Burbage, Richard (bûr`bĭj), 1567?–1619, first great English actor. The leading tragedian of the Chamberlain's Men Chamberlain's Men, Elizabethan theatrical company for which Shakespeare, a joint owner of the company, wrote his plays and served as actor. Organized in 1594, they performed at the Globe and at the Blackfriars theaters. Under the patronage of James I they became c.
..... Click the link for more information. , he originated the title roles in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Lear, Othello, and Richard III. He may also have appeared in many of the first productions of plays by Thomas Kyd, Beaumont and Fletcher, Ben Jonson, and John Webster. By contemporary standards, his acting style was considered realistic. Burbage's father, James Burbage, had built the first permanent theater in London in 1576, called the Theatre. In 1598 the building was removed to Bankside and set up as the Globe Theatre Globe Theatre, London playhouse, built in 1598, where most of Shakespeare's plays were first presented. It burned in 1613, was rebuilt in 1614, and was destroyed by the Puritans in 1644. A working replica opened in 1997.

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See J. C.
..... Click the link for more information. by Richard's brother, Cuthbert, on the death of their father. The brothers also inherited shares in the Blackfriars Theatre, built by their father in 1596, which became the winter home of the company.

Burbage, Richard

(born c. 1567, London, Eng.—died March 9/13, 1619, London) British actor. A popular actor by age 20, he was a member of the Earl of Leicester's company and the Chamberlain's (later King's) Men. Closely associated with William Shakespeare, he was the first to play roles such as Richard III, Romeo, Henry V, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and King Lear. He also performed in plays by Thomas Kyd, Ben Jonson, and John Webster. He was a major shareholder of the Globe Theatre and the Blackfriars Theatre.