Performance History

David Garrick (1717–1779) was the most famous actor of his day and is credited with reviving Shakespeare’s plays on the English stage. A natural self-publicist who encouraged the production of hundreds of portraits of himself, Garrick played a key part in the cult of bardolatry that continues today. The painted copper roundel shown here illustrates his 1750s production of Romeo and Juliet, starring himself and George Anne Belamy in the title roles. This production featured a new death scene (written by Garrick) between the lovers; in Shakespeare’s text, Juliet awakens in the tomb only after Romeo has died. The Folger contains one of the largest collections of Garrick materials. More information about Garrick and his career can be found in the Folgerpedia article based on the 2005 Folger exhibit, "David Garrick, 1717–1779: A Theatrical Life."

Charles Kean (1811–1868) was an important actor/manager in 19th-century London who staged lavish productions of Shakespeare’s plays at the Princess’s Theatre. Kean was especially known for his attempt to set Shakespeare’s history plays in their proper time period with elaborate scenery and costumes. For Henry V he created an interlude showing the king’s triumphal return to England after the Battle of Agincourt, set at London Bridge. The Folger owns a number of promptbooks from Kean’s productions, many made by T. W. Edmonds and containing watercolor set designs.

E. H. Sothern (1859–1933) and Julia Marlowe (1865–1950) were popular Shakespearean actors on the American stage at the turn of the 20th century, performing together in Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado, and Hamlet, among other plays. Sothern was born in New Orleans to English actors who happened to be there at the time, and Marlowe emigrated from England and began a successful acting career before meeting (and marrying) Sothern. This photograph is an example of a carte-de-visite, small photographs on cards of about 2½ by 4 inches which were widely popular in the 19th-century as a way of circulating images of family members and celebrities.

Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1856–1917) was an English actor/manager, famous for his Shakespearean productions. He is perhaps best remembered today for his early 20th-century lavish production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with gorgeous costumes, a stage filled with flowers and woods, the inclusion of live rabbits, and extra children playing the fairies. The note on the page seen here describes an owl hooting twice, after which a child/fairy enters, sees a rabbit, and pulls its tail. Promptbooks are copies of plays that are marked up to record the action in a production (as seen here), or marked by an individual actor to record cuts, movements, and tone of voice.

Performances of Shakespeare plays were often on the cutting edge of new technologies, as seen with this 1908 recording of Ellen Terry reciting the “quality of mercy” speech from The Merchant of Venice, made not long after the Victor Company started making phonographs for their “talking machine” in 1901. Other prominent actors of the time whose voices were preserved for the future include Terry’s partner, Henry Irving, as well as Johnston Forbes Robertson, Herbert Beerbohm-Tree, and Frank Benson. The Folger has a substantial collection of Shakespeare recordings, from these early ones to more recent productions.