findings overturn fundamental assumptions of theatre history and provide new understandings of the players' circumstances and family origins. Through incisive research and engaging storytelling, Johnson shows how the players and their families adapted to life working under one of the most powerful nobles in the volatile Elizabethan court.