115-603: Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb , sometimes known as J. H. Irving , was an English stage actor in the Victorian era , known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility (supervision of sets, lighting, direction, casting, as well as playing the leading roles) for season after season at the West End 's Lyceum Theatre , establishing himself and his company as representative of English classical theatre. In 1895 he became
230-648: A Freemason , being initiated into the prestigious Jerusalem Lodge No 197 in London. In 1887 he became a founder member and first Treasurer of the Savage Club Lodge No 2190, a Lodge associated with London's Savage Club . He eventually took over the management of the Lyceum Theatre and brought actress Ellen Terry into partnership with him as Ophelia to his Hamlet, Lady Macbeth to his Macbeth , Portia to his Shylock , Beatrice to his Benedick, etc. Before joining
345-498: A dramatist and later drowned, with his wife Mabel Hackney , in the sinking of the Empress of Ireland . H B married Dorothea Baird and they had a son, Laurence Irving (1897–1988), who became a well-known Hollywood art director and his grandfather's biographer, and a daughter, Elizabeth Irving (1904 – 2003) an actress and the founder of Keep Britain Tidy. In November 1882 Irving became
460-544: A feminist movement developed. Parental authority was seen as important, but children were given legal protections against abuse and neglect for the first time towards the end of the period. Access to education increased rapidly during the 19th century. State-funded schools were established in England and Wales for the first time. Education became compulsory for pre-teenaged children in England, Scotland and Wales. Literacy rates increased rapidly, and had become nearly universal by
575-534: A commercial career for acting. On 29 September 1856 he made his first appearance at Sunderland as Gaston, Duke of Orleans, in Bulwer Lytton 's play, Richelieu , billed as Henry Irving. This name he eventually assumed by royal licence. When the inexperienced Irving got stage fright and was hissed off the stage the actor Samuel Johnson was among those who supported him with practical advice. Later in life Irving gave them all regular work when he formed his own Company at
690-538: A daughter, Daphne 'Two Two' (1935-1995) with his secretary/translator Daphne Woodward . Craig lived in straitened circumstances in France for much of his life and was interned by German Occupation forces in 1942. He died at Vence , France, in 1966, aged 94. Craig asserted that the director was "the true artist of the theatre" and, controversially, suggested viewing actors as no more important than marionettes . He designed and built elaborately symbolic sets; for instance,
805-624: A death threat in 1899 from fellow actor (and murderer of William Terriss ) Richard Archer Prince . Terriss had been stabbed at the stage door of the Adelphi Theatre in December 1897 and in the wake of his death, Prince was committed to Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum . Irving was critical of the unusually lenient sentence, remarking "Terriss was an actor, so his murderer will not be executed." Two years later, Prince had found Irving's home address and threatened to murder him "when he gets out". Irving
920-415: A deep shimmering blue, apparently almost translucent, upon which the green and purple make a harmony of great richness. The third remarkable aspect of Craig's experiments in theatrical form were his attempts to integrate design elements with his work with actors. His mise en scène sought to articulate the relationships in space between movement, sound, line, and colour. Craig promoted a theatre focused on
1035-538: A deeper meaning, rather than simply reflecting the real world. On 29 June 1908 the Polish theater director, playwright, and theoretician of drama Leon Schiller initiated a correspondence with Craig. Together with his letter Schiller sent Craig, in Florence , his essay, " Dwa teatry " ("Two Theaters"), translated into English by Madeline Meager. Craig responded immediately, accepting the essay for his magazine, The Mask . This
1150-585: A democracy. The political legacy of the reform movement was to link the nonconformists (part of the evangelical movement) in England and Wales with the Liberal Party . This continued until the First World War . The Presbyterians played a similar role as a religious voice for reform in Scotland. Religion was politically controversial during this era, with Nonconformists pushing for the disestablishment of
1265-433: A director should approach a play with no preconceptions and he embraced this in his fading up from the minimum or blank canvas approach. As an engraver and a classical artist, Craig found inspiration in puppets and masks . In his 1910 article "A Note on Masks," Craig expounds the virtue of using masks as a mechanism for capturing the audience's attention, imagination and soul. "There is only one actor – nay one man who has
SECTION 10
#17330850695121380-405: A divorce until 1932, after Craig and Elena Meo had permanently separated. Craig fathered other illegitimate children: a daughter with actress Jess Dorynne, Kitty; a daughter with dancer Isadora Duncan , Deirdre Beatrice (1906–1913), who drowned at the age of seven with another of Duncan's children, Patrick Augustus, and their nanny; a son, Davidino Lees (1916–2004), with poet Dorothy Nevile Lees, and
