When a suitor by the same name smelt as sweet
A DIARY entry providing a bawdy glimpse into Shakespeare’s character as a womaniser will be on display to the public for the first time in a major British library in a London exhibition next year.
The anecdote, discovered by scholars in the journal of a law student, John Manningham, recounts an amusing story about Shakespeare, his actor friend Richard Burbage and a tryst with a fan.
In 1602, Burbage was at the height of his fame playing Richard III at the Globe Theatre. After one performance, an admirer gave Burbage her name and address and invited him to pay her a late-night visit, using the code name “Richard III”.
In true Shakespearean comedy style, William overheard this and that evening, when Burbage arrived to call on the woman, the playwright was already on the premises.
Shakespeare later sent a witty message to his friend, which stated: “William the Conqueror was before Richard III.”
Tanya Kirk, co-curator for the Shakespeare in Ten Acts exhibition, which marks the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death next year, said the diary entry was an “intriguing insight” into the playwright’s character. “There is so little evidence about what Shakespeare was like as a person, so things like this take on huge significance. We think it’s true because John Manningham did have mutual friends with Shakespeare — such as Ben Johnson and John Donne . . . The anecdote was obviously the talk of the town at the time and it fits nicely in with the picture we have of Shakespeare being a witty person.”
Burbage and Shakespeare were good friends and the playwright wrote many of his major characters to suit the actor’s skills. “Burbage performed the first Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth and King Lear … [written] specifically for his talent.”
Also on show are two theatre bills following the career of the first black actor to play Othello, Ira Aldridge; the only surviving play-script in Shakespeare’s hand; and one of only six of his authentic signatures.—© The Daily Telegraph