Richard Sharpe

Richard Sharpe (c. 1602 [?] – January 1632) was an actor with the King's Men, the leading theatre troupe of its time and the company of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage. Sharpe began his career as a boy player acting female roles, then switched to male roles in his young adulthood. The Duchess of Malfi Sharpe's earliest known role was, arguably, both his most significant and his most controversial. The first edition of John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi, printed in 1623, contains the earliest cast list in English Renaissance drama. The list states that Sharpe originated the title role of the Duchess. The 1623 cast list actually covers two separate productions, the premiere staging and a later revival. The original starred Richard Burbage and is usually dated to c. 1614. It must have occurred prior to William Ostler's death in December 1614, since Ostler played the role of Antonio. The revival production starred Burbage's replacement Joseph Taylor, and so must have taken place after Burbage's March 1619 death. Scholars date it to c. 1621.