Harry R. Hignett

(1870-1959) Harry Reginald Hignett was born in Cheshire, England, and made his stage debut in Manchester in 1893 with Frank Benson‘s troupe. He played a minor role—one of the citizens of Rome. He worked with Benson until 1901, playing in those eight years with the Bensonians in at least twenty-two Shakespeare plays. He left Benson to go on tour with Mrs. Patrick Campbell in 1901. In 1907, he joined Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton at the Adelphi Theatre, London, whereRead more

Harley Granville Barker

  (1877-1946) Harley Granville-Barker was born at London in 1877. He appears to have begun his stage career at an early age, when he became an actor in a provincial company. His first London appearance was in 1892. He subsequently acted with Lewis Waller, Ben Greet, and Mrs. Patrick Campbell, and participated in the productions of the Elizabethan Stage Society. Becoming identified later with the Stage Society, he produced and acted in a number of Bernard Shaw’s early plays. In 1904,Read more

Hamlet, The Prince of Denmark

What is this quintessence of dust? (2.2) Events before the start of Hamlet set the stage for tragedy. When the king of Denmark, Prince Hamlet‘s father, suddenly dies, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, marries his uncle Claudius, who becomes the new king. A spirit who claims to be the ghost of Hamlet’s father describes his murder at the hands of Claudius and demands that Hamlet avenge the killing. When the councilor Polonius learns from his daughter, Ophelia, that Hamlet has visited herRead more

Macbeth

It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood (3.4). Macbeth, set primarily in Scotland, mixes witchcraft, prophecy, and murder. Three “Weird Sisters” appear to Macbeth and his comrade Banquo after a battle and prophesy that Macbeth will be king and that the descendants of Banquo will also reign. When Macbeth arrives at his castle, he and Lady Macbeth plot to assassinate King Duncan, soon to be their guest, so that Macbeth can become king. After Macbeth murders Duncan,Read more

Charles Doran

(1877-1964) Like so many actors who played Shakespeare, Irish-born Doran made his stage debut with Frank Benson in Belfast’s Theatre Royale in 1899; he had a part in Julius Caesar. The next year, 1900, again with Benson’s company, he first appeared in London at the Lyceum as MacMorris in Henry V. He played with Benson, doing mainly Shakespeare, until he left in 1903 to perform with several different companies. In 1906, he made his first trip to the US withRead more

As You Like It

It is not the fashion to see the lady the epilogue. (Ep.i.) In As You Like It, witty words and romance play out against the disputes of divided pairs of brothers. Orlando‘s older brother, Oliver, treats him badly and refuses him his small inheritance from their father’s estate; Oliver schemes instead to have Orlando die in a wrestling match. Meanwhile, Duke Frederick has forced his older brother, Duke Senior, into exile in the Forest of Arden. Duke Senior’s daughter, Rosalind,Read more

Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson

(1853-1937) Forever critical of his own acting prowess, Forbes-Robertson’s career, spanning almost forty years from 1874 to 1913, is impossible to summarize in so brief a space. Born in London, he was regarded as one of the preeminent Shakespearean players in the four decades of his active life on the stage. His interpretation of Hamlet is regarded as one of the best of the twentieth century. One of his younger eleven siblings was Norman Forbes-Robertson, also a noted Shakespearean, as wasRead more

Romeo & Juliet

For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo (5.3). The oft-quoted prologue of Romeo & Juliet calls the title characters “star-crossed lovers”—and the stars do seem to conspire against these young lovers. Romeo is a Montague, and Juliet a Capulet. Their families are enmeshed in a feud, but the moment they meet—when Romeo and his friends attend a party at Juliet’s house in disguise—the two fall in love and quickly decide that they wantRead more