Viola, somewhat of a polymath, was born in London in 1884. She was eldest daughter of Maude and Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. She got her start early by performing at her father’s company at Her Majesty’s Theatre, and in 1904, she debuted, successfully, as Viola in Twelfth Night. Over the next several years, she appeared in Much Ado About Nothing as Hero, The Tempest as Ariel, Richard II as the Queen, The Merry Wives of Windsor as Anne Page, Ophelia in Hamlet, and Perdita in The Winter’s Tale. In the latter, Dame Ellen Terry played Hermione. She went on to Italy to pursue her ambitions in opera for some years after that.

In 1919, Tree began management of the Aldwych Theatre (later home of the Royal Shakespeare Company, 1960-1982) in London and in 1923, she played her last Shakespeare role—Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She did, however, continue her stage career and traveled around the world performing. She appeared, also, in several films. One of these, Pygmalion (1938), marked the third time a member of the Tree family had played in a premiere of this Bernard Shaw work.

Tree was also a playwright, co-writing The Dancers with Gerald du Maurier in 1923 and The Swallow in 1925. She was also a prolific writer, having published many books in her lifetime: her memoirs, Castles in the Air (1926); a book on etiquette, Can I Help You? (1937); a novel; a biography of her husband; and an anthology, Alan Parsons’ Book (1937).

Wilkie made his stage debut in 1899 and almost immediately began touring with three of the great Shakespeare companies, those of Rawson Buckley, Ben Greet and Frank Benson. After his experience with these companies and the numerous parts he played in Shakespeare he formed his own company and toured England, India, and Australia. In 1920 after his company’s successful runs in Melbourne and Sydney, he took his troupe over much of Asia. In all, he staged twenty-seven of Shakespeare’s plays. In 1932, he returned to England and again toured the provinces with Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew, and Twelfth Night. He produced a few contemporary dramas, but most of his career was dedicated to Shakespeare and he kept his company together long after the demise of most other actor-manager groups.

William Stack was born in the United States, but he began his acting career in London at the Court Theatre in 1908. Between 1914 and 1916, he played with the Old Vic Company, and in 1920, he joined the Ben Greet Company where he played Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice. In 1922, he performed with the New Shakespeare Company in Stratford-on-Avon; he had parts in Twelfth Night, Cymbeline, Othello, Hamlet, and Julius Caesar.

The Internet Movie Database lists sixty-three films he appeared in between 1918 and 1945; he moved back and forth between England and the US for his films, but his stage performances were usually in England.

Young was an American actor who was famous for his Shakespeare roles and lecture on Shakespeare’s works and characters. He appeared in over 30 films from 1909 onward. The NYPL indicates that he was an avid collector of theatrical photographs and perhaps postcards. If you have anymore leads, contact us and let us know!

Here is some valuable information from the New York Public Library. Thanks, Laura Pokalsky, for finding this!

Here is a video clip of Young in an early silent film of Twelfth Night.