Among these
actors were included Robert Wilson, described as gifted with "a quick,
delicate, refined, extemporal wit;" and Richard Tarleton, of "a
wondrous, plentiful, pleasant, extemporal wit." From this it would
almost seem that these comedians owed their fame and advancement to
their skill and inventiveness in the matter of gagging. No doubt these
early actors bore some relation to the jesters who were established
members of noble households, and of whom impromptu jokes and
witticisms were looked for upon all occasions. Moreover, at this time,
as Mr. Payne Collier judges, "extemporal plays," in the nature of the
Italian _Commedie al improviso_, were often presented upon the English
stage. The actors were merely furnished with a "plat," or plot of the
performance, and were required to fill in and complete the outline, as
their own ingenuity might suggest. Portions of the entertainments were
simply dumb show and pantomime, but it is clear that spoken dialogue
was also resorted to. In such cases the "extemporal wit," or gagging
of the comic actors, was indispensably necessary.
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