Michael+Mohun

Michael Mohun (pronounced “Moon”) was one of the most prolific and well-known actors of the Restoration era, and played in several different companies over the course of his lifetime. He served in the Civil War halfway through his acting career before returning to the stage, no longer a boy actor. Through military and theatre records we can glean a great deal about his life, though there is still much that is hidden. Mohun was an actor for his entire life, and became famous for it, as well as for his grace onstage.
 * Introduction**

The date of Michael Mohun’s birth is unknown, as are the circumstances, but it is estimated that he must have been born around 1616 (Waldron 57). The first record that we have of him regards his apprenticeship to Christopher Beeston, a contemporary of William Shakespeare, and he was active with the Beeston’s Boys throughout the 1630s (Waldron 55, Danby). This troupe acted in the Cockpit Playhouse on Drury Lane, which was built in 1617 and rebuilt in 1629 (“The Era Almanack” 31). As a matter of fact, during the war in 1647 the theater was converted into a schoolroom, but became a playhouse once more soon after in 1649 (“The Era Almanack” 31). In this company Mohun started out as a boy actor, specializing in playing female roles during a time when women were not permitted to act; he was fairly short in stature and had feminine enough features for this to be his specialty in his early years (Waldron 55).
 * Early Life**

During this time Mohun and his colleagues were arrested for various offenses on several different occasions. This began in 1637 when he and four other actors were apprehended for performing at the Cockpit in spite of the fact that the playhouse had been ordered to close as the result of a plague quarantine (Danby). Later, in 1640, he was again arrested for appearing in an unlicensed play, again at the Cockpit (Danby). These concerns would continue after the war, as in 1660 Henry Herbert lodged several complaints against the actors of the Cockpit as a whole and managed to obtain yet another warrant for their arrest (Johnson). The complaints against the players were those of having raised prices, having performed in scandalous plays, and having failed to recognize authority; Herbert ordered them to submit to him for prior censorship all plays that they intended to perform (Johnson). Thomas Killigrew, attempting to gain more control over the company, had the players imprisoned (Highfill 272). As a result, the players submitted a formal complaint to the king, asserting that he was harassing them simply to get money out of them and into his own pockets (Johnson).
 * Arrests**

When war broke out Mohun volunteered in defense of King Charles I, and was given the rank of captain (Walpole). He fought at the Battle of Edgehill in 1642, a battle in which the king was victorious, and was afterwards given the rank pro tempore and was paid the salary of a major— which is where he obtained his nickname, Major Mohun (Waldron). He also served in Flanders as a captain in the royal army (Waldron).
 * Military Service**

After the Civil War, Mohun resumed his acting career at the Red Bull, then later joined the King’s Company (Danby). Charles II gave him and his affiliates the title “His Majesty’s Company of Comedians”, which is where the name came from, and is a strong indicator of the favor that they held in the king’s court (Waldron). Charles II actually stated that Michael Mohun shone like the sun and Charles Hart like the moon (Waldron). After a time, neither Mohun’s nor the company’s financial condition was on good ground, and a five-shilling poll tax imposed in 1678 made it even worse— it also would likely have irritated the Catholic Mohun, as its purpose was to raise money for a war against the French king (Anon). He was known for his dignity and grace onstage, and for his portrayal of soldier and lover roles, as well as jealous tyrants, in serious and comic plays; he was frequently paired opposite leading man Charles Hart, who played more romantic male leads (Danby). The King’s Company at its start also included actors Theophilus Bird, John Lacy, Nicholas Burt, William Cartwright, William Wintershall, Walter Club, Robert Shatterell, and Edward Kynaston, in addition to actresses Mrs. Corey, Mrs. Ann Marshall, Mrs. Rebecca Marshall, Mrs. Eastland, Mrs. Weaver, Mrs. Uphill, Mrs. Knep, and Mrs, Hughes (Cunningham). Eventually, Mohun’s brother also joined the troupe. Mohun himself was most famous for playing the characters of Iago and Cassius. The King’s Company later moved to the Lincoln’s Inn Fields theatre when the Bridges Street playhouse caught fire, but were able to return when the building was rebuilt. From 1663 to 1664 Mohun, Charles Hart, and John Lacy, the three lead actors, managed the company in Killigrew’s stead, paying themselves by sharing three-fourths of a share; because of this, Killigrew took his power back and returned the share. In 1667, Mohun stopped acting for a time and was not paid, but neither the reason nor the length of time are known (Highfill 273). In 1676 he again reduced his role onstage, at least partly due to gout, but even at sixty years old his acting prowess had not waned; he may have acted as stage manager during this time (Highfill 275). In 1682 he moved on to the new United Company, but retired just a year later in 1683 (Danby). He died in 1684, aged approximately sixty-seven (Danby).
 * Return to Acting**

In 1663, Mohun built a house in St Martin-in-the-Fields and leased it to a Mrs. Nephway, and five other actors in his troupe took similar action (Highfill 273). He bought shares in a building to be leased for a new playhouse on Bridges Street, but like most of the actors could only obtain two; it is unknown how much they cost, but perhaps he was simply not permitted to buy more (Highfill 273). At a certain point he married Anne Bird, daughter of Theophilus Bird, one of his colleagues (Highfill 273). Mohun likely had three children, two daughters and a son, who were buried at the church of St. Giles in the Fields in 1672, 1675, and 1679, respectively (Highfill 273).
 * Later Life**

