Although Norman Forbes was never as well known as his brother Johnston Forbes-Robertson, he was a distinguished Shakespearean and played many roles; so many, in fact, that it will be easiest simply to list the plays and parts by years:

He made his stage debut in 1875 at the Gaiety Theatre, London, as Sir Harry Guildford in Henry VIII.He also played in Twelfth Nightthat same year.

In 1879 he joined Sir Henry Irving in The Merchant of Venice.

1881: Paris in Romeo and Julietwith Wilson Barrett.

From 1883 until 1887 he joined Sir Henry Irving's company at the Lyceum Theatre and in those years he played Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing,Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice,Rosencrantz in Hamlet,and Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night.

In 1890 he joined Lilly Langtry for a production of As You Like It.

In 1896 he again joined Irving's company and acted Cloten in Cymbeline,played in Richard III,took the parts of Gobbo and Shylock in several productions of The Merchant of Venice, and, again, Sir Andrew Aguecheek.

In 1904 he once more played both Gobbo and Shylock.

In 1906 he joined Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree to take the part of Lepidus in Antony and Cleopatra.

Besides these roles he played at various times in his career Wolsey in Henry VIII,Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor,and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.

In 1616 he acted in several films, but his career in the cinema seems to have lasted only that one year.

Related Postcards

As Lepidus in Antony and Cleopatra