Will Kemp's merry dance through Essex

Will Kemp was one of Shakespeare’s actors and the company’s resident comic figure, specialising in roles such as Falstaff.

In December 1598, he was one of a core of five actor-shareholders in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men alongside Shakespeare but in a short time, possibly after a disagreement among the members of the troupe, he parted company with the group. It was what he did next that helped cement his fame.

Either as a stunt, or a piece of self-promotion, in March 1599 Kemp danced from London to Norwich and wrote a book about it called “Nine Daies Wonder”. On the way he passed through Essex.

So why did Shakespeare’s former fool set off dancing from London to Norwich? He left Shakespeare’s company after a falling-out. So was it some sort of protest at not getting the parts he wanted, or over the big split?

Sally-Beth MacLean, General Editor of Records of Early English Drama has a theory: “Will Kemp was a star in his own right and I doubt the dance was in protest. He was independent-minded and had taken his own road on the continent during a tour with Leicester's Men in 1586 while his fellows went to Elsinore.”

Is this line from Hamlet aimed at William Kemp, as Hamlet gives tips on acting and seems to criticise clowns for unnecessary improvisation?

Does it hint at why Kemp was no longer in Shakespeare’s company by 1599, a dig perhaps at Kemp’s unwanted improvisations?