Question
To clown or not to clown? That is the question. For William Shakespeare, the answer was usually, "Clown!" Most of his plays had at least one comic character. He may have written some of those roles for Will Kemp. Kemp was an actor who made a career of clowning.
Kemp was a superstar in the early 1590s. He was more famous than Shakespeare then. People adored Kemp's clowning. They loved his tumbling and dancing. Kemp put on street shows. He danced jigs. He sang comedy skits. People watched him while they waited for the plays to start.
Kemp joined Shakespeare's troupe in 1594. Many people came to see Shakespeare's plays because of Kemp. Kemp played Peter in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He was Dogberry in the play Much Ado About Nothing. His name is in early editions of both plays.
But Kemp didn't always stick to the scripts. He liked to put in his own jokes. This may have upset Shakespeare after a while. Kemp kept stretching his stage time. He added extra antics. This likely made his fans happy. But other actors likely weren't so happy.
Kemp left the troupe in 1599. No one knows exactly why. But there's a line from the play Hamlet that may be a clue. It was written after Kemp was gone. It reads: "Let those that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for them."
Kemp did not go out quietly. The actor danced from London to Norwich, England. That's about 125 miles (201 kilometers). He later wrote about his dance. Kemp called his story "Nine Days Wonder." But it actually took him 23 days.
Along the way, Kemp was often mobbed by fans. They could get out of hand. Sometimes he had to hide. He locked himself in a room to escape the mob. Kemp eventually arrived in Norwich on March 8, 1599. The crowd there was just as wild.
After that, Kemp traveled around Europe. He returned to England in 1602. He joined another acting troupe. That's where the record of his life ends. He may have died in a 1603 plague outbreak in London.
Shakespeare is now more popular than Kemp. Kemp is mostly forgotten. Yet the get-down clown is part of comedy history. He planted some silly seeds. They grew into acts like the British Monty Python comedy group. Also The Benny Hill Show, and characters such as Mr. Bean.
QUESTION 1
1 / 8
Let's say you are retelling this Article. It is most important to tell __________.
that Will Kemp played Peter in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
that Will Kemp was a famous comic actor in the late 1500s
that Will Kemp traveled around Europe in the early 1600s
that Will Kemp wrote a story called "Nine Days Wonder"
Kemp was a superstar in the early 1590s. He was more famous than Shakespeare then. People adored Kemp's clowning. They loved his tumbling and dancing. Kemp put on street shows. He danced jigs. He sang comedy skits. People watched him while they waited for the plays to start.
Kemp joined Shakespeare's troupe in 1594. Many people came to see Shakespeare's plays because of Kemp. Kemp played Peter in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He was Dogberry in the play Much Ado About Nothing. His name is in early editions of both plays.
But Kemp didn't always stick to the scripts. He liked to put in his own jokes. This may have upset Shakespeare after a while. Kemp kept stretching his stage time. He added extra antics. This likely made his fans happy. But other actors likely weren't so happy.
Kemp left the troupe in 1599. No one knows exactly why. But there's a line from the play Hamlet that may be a clue. It was written after Kemp was gone. It reads: "Let those that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for them."
Kemp did not go out quietly. The actor danced from London to Norwich, England. That's about 125 miles (201 kilometers). He later wrote about his dance. Kemp called his story "Nine Days Wonder." But it actually took him 23 days.
Along the way, Kemp was often mobbed by fans. They could get out of hand. Sometimes he had to hide. He locked himself in a room to escape the mob. Kemp eventually arrived in Norwich on March 8, 1599. The crowd there was just as wild.
After that, Kemp traveled around Europe. He returned to England in 1602. He joined another acting troupe. That's where the record of his life ends. He may have died in a 1603 plague outbreak in London.
Shakespeare is now more popular than Kemp. Kemp is mostly forgotten. Yet the get-down clown is part of comedy history. He planted some silly seeds. They grew into acts like the British Monty Python comedy group. Also The Benny Hill Show, and characters such as Mr. Bean.
QUESTION 1
1 / 8
Let's say you are retelling this Article. It is most important to tell __________.
that Will Kemp played Peter in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
that Will Kemp was a famous comic actor in the late 1500s
that Will Kemp traveled around Europe in the early 1600s
that Will Kemp wrote a story called "Nine Days Wonder"
Answers
GPT-4o mini
It is most important to tell **that Will Kemp was a famous comic actor in the late 1500s**. This provides the essential context for understanding his significance in relation to Shakespeare and his impact on comedy during that time period.