George Bryan ( fl. 1586 – 1613) was an actor in

English Renaissance theatre English Renaissance theatre, also known as Renaissance English theatre and Elizabethan theatre, refers to the theatre of England between 1558 and 1642. This is the style of the plays of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson ...

, a member of the

Lord Chamberlain's Men The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a company of actors, or a " playing company" (as it then would likely have been described), for which Shakespeare wrote during most of his career. Richard Burbage played most of the lead roles, including Hamlet, Oth ...

with

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and

Richard Burbage Richard Burbage (c. 1567 – 13 March 1619) was an English stage actor, widely considered to have been one of the most famous actors of the Globe Theatre and of his time. In addition to being a stage actor, he was also a theatre owner, entr ...

. Bryan enters the historical record as one of a quintet of English actors who toured Denmark and Saxony in the years 1586 and 1587. He was in the Admiral's Men/ Lord Strange's Men production of ''

The Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins is a classification of vices used in Christian teachings. Seven deadly sins may also refer to: Art * ''The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things'', a 1485 painting by Hieronymus Bosch * '' The Seven Deadly Sins of Moder ...

,'' c. 1591, with Augustine Phillips and

William Sly William Sly (died August 1608) was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a colleague of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage in the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men. Nothing is known of Sly's early life. He enters the historica ...

and other future Lord Chamberlain's Men. Bryan may also have toured with the same group of actors under Edward Alleyn in 1593. He is generally believed to have been one of the original members and sharers in the Lord Chamberlain's Men when that company was re-constituted in 1594; he certainly was a key member in 1596, when he and

John Heminges John Heminges (bapt. 25 November 1566 – 10 October 1630) was an actor in the King's Men, the playing company for which William Shakespeare wrote. Along with Henry Condell, he was an editor of the First Folio, the collected plays of Shakespeare ...

received payment for a performance at Court. After that point, however, he apparently left the theatrical profession, seemingly around 1597. In 1603 and in the 1611–13 period, he was recorded as a

Groom of the Chamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

under

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

References

* Chambers, E. K. ''The Elizabethan Stage.'' 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923. * Halliday, F. E. ''a Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964.'' Baltimore, Penguin, 1964. English male stage actors 16th-century English male actors 17th-century English male actors Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{England-actor-stub