Bentley, John. [Proposed c. 1578 to 1583] Renowned for performing tragic or heroic parts, may have inspired adoption of epic plays by Leicester’s Men at court, 1579 to 1581. Recruited to the Queen’s Men.Google Scholar

Bridges, John. [Proposed c. 1566 to 1571] Named as a player in the parish records of St. Mary Stratford Bow. Likely brother of Thomas Clarke’s first wife, Dorothy Bridges.Google Scholar

Bryan, George. [c. 1578 to 1588] Possible as apprentice player 1578 to 1584. One of five players sent by Leicester to Denmark in 1586 and served in Saxony 1586–7. Later a member of Strange’s Men and Lord Chamberlain’s/King’s Men.Google Scholar

Burbage, James. [1558 to 1581] First player named on the letter of 1572 and the royal patent of 1574. Likely became leading member after loss of Lawrence Perkin by 1562. Was married to Helen Brayne, sister of John Brayne, who financed the Red Lion in 1567 and the Theatre in 1576.Google Scholar

Clarke, Thomas. [c. 1561 to 1573] Last player named on the letter of 1572. His first wife was Dorothy Bridges, with whom he was likely father to the Mary Clarke alias Wood and Dorothy Clarke named in Thomas Pope’s will. Second wife was Annes Maddock, the childhood friend of Thomas Pope. Possible reference to early recruitment to Dudley’s Players in Gammer Gurton’s Needle (presuming the Prologue was added c. 1561).Google Scholar

Cowley, Richard. [Proposed c. 1586 to 1588] Later paired with William Kempe as Verges to Dogberry in Much Ado about Nothing, with Cowley’s age making a similar pairing in Leicester’s Men a possibility circa 1586–7. Later member of both Strange’s Men and Lord Chamberlain’s Men.Google Scholar

Garland, John. [Proposed c. 1575 to 1583] Marriage to Joan Herne in St. Mary Whitechapel indicates likely membership of Leicester’s Men while still at the Red Lion. Recruited to the Queen’s Men.Google Scholar

Heminges, John. [Proposed c. 1587 to 1588] Freed as a Grocer in 1587, and married Rebecca Knell, widow of William Knell, shortly afterwards. Likely joined Leicester’s Men at this time. Later a member of Strange’s Men and Lord Chamberlain’s/King’s Men, and with Henry Condell responsible for compilation of Shakespeare’s First Folio.Google Scholar

Hind, Augustine. [Hired boy 1577–8] Contracted with his brother John to the company of John Brayne and James Burbage, around age seventeen to eighteen. Died due to plague, 17 September 1578.Google Scholar

Hind, John. [Hired boy, 1577–8] Contracted with his brother Augustine, around age twenty to twenty-one.Google Scholar

Johns, Daniel. [c. 1582 to 1588] Apprentice clown to William Kempe. Recorded with Kempe at the court of Frederick II of Denmark, Elsinore, in 1586.Google Scholar

Johnson, William. [c. 1563 to 1583] Likely recruited to Dudley’s Players following the loss of Lawrence Perkin. Named fourth on the letter of 1572 and the royal patent of 1574. Recruited to the Queen’s Men.Google Scholar

Kempe, William. [c. 1578 to 1588] Possible recruitment following the loss of John Perkin. Appears in Dudley’s household accounts in 1585–6 as both solo fool and as player. Recorded as spending two months of service at the court of Frederick II of Denmark, Elsinore, in 1586. Developed the stage jig, likely contribution to Leicester’s Men repertory, 1586–7. Later a member of Strange’s Men and Lord Chamberlain’s Men.Google Scholar

King, Thomas. [c. 1583 to 1587] Likely addition following loss of key players in 1583 or during the next two years. One of five players sent by Leicester to Denmark in 1586 and served in Saxony 1586–7. Died soon after return to England, and widow Margery married printer Thomas Creede.Google Scholar

Knell, William. [Proposed c. 1581 to 1585] Possibly apprenticed to a member of Leicester’s Men in 1581 when named as ‘Wily Will’ in the ‘sharer’ scene of Robert Wilson’s The Three Ladies of London. A member of Queen’s Men at the time of his death, killed by John Towne in 1587. His widow Rebecca married John Heminges.Google Scholar

Laneham, John. [c. 1559 to 1583] Moved to St. Stephen Coleman Street to join the company by 1559. Named third on the letter of 1572 and the royal patent of 1574. Recruited to the Queen’s Men.Google Scholar

Percy, Robert. [c. 1581 to 1588] Possibly recruited to the company following the departure of James Burbage. One of five players sent by Leicester to Denmark in 1586 and served in Saxony 1586–7.Google Scholar

Perkin, John. [1558 to 1578] Member of an established family of St. Stephen Coleman Street before formation of the company. Suggested identification as ‘Parkins’, third in order of succession in the boys assisting George Ferrer, Lord of Misrule at the court of Edward VI in 1552–3. Named second on the letter of 1572 and the royal patent of 1574. Death is likely recorded in 1578.Google Scholar

Perkin, Lawrence. [Proposed 1558 to 1562] Older brother of John Perkin, proposed as the most likely candidate for the identity of ‘Laurens’ named in the Dudley household accounts as leading member of the players in 1559. Death is recorded in 1562.Google Scholar

Pope, Thomas. [c. 1581 to 1588] Possibly apprenticed to a member of Leicester’s Men in 1581 when named as ‘Tom Beggar’ in the ‘sharer’ scene of Robert Wilson’s The Three Ladies of London. One of five players sent by Leicester to Denmark in 1586 and served in Saxony 1586–7. Took in the daughters of Thomas Clarke from his first marriage, as he was childhood friend to their stepmother, following Clarke’s death (most likely in 1582). Later a member of Strange’s Men and Lord Chamberlain’s/King’s Men. Left shares in the Curtain and Globe playhouses to the eldest daughter of Thomas Clarke, Mary Clarke alias Wood.Google Scholar

Stevens, Thomas. [c. 1583 to 1588] Likely joined Leicester’s Men following the loss of key players to the Queen’s Men. One of five players sent by Leicester to Denmark in 1586 and served in Saxony 1586–7.Google Scholar

Wilson, Robert. [c. 1566 to 1583] Starting date with Leicester’s Men is unclear but repertory study in Chapter 2 suggests inclusion by 1566. Named fifth on the letter of 1572 and the royal patent of 1574. Author of Three Ladies of London (1581). Recruited to the Queen’s Men.Google Scholar