H. Cooper Cliffe

(1862-1939) Cliffe first appeared on stage in 1879 in the chorus of a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The H. M. S. Pinafore. His roles in Shakespeare began in 1886 when he joined the company of Wilson Barrett; he remained with Barrett’s company until 1894. In 1896, he went to Sir Henry Irving‘s Lyceum where he played both Iachimo and Caius Lucius in Cymbeline, Clarence in Richard III, and Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice. During his time with Irving he alsoRead more

Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth (Woodville) is a character in Richard III. Although she is not in the text of the play, Elizabeth of York also appears in many on-stage productions of Richard III.Read more

Robert B. Mantell

(1854-1928) Mantell was born in Scotland and first appeared on stage in Belfast, Northern Ireland; for a time he used the stage name Robert Hudson, but he reassumed his name Mantell after he joined the company of Helena Modjeska in 1878 and came to the United States. His first professional appearance was at the Theatre Royal in Rockdale in 1876. His first role with Dame Modjeska was as Tybalt in Hamlet at the Leyland Opera House in Albany, New York. HeRead more

Richard III

I am determined to prove a villain (1.1) As Richard III opens, Richard is Duke of Gloucester and his brother, Edward IV, is king. Richard is eager to clear his way to the crown. He manipulates Edward into imprisoning their brother, Clarence, and then has Clarence murdered in the Tower. Meanwhile, Richard succeeds in marrying Lady Anne, even though he killed her father-in-law, Henry VI, and her husband. When the ailing King Edward dies, Prince Edward, the older of hisRead more