Sarah Cooke (died 1688) was an English stage actress of the seventeenth century. She was a member of the King's Company, based at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto ...

. She played a number of lead roles during the 1680s. Her aunt was the governess to the

maids of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen ...

of the

Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of the dukes married twice, therefore the ...

in the 1660s. After some time working in this role alongside her aunt she was discovered by the Earl of Rochester, who promoted her theatrical career. In hear early years with the King's Company she mostly appeared on tour or with the nursery company, devoted to developing new talent. It was likely during this time she was under the management of John Coysh. In 1677 she played her first known role at Drury Lane in '' The Country Innocence'' and acted for the King's Company united 1682 when the merged United Company was formed and she was frequently employed by it until her death six years later.Highfill, Burnim & Langhans p.473-75 As with many actors of the era, the full number of her roles is unknown due to poor records.

Selected roles

* Gillian in '' The Country Innocence'' by John Leanerd (1677) * Flora in '' The Rambling Justice'' by John Leanerd (1678) * Livia in ''

Sir Barnaby Whigg ''Sir Barnaby Whigg; Or, No Wit Like A Womans'' is a 1681 comedy play by the English writer Thomas D'Urfey. It was first staged by the King's Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. A song for the play was composed by Henry Purcell. The origin ...

'' by Thomas D'Urfey (1681) * Countess of Rutland in ''

The Unhappy Favourite ''The Unhappy Favourite; Or, The Earl Of Essex'' is a 1681 tragedy by the English writer John Banks. It was originally staged by the King's Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. It portrays the downfall of the Earl of Essex, favouri ...

'' by John Banks (1681) * Semanthe in ''

The Loyal Brother ''The Loyal Brother; Or, The Persian Prince'' is a 1682 tragedy by the Irish writer Thomas Southerne. It was first performed by the King's Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. The prologue was written by John Dryden. It was Southe ...

'' by

Thomas Southerne Thomas Southerne (12 February 166026 May 1746) was an Irish dramatist. Biography Thomas Southerne, born on 12 February 1660, in Oxmantown, near Dublin, was an Irish dramatist. He was the son of Francis Southerne (a Dublin brewer) and Margaret ...

(1682) * Serena in ''

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

'' by

Nathaniel Lee Nathaniel Lee (c. 1653 – 6 May 1692) was an English dramatist. He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth; Dr Lee was chaplain to George Monck, afterw ...

(1683) * Erminia in '' The Disappointment'' by

(1684) * Aminta in '' A Commonwealth of Women'' by Thomas D'Urfey (1685) * Dona Elvira in ''

The Banditti ''The Castle of Andalusia'' is a 1782 comic opera by Samuel Arnold and a libretto by John O'Keeffe. It was a heavily rewritten version of the 1781 work ''The Banditti'', which had been a failure. After its first performance on 2 November 1782, ...

'' by Thomas D'Urfey (1686) * Lady Lovemore in '' The Devil of a Wife'' by Thomas Jevon (1686) * Elvira in ''

The Emperor of the Moon ''The Emperor of the Moon'' is a Restoration farce written by Aphra Behn in 1687, based on Italian commedia dell'arte. It was Behn's second most successful play (after '' The Rover''), probably due to the lightness of the plot and its accompan ...

'' by

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...

(1687)

References

Bibliography

* Highfill, Philip H, Burnim, Kalman A. & Langhans, Edward A. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660–1800: Cabanel to Cory''. SIU Press, 1975. * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660–1800: Volume One, 1660–1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. 17th-century English people English stage actresses 17th-century English actresses Year of birth unknown 1688 deaths {{England-stage-actor-stub