Kemp was one of the "best-known celebrities of the Elizabethan period" (Bednarz 273). He became a member of Lord Strange's Men about 1590 and, after the death of Lord Strange, Kemp joined the "newly constituted Lord Chamberlain's Men between 1594 and 1595" (Bednarz 274). He was a multi-talented, solo performer known for his abilities in theatrical jigs and in morris dancing, which was "a comic performance that traditionally involved the Robin Hood legend and featured Maid Marian and Friar Tuck. It also designated, in a broader sense, any exhibition of fantastic folk dancing" (Bednarz 274). In February 1599 Kemp began his famous nine-day morris dance from London to Norwich. His feat, chronicled in Kemp's Nine Daies Wonder (1600), brought him much attention (Dyce vii; Bednarz 274-5). A desire to improvise more than he should may have caused him to leave the Lord Chamberlain's Men in 1599, permitting Robert Armin to take his place. Kemp, although known as a "plain-speaking rustic clown" (Bednarz 276), was capable of demonstrating heightened intelligence commonly associated with the fool. He existed between the lower and higher social classes. By openly discussing social classes he "sought to become a symbol of cultural unification, based on his universal appeal" (Bednarz 276). It is difficult to assess his career because his "comic improvisation conflicted with the desire of Elizabethan dramatists to control the nuances of theatrical performance" (Bednarz 277). We may consider Kemp to have been a wise fool in light of his political commentary.

-- Victoria Abboud, 2001