Arthur Bourchier was born in 1863; he attended Oxford University, where through the Oxford University Drama Society he first became interested in the theatre and Shakespeare. His first professional performance in 1889 was in Wolverhampton as Jaques in As You Like It; at the time he was performing with the company of Lillie Langtry.

Bourchier acted in dozens of plays besides his regular roles in Shakespeare, and he played every season; he was still acting as late as 1924, just three years before his death at the age of 63.