Edward's Boys

“Your work is the most sustained attempt to re-imagine what we think boy companies could do – and it will really rewrite the academic theatre history books.”

Emma Smith Professor of Shakespeare Studies, University of Oxford

Our Company Profile

About Edward’s Boys

Since 2005 Edward’s Boys (of King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, a state grammar school, also known as K.E.S. and “Shakespeare’s School”) have been performing rarely-seen plays from the repertoire of the early modern boys’ companies.

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Director

Perry Mills was, until July 2023, Deputy Headmaster at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon (generally known as “Shakespeare’s School”). For most of his career he has been a Head of English and Drama, and is a very experienced leader of workshops for teachers and students on a variety of related topics.

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Donations to the Company of Edward’s Boys

Edward’s Boys are proud to be part of King Edward VI School, a state school which tries to offer extra-curricular opportunities that are not only comparable to, but often surpass, those that are available in the independent sector.  Unfortunately, we do not receive funding for these activities. The company survives primarily on ticket sales.

We have made the decision to make our film archive available online free of charge for the simple reason that we believe passionately in education. If you take advantage of this unique opportunity, please consider supporting the company’s work by making a donation via this website. Thank you, in advance.

Perry Mills
(On behalf of Edward’s Boys)

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Critical Acclaim for Edward’s Boys

Edward’s Boys are a firm fixture on the map of the English theatrical scene—and they have also changed the map of how we think about early modern theatre (not just boys’ company plays). The boys – of all ages – are simultaneously innocent and knowing in performance, keeping city comedy teetering on the brink of send-up and making revenge tragedy able to confront its own excess.

Professor Laurie MaguireMagdalen College, Oxford

Edward’s Boys make me realise why I fell in love with the theatre in the first
place!

Professor Tiffany SternUniversity of Birmingham

I love the Edward’s Boys for their willingness to take leave of reality and
abandon themselves to the magic of the theatre. That they are young and male
hardly makes a difference, for they can perform whatever is called for in terms
of age, gender, class, ethnicity, even size. With great energy and skill, often
musical as well as dramatic, they discover the wit, pathos, irony in even the
most abstruse lines. Of course, behind their performances is the genius of Perry
Mills who breathes contemporary life into these largely forgotten early modern
plays, turning the many hard challenges they pose into opportunities for
strikingly imaginative solutions.

Professor Margreta de GraziaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Wacky, subversive and often very rude (and that’s just the director), the boy players at K.E.S. always come up with insightful and thrilling solutions to often difficult and challenging texts. For the cast the rehearsals are intellectually stimulating and huge fun, for the audience the productions are even more so! And no parent should be deprived of at least one opportunity to see their son being serious in a nice frock… Long may they continue!

Anton LesserActor

Edward’s Boys is a remarkable theatrical experiment that has become required viewing for anyone interested in early modern drama. Voyaging far beyond Shakespeare, the Boys’ productions are rare gems that are somehow both a rich resource for scholars of gender, performance and theatre history, and a great night at the theatre. The company gives us an expansive early modern stage world, full of insights about how theatre depicted gender through the boy.

Professor Clare McManus Northumbria University, Newcastle