Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree

(1853-1917) Born in 1853, Tree’s real name was Herbert Draper Beerbohm. He assumed his famous stage name in the 1870s. After a string of performances, he joined Frank Benson’s company in 1886, where he played Iago before going on to London and the Haymarket Theatre where he eventually became the manager. “He elevated the Haymarket’s status as a Shakespearian playhouse, and his productions of The Merry Wives of Windsor (1889), Hamlet (1892), and Henry IV, Part 1 (1896) earned himRead more

Hamlet (Character)

Hamlet is the main character in the tragedy, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark. Some of the famous players in this role include Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, E.H. Sothern, Sir Henry Irving, Sir Martin Harvey, and Sarah Bernhardt. The Shakespeare Blog recounts this anecdote from actress Elizabeth Robins about one of Bernhardt’s performances: “Madame Bernhardt’s assumption of masculinity is so cleverly carried out that one loses sight of Hamlet in one’s admiration for the tour de force of the actress… She gives us…aRead more