George Rignold's first theatrical experience came in Bath and Bristol where he started at the Theatre Royal in 1863; one of his early parts was as Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream. From 1871 until 1874 he acted with the company at the Queen's Theatre, London, where he played Caliban in The Tempest, Leonatus Posthumous in Cymbeline, and Romeo.

While on tour in America he played Henry V at Booth's Theatre; when he returned to London in 1879 he again played Henry at the Drury Lane Theatre and his performance was critically acclaimed as a great success.

His real success came in 1886-1895 in Sydney, Australia, where as a manager-actor he mounted a number of spectacular Shakespeare plays in the old style, and all quite popular at Her Majesty's Theatre where he worked. In those nine years he played, among other parts, Marc Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Master Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Macbeth and Othello. The reason why he is so little remembered now is that his real career and popularity were in Sydney rather than in London or New York.

Related Postcards

As Henry V in Henry V

As Henry V in Henry V

As Henry V in Henry V