Another well-known image: possibly of Robert Armin, one of the professional clown actors in Shakespeare's company. Here he's doing his famous impersonation of Blue John, a local London man with a cognitive disability. The impersonation was apparently so popular that Armin wrote a play around it.

This well-studied illustration of The Wits features famous characters from several plays and most of these characters are either clowns or disabled figures, or both. My essay thinks a bit about how the condition of clownish celebrity depended on virtuosic imitation of disabled figures.

Excited to have a new article out in Renaissance Drama! This one traces how early modern clowns relied on disability imitation. So much familiar clowning activity appropriates disabled performance, behavior, or positionality that the distinction between "artificial" and "natural" fools is tricky.

Finally making the move to Bluesky! Stay tuned for more adventures in the archives and hot takes on Renaissance drama. 🔥🔥🔥 Here's a throwback to my visit to the prop stores of Shakespeare's Globe.