Mohun played Leontius in The Humorous Lieutenant alongside Mr. Wintersell as the King, Mr. Hart as Demetrius, Mr. Burt as Seleucus, Mr. Clun as Lieutenant, and Mrs. Marshall as Celia. It was very successful, acted twelve days successively, and was said to be one of the best of Beaumont and Fletcher’s (“The Era Almanack” 31). Little was ever said about Mohun’s acting, but on one occasion Pepys saw him in The Beggar’s Bush and said not only was it well acted, he had come there specifically to see Mohun (Highfill 273). Mohun was also generally applauded in heroic parts; in The Humorous Lieutenant, however, Becky Marshall was said to have been particularly good. It was also praised for being historical, as most of the primary male characters really existed (“The Era Almanack” 31).
 * Review**

Mohun created the roles of: Montezuma in John Dryden’s The Indian Emperor (1665); Britannicus in Nathaniel Lee’s Nero (1674); Pinchwife in William Wycherley’s The Country Wife (1675); and Ventidius in Dryden’s All for Love (1677) (Danby). He also played: Ballamente in Love’s Cruelty in 1642, one of his first known roles; Iago and Cassius in William Shakespeare’s Othello and Julius Caesar; Volpone, Face, Truewit, and Cethegus in Jonson’s Fox, Alchemist, Silent Woman, and Catiline; Mardonius, Melantius, Leon, and Valentine in Beaumont and Fletcher’s King and No King, Maid’s Tragedy, Rule a Wife, and Wit without Money; the traitor in Shirley’s The Traytor; Clytus and Mithridates in Lee’s Rival Queens and King of Pontus; Ziriff in Aglaura; Don Leon in Rule a Wife and Have a Wife; Caraffa in Love’s Sacrifice; Mopus in The Cheats; Fernando in Love’s Sacrifice; Fernando in The Siege of Urbin; the title roles in Volpone and The Indian Emperor, Mascarillo in Damoiselles à la Mode; Alberto in Flora’s Vagaries; Philocles in Secret Love; King Edward in The Black Prince; Bellamy in An Evening’s Love; Rudyas in The Island Princess; Cethegus in Catiline; Maximin in Tyrannick Love; Valentinus in The Roman Express; Abdelmelech in The Conquest of Granada; Dapperwit in Love in a Wood; Don Alvarez in The Generous Enemies; Everyoung in The Mulberry Garden; Rhodorigo in The Rival Ladies; and Ynca in The Indian Queen (Waldron 56, Highfill 273).
 * Repertoire**

Michael Mohun became known as one of the greatest actors of the Restoration era, and one of the most prolific, as well. He was praised by critics and kings, and played alongside some of the best of his fellow actors. He survived a war and gained prestige from it, then continued to act almost up until his dying day. He served as manager and stage manager for a time, was arrested for continuing to act when prohibited, and showed his passion for his work at every turn.
 * Conclusion**

Anon. An Unpublished Document Relating to the Restoration Actor Micheal Mohun. Danby, Jennifer Renee. "Portraits of Restoration Actors Michael Mohun and Edward Kynaston: New Evidence." Theatre Notebook, 2005. ProQuest Literature Online. Harding, Edward. "Michael Mohun." National Portrait Gallery, 1793, www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp68776/michael-mohun. “John Bird.” A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800, by Philip H Highfill et al., SIU Press, 1973, pp. 132-133, books.google.com/books?id=cS6x-tsbNZEC&dq=michael+mohun+actor&source=gbs_navlinks_s. "King's and Duke's Theatres." The Story of Nell Gwen and the Sayings of Charles II, by Peter Cunningham, F. P. Harper, 1896, pp. 13-15. Nineteenth Century Collections Online [Gale]. “Michael Mohun.” A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800, by Philip H. Highfill et al., vol. 10, Southern Illinois University Press, 1987, pp. 271-273. "Michael Mohun." The Biographical Mirror, Comprising a Series of Ancient and Modern English Portraits, of Eminent and Distinguished Persons, from Original, by Francis Godolphin Waldron, vol. 1, S. and E. Harding, 1795, pp. 54-57. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Shakespeare, William. The plays of William Shakspeare. In fifteen volumes. With the corrections and illustrations of various commentators. To which are added, notes by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens. The fourth edition. Revised and augmented (with a glossarial index) by the editor of Dodsley's collection of old plays. Vol. 2, printed [by H. Baldwin] for T. Longman, B. Law and Son, C. Dilly, J. Robson, J. Johnson, T. Vernor, G.G.J. and J. Robinson, T. Cadell, J. Murray, R. Baldwin, H. L. Gardner, J. Sewell, J. Nicholls, F. and C. Rivington, W. Goldsmith, T. Payne, Jun. S. Hayes, R. Faulder, W. Lowndes, B. and J. White, G. and T. Wilkie, J. and J. Taylor, Scatcherd and Whitaker, T. and J. Egerton, E. Newbery, J. Barker, J. Edwards, Ogilvy and Speare, J. Cuthell, J. Lackington, J. Deighton, and W. Miller, M.DCC.XCIII., [1793]. Eighteenth Century Collections Online, http://tinyurl.galegroup.com/tinyurl/69mdF7. Accessed 19 Mar. 2018. "St. Giles in the Fields." Walks in London, by Sadakichi Hartmann, vol. 2, Daldy, Isbister & Co., 1878, pp. 156-157. Nineteenth Century Collections Online [Gale]. "The Letters of Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Oxford. Volume 3." Past Masters "The Playgoer's Portfolio." The Era Almanack, 1868, p. 31. Victorian Popular Culture.
 * Works Cited**