Kempe's success and influence was such that in December 1598 he was one of a core of five actor-shareholders in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, alongside Shakespeare and Richard Burbage. He left the company shortly afterwards, and despite his fame as a performer and his intention to continue his career, he appears to have died unregarded and in poverty circa 1603.

Life

Kempe is usually given an approximate birth year of 1560. He first entered

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