Before the Great Plague of 1592–1593, in the time when Shakespeare first came to London, the city boasted several acting troupes. In 1558, when Queen Elizabeth I ascended the throne, any gentleman could maintain a troupe of actors. By 1572, it became illegal for any nobleman below the rank of baron to maintain a troupe, although other companies could perform by obtaining a special license, which had many performance restrictions. Although this arrangement severely restricted the number of acting troupes, it extended governmental sanction to the remaining licensed companies.
When the Great Plague of 1592–1593 hit, closing the theaters and decimating the population of England, many acting companies dissolved, while others were forced to amalgamate with other troupes for survival. Two preeminent companies emerged in 1593, and they would rival each other for years. One company, The Lord Admiral’s Men, was headed by Edward Alleyn with financial banking from Philip Henslowe. The other dominant troupe, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men (the troupe in which Shakespeare was actor, dramatist, and shareholder, later renamed The King’s Men when James I took the throne in 1603), was run by the Burbage family.
Acting troupes were organized under a shareholding plan wherein financial risk and profits were divided among those actors who had become part owners of the company by buying shares in it. The troupes, comprised entirely of men and young boys, employed about 25 actors. Roughly fewer than half of a troupe’s actors were shareholders and not all owned equal shares, but those considered especially valuable to the company were encouraged to become shareholders since this ensured their continued service and loyalty. To become a shareholder, an actor had to put up a considerable sum of money; when he retired or died, the company paid the actor or his heirs for his share. Non-shareholding adult members of a company, however, were considered hirelings of the shareholders and worked under contracts promising them a weekly wage of about 5-10 shillings, although they were frequently paid less.
Shakespeare became a shareholding member of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men in 1599. Scholars estimate that until about 1603 the average payment for a play was £6 (six pounds); by 1613 the price had risen to £10 or £12. In addition to his fee, the playwright was given all the receipts (minus company expenses) at the second performance (but remember, if the show was bad, there may not be a second performance). Once these fees were paid, however, the play was considered property of the troupe. Printers often pirated more popular works, and troupes sometimes sold publication rights during times of financial stress. Such publishing practices, combined with the fact playwrights, including Shakespeare, didn’t write with the intention of preserving their plays but with the goal of making money, makes it difficult for scholars to pinpoint definitive texts. In Shakespeare’s case, only about half of his plays were published during his lifetime.
In fact, it wasn’t until 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death in 1616, that all his plays were assembled into one volume. This collection, referred to as The First Folio (because it was printed in folio format, the largest, most expensive, and most prestigious kind of book), included previously published plays as well as plays never before published. Some of the works in The First Folio can be traced to the author’s original version of the text (including blotted lines and revisions), yet some were recreated from prompt books (annotated versions of the play script that contain detailed directions for the action, settings, etc.) or even the memories of the actors themselves (helping to explain some of the inconsistencies found in different editions of the plays).
