Robert Daborne
Robert Daborne was an English playwright active in the early 17th century, primarily between 1611 and 1616. During this brief but productive period, he is credited with writing at least six plays, although only two, *The Poor Man's Comfort* and *A Christian Turned Turk*, have survived in their complete form. Daborne's life in London is notably documented through various court records and his correspondence with theater manager Philip Henslowe, revealing a litigious environment and the business aspects of playwriting during that time. His plays are characterized by intricate plots involving themes of morality, marriage, and redemption, often culminating in significant consequences for the characters. After a dynamic start in the theater scene, Daborne relocated to Ireland around 1616, where he transitioned to a life as a clergyman and ceased to produce additional theatrical work. He passed away on March 23, 1628, leaving behind a legacy marked by his contributions to early modern drama.
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Subject Terms
Robert Daborne
Playwright
- Born: c. 1580
- Birthplace: Probably London, England
- Died: March 23, 1628
Biography
Robert Daborne was extremely active as a playwright for a scant five years, between about 1611 to about 1616. During that time, he appears to have written at least six plays. The titles for these plays have come down to us but the texts of only two are extant. We do have a surprising number of accounts of his life in London in roughly that same time period, due to lawsuits brought against him in Chancery and to ample correspondence between him and theater entrepreneur Philip Henslowe. The court records tell us much about the litigious society in which Daborne lived, for it was his wife’s family that took him to court in 1609 and his own family in 1612. The letters exchanged with Henslowe show how negotiations were conducted for purchase of scripts.
Letters from Daborne announce what pay he was working on and when it would be delivered into Henslowe’s hands. One is a letter written by Nathan Field asking on behalf of himself, Philip Massinger, and Robert Daborne (both of whom added postscripts) that Henslowe bail them out of jail, assuring him that their next play would more than make up the money required.
It is from the Henslowe letters that we know the titles of the lost plays of Daborne. It is not clear what play was to come of collaboration with Massinger and Field, but there is clearly a partnership with Cyril Tourneur for a play titled The Arraignment of London produced in late 1613. This may well be the same play as one mentioned in the letters with the title The Bellman of London. The titles of three other plays also appear in the letters, and all of them produced in the short span between 1613 and 1614: Machiavel and the Devil, The Owl, and The She Saint. The texts for all these plays are lost.
The two scripts that are extant are The Poor Man’s Comfort and A Christian Turned Turk. Both have involuted plots and subplots involving marriages, death sentences, pardons, subterfuges and violence, all leading to a moral conclusion. The first play presents a nobleman, deprived of his title, lands and riches, who comes to live with a shepherd and marry the shepherd’s daughter, only to abandon her and the sheep when his riches are restored. This leads to great suffering that culminates in death sentences and finally a royal pardon. There is an equally intricate subplot about marriage, madness, shipwreck, and treason.
A Christian Turned Turk tells two stories about two pirates named Ward and Dansiker. The first becomes a Muslim and carries on his piracy until he finally repents just before his death. Dansiker meanwhile abandons his career as pirate and launches into a campaign of violence and destruction against other pirates. His excesses lead to his execution. Again there is a subplot tracing the obstacles to a marriage that are finally resolved.
Suddenly, toward the end of 1616 or early in 1617, Daborne moved to Ireland and took up a new life as a clergyman. He lived there, writing no more plays, for the rest of his life, which ended March 23, 1628.