Home > William Rowley

Rowley was an actor-playwright who specialized in playing clown characters (that is, characters whose function is to provide low comedy). He seems to have begun his career working for Queen Anne's Men at the Red Bull playhouse . In 1609, he was part of a group of actors who set up a new playing company, the Duke of York's Men, which became known as Prince Charles's Men after 1612. Most of Rowley's career was spent writing and clowning for this company, which was based at a series of different playhouses, including the Curtain, the Hope , and the Red Bull . In 1623, Rowley seems to have left his company and joined the highly successful King's Men at the Globe, until his death in 1626.

1 Plays by Rowley

Rowley's canon is plagued by uncertainty and by the complexities of collaboration: the following is only an approximate guide.

• All's Lost by Lust (performed 1618-19; printed 1633)
• The Birth of Merlin; or, The Child Hath Found its Father (performed 1622; printed 1662). The title page claims William Shakespeare as Rowley's co-writer, but this claim is necessarily disputed.
• The Changeling (performed 1622; printed 1653). Co-written with Thomas Middleton.
• A Cure for a Cuckold (performed 1624; printed 1661). Co-written with John WebsterJohn Webster (c. 1634) was an English Jacobean dramatist, a late contemporary of William Shakespeare. His tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. Life and career Webste.
• A Fair Quarrel (performed 1614-17; printed 1617). Co-written with Thomas Middleton.
• Fortune by Land and Sea (performed c.1607; printed 1655). Co-written with Thomas HeywoodThomas Heywood (died about 1650) was an English dramatist and miscellaneous author. He was born about 1575 in Lincolnshire, and said to have been educated at the University of Cambridge and to have become a fellow of Peterhouse. Heywood is mentioned by Ph.
• The Maid in the Mill (performed 1623; printed 1647). Co-written with John FletcherJohn Fletcher was born December, 1579 (baptized December 20) in Rye, Sussex, and died in August 1625 (buried August 29 in St. Saviour's, Southwark. After William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, John Fletcher was the most gifted and influential of the Jacobean.
• A Match at Midnight (performed c.1622; printed 1633). Attributed only to 'W.R.', and stylistic analysis suggests that it may not be by Rowley.
• A New Wonder: a Woman Never Vexed (performed 1610-14; printed 1632). Possibly a collaboration; George WilkinsGeorge Hubert Wilkins (fl. 1607) was an English dramatist and pamphleteer. He is first heard of as the author of a pamphlet on the Three Miseries of Barbary which probably dates from 1604. He collaborated in 1607 with William Rowley and John Day in The Tr and Thomas HeywoodThomas Heywood (died about 1650) was an English dramatist and miscellaneous author. He was born about 1575 in Lincolnshire, and said to have been educated at the University of Cambridge and to have become a fellow of Peterhouse. Heywood is mentioned by Ph have been suggested as co-writers.
• The Old Law, or, A New Way to Please You (performed 1618; printed 1656). Co-written with Thomas Middleton, and, possibly, a third collaborator who may have been Philip MassingerPhilip Massinger ( 1583 1640) was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts The City Madam and The Roman Actor are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes. Early life The son of or Thomas Heywood.
• A Shoemaker a Gentleman (date of composition unknown; printed 1638)
• The Spanish Gypsy (performed 1623; printed 1653). Although the title page attributes this play to Rowley and Thomas Middleton, stylistic analysis strongly favours a different playwriting team: John Ford and Thomas Dekker.
• The Thracian Wonder (date of composition unknown; printed 1661). The title page attributes this play to Rowley and John Webster although few readers accept Webster's presence.
• The Travels of the Three English Brothers (performed and printed 1607). Co-written with George Wilkins and John Day.
• Wit at Several Weapons (performed c.1615; printed 1647). Although it was first printed as part of the Beaumont and Fletcher folio, stylistic analysis suggests that this play was heavily revised by Rowley and Thomas Middleton.
• The Witch of Edmonton (performed 1621; published 1658). Co-written with John Ford and Thomas Dekker.
• The World Tossed at Tennis (performed and printed 1620). Co-written with Thomas Middleton.