Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange Edward Alleyn

Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange (a poet whose gifts were celebrated by Edmund Spenser) was the patron of a talented and professionally ambitious group of sixteenth-century players licensed by the Privy Council as Lord Strange's Men.

Their members included Thomas Pope, John Heminges, Augustine Phillips, the noted clown Will Kempe, and later Edward Alleyn, the famous interpreter of Marlowe's tragic heroes.

Lord Strange's Men are believed to have been the first company to have employed William Shakespeare, and early works such as Titus Andronicus and the Henry VI trilogy were first performed under Lord Strange's theatrical patronage, as was Marlowe's The Jew of Malta. The company toured the provinces before appearing at court in 1582. From 1588 to 1594 they were associated with the Admiral's Men. The troupe performed at The Theatre and at the Rose Theatre, where they are believed to have staged several Shakespearean plays, including The Comedy of Errors.

Following the mysterious death of Lord Strange - by poison, it was rumoured - in 1594, many of the company, including Pope, Heminges and Kempe, went on to join The Lord Chamberlain's Men (later The King's Men under James I) whose leading actor was Richard Burbage. The players became 'sharers' in the enterprise, i.e, shareholders managing the affairs, bearing the costs and splitting the profits. An additional sharer was Shakespeare himself, and it was for this company that he was to go on to produce his greatest plays.

The present-day incarnation of Lord Strange's Men was founded in 2004 by Ralf Collie, Victoria Richardson and Gordon Ridout. The company hopes to follow in the tradition of its predecessor in presenting productions of both classic and modern works to the contemporary audience- mindful of the extraordinary standards set by its' namesake.