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
Othello, the Moor of Venice
Iago is most honest (2.3). In Venice, at the start of Othello, the soldier Iago announces his hatred for his commander, Othello, a Moor. Othello has promoted Cassio, not Iago, to be his lieutenant. Iago crudely informs Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, that Othello and Desdemona have eloped. Before the Venetian Senate, Brabantio accuses Othello of bewitching Desdemona. The Senators wish to send Othello to Cyprus, which is under threat from Turkey. They bring Desdemona before them. She tells of her loveRead more
Henry IV, parts 1 and 2
Henry IV, Part 1, culminates in the battle of Shrewsbury between the king’s army and rebels seeking his crown. The dispute begins when Hotspur, the son of Northumberland, breaks with the king over the fate of his brother-in-law, Mortimer, a Welsh prisoner. Hotspur, Northumberland, and Hotspur’s uncle Worcester plan to take the throne, later allying with Mortimer and a Welsh leader, Glendower. As that conflict develops, Prince Hal—Henry IV‘s son and heir—carouses in a tavern and plots to trick theRead more
Antony & Cleopatra
Give my my robe. Put on my crown. I have Immortal longings in me (5.2). Antony and Cleopatra tells the story of a romance between two powerful lovers: Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, and Mark Antony, who rules the Roman Empire with Octavius Caesar and Lepidus. Although he is needed in Rome, Antony lingers in Egypt with Cleopatra. He finally returns to Rome when Pompey, another military leader, tries to gain control of the empire. Once in Rome, Antony marries Caesar’sRead more
Constance Collier
(1878-1955) Collier was only three when she made her stage debut in 1881 as Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She was once a show girl—one of the popular “Gaiety Girls”—but she wanted to play more serious parts, so she joined Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s company and started playing in most of his important productions, many of them Shakespeare’s plays, from 1901 until 1908. This was fitting for Collier as she was notably tall and complimented the equally tall Beerbohm Tree.Read more
Margaret Halstan
(1879-1967) Playing first in amateur productions, Margaret Halstan became a professional actress in 1895 at the Haymarket Theatre in a walk-on part in Trilby. Her first part in Shakespeare was a small one; she was the Player Queen Hamlet with Herbert Beerbohm Tree‘s production of the play. In 1897, she played Octavia in Antony & Cleopatra and then that same year appeared as Bianca in an adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew entitled Katherine and Petruchio. In 1900, she joinedRead more