Hugh Clark (died 1653) was a prominent English actor of the

Caroline era The Caroline era is the period in English and Scottish history named for the 24-year reign of Charles I of England, Charles I (1625–1649). The term is derived from ''Carolus'', Latin for Charles. The Caroline era followed the Jacobean era, the ...

. He worked in both of the main

theatre companies Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicat ...

of his time,

Queen Henrietta's Men Queen Henrietta's Men was an important playing company or troupe of actors of the Caroline era in London, England. At their peak of popularity, Queen Henrietta's Men were the second leading troupe of the day, after only the King's Men. Beginnin ...

and the King's Men. Clark was with Queen Henrietta's Men during the first and most significant phase of their existence, from 1625 to 1636. Like some other actors of

English Renaissance theatre The English Renaissance theatre or Elizabethan theatre was the theatre of England from 1558 to 1642. Its most prominent playwrights were William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Background The term ''English Renaissance theatr ...

, Clark began as a

boy player A boy player was a male child or teenager who performed in Medieval theatre, Medieval and English Renaissance theatre, English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for adult companies and performed the female roles, since women ...

filling female roles. He played Gratiana in Shirley's '' The Wedding'' in

1626 Events January–March * January 7 – Polish–Swedish War (1625–1629), Polish-Swedish War: Battle of Wallhof in Latvia – Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, defeats a Polish army. * January 9 – Peter Minuit sail ...

, and Bess Bridges in both parts of Heywood's ''

The Fair Maid of the West ''The Fair Maid of the West, or a Girl Worth Gold, Parts 1 and 2'' is a work of English Renaissance drama, a two-part play written by Thomas Heywood that was first published in 1631. Date The dates of authorship of the two parts of ''The Fai ...

'' in 1630–31. Not long after that time, though, Clark switched to adult male roles. He played Syphax and Nuntius in Nabbes's '' Hannibal and Scipio'' (

1635 Events January–March * January 23 – 1635 Capture of Tortuga: The Spanish Navy captures the Caribbean island of Tortuga off of the coast of Haiti after a three-day battle against the English and French Navy. * January 25 & ...

), and Hubert in Davenport's '' King John and Matilda''. The Queen Henrietta's company was disrupted and fractured by the

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

epidemic of 1636–37. Clark, like some other members of the troupe, disappears from the available records in 1637 and 1638; he may have been one of several actors from the company who travelled with James Shirley to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

to work at the Werburgh Street Theatre. By 1639, however, Clark was back in London and a member of the King's Men; he appeared in their revival of ''

The Custom of the Country ''The Custom of the Country'' is a 1913 tragicomedy of manners novel by the American author Edith Wharton. It is a sharp and biting satire about consumerism that tells the story of Undine Spragg, a Midwestern young woman who attempts to ascend ...

'' in that year. He was a sharer in the company by January 1641, when he was one of the six sharers who were named Grooms of the Chamber.

Andrew Gurr Andrew John Gurr (born 23 December 1936) is a contemporary literary scholar who specializes in William Shakespeare and English Renaissance theatre. Life and work Born in Leicester, Gurr was raised in New Zealand, and educated at the Univers ...

, ''The Shakespeare Company 1594–1642'', Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004; p. 203. As a member of the company, he was one of the ten actors who signed the dedication of the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio in

1647 Events January–March * January 2 – Chinese bandit leader Zhang Xianzhong, who has ruled the Sichuan province since 1644, is killed at Xichong County, Xichong by a Qing archer, after having been betrayed by one of his officer ...

. He was also involved in the January 1648 attempt to revive the company (which failed by the summer of that year, when the actors missed a payment due), despite the fact that the theatres had been closed by the

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

regime of the

English Commonwealth The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...

References

17th-century English male actors 1653 deaths Year of birth unknown Boy players King's Men (playing company) {{england-actor-stub