Beginnings
Theophilus was the son of William Bird, an actor long associated with the theatrical enterprise of Philip Henslowe and active in the years 1597–1622. Theophilus was baptized on December 7, 1608. Both father William and son Theophilus alternatively spelled their family name as Bird or Bourne. The extensive Henslowe papers in the collection of Dulwich College contain many mentions of the elder Bird and members of his family. The younger Bird started out as a boy player acting female roles, as was customary at the time; he played Paulina in Massinger's The Renegado for Queen Henrietta's Men in 1625. He played Tota, the Queen of Fez, in Thomas Heywood's The Fair Maid of the West, Part 2 around 1630, when he was 21 years old.
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