1495-455: A fashion among employers for providing welfare services to their workers, led to relative social stability. The Chartist movement for working-class men to be given the right to vote, which had been prominent in the early Victorian period, dissipated. Government involvement in the economy was limited. Only in the post-World War II period , around a century later, did the country experience substantial economic growth again. But whilst industry
1610-402: A greater actor than was Irving.") George Bernard Shaw , at the time a theatre critic who was jealous of Irving's connection to Ellen Terry (whom Shaw himself wanted in his own plays), conceded Irving's genius after Irving died. After a few years' schooling while living at Halsetown, near St Ives, Cornwall , Irving became a clerk to a firm of East India merchants in London, but he soon gave up
1725-445: A major employer and industry in their own right. Expected standards of personal conduct changed in around the first half of the 19th century, with good manners and self-restraint becoming much more common. Historians have suggested various contributing factors, such as Britain's major conflicts with France during the early 19th century, meaning that the distracting temptations of sinful behaviour had to be avoided in order to focus on
1840-592: A period between the 1860s and 1880s subject to spot compulsory examinations for sexually transmitted infections , and detainment if they were found to be infected. This caused a great deal of resentment among women in general due to the principle underlying the checks, that women had to be controlled in order to be safe for sexual use by men, and the checks were opposed by some of the earliest feminist campaigning. Edward Gordon Craig Edward Henry Gordon Craig CH OBE (born Edward Godwin ; 16 January 1872 – 29 July 1966), sometimes known as Gordon Craig ,
1955-430: A rise in prosecutions for illegal sodomy in the middle of the 19th century. Male sexuality became a favourite subject of medical researchers' study. For the first time, all male homosexual acts were outlawed. Concern about sexual exploitation of adolescent girls increased during the period, especially following the white slavery scandal , which contributed to the increasing of the age of consent from 13 to 16 . At
2070-541: A role in economic life but exploitation of their labour became especially intense during the Victorian era. Children were put to work in a wide range of occupations, but particularly associated with this period are factories. Employing children had advantages, as they were cheap, had limited ability to resist harsh working conditions, and could enter spaces too small for adults. Some accounts exist of happy upbringings involving child labour, but conditions were generally poor. Pay
2185-735: A set composed of his patented movable screens for the Moscow Art Theatre production of Hamlet . He was also the editor and chief writer for the first international theatre magazine, The Mask . He worked as an actor in the company of Sir Henry Irving , but became more interested in art , learning to carve wood under the tutelage of James Pryde and William Nicholson . His acting career ended in 1897, when he went into theatrical design . Craig's first productions, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas , Handel's Acis and Galatea (both inspired and conducted by his lifelong friend Martin Shaw , who founded
2300-520: A set to William Butler Yeats for use at the Abbey Theatre in Ireland, who shared his symbolist aesthetic. Craig's second innovation was in stage lighting . Doing away with traditional footlights , Craig lit the stage from above, placing lights in the ceiling of the theatre. Colour and light also became central to Craig's stage conceptualizations. Under the play of this light, the background becomes
2415-574: A social club for actors—and would be made an Honorary Lifetime member in 1883. He finally made his first conspicuous success as Digby Grant in James Albery 's Two Roses , which was produced at the Vaudeville Theatre on 4 June 1870 and ran for a very successful 300 nights. In 1871, Irving began his association with the Lyceum Theatre by an engagement under Bateman's management. The fortunes of
SECTION 20
#17330850695122530-728: A special edition of Hamlet published by Count Harry Kessler in a German translation by Gerhardt Hauptmann , an English edition of which appeared the following year. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and in 1958 was made a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH). While often working under his own name, Craig also signed work with a large number of other names, including Oliver Bath, Julius Oliver, Giulio Pirro, Samuel Prim, and Stanislas Lodochowskowski. The Art Record noted in 1901 that Oliver Bath
2645-411: A symbol of the British Empire. Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901. The Victorian era saw a rapidly growing middle class who became an important cultural influence, to a significant extent replacing the aristocracy as British society's dominant class. A distinctive middle-class lifestyle developed that influenced what society valued as a whole. Increased importance was placed on the value of
2760-687: A time when job options for women were limited and generally low-paying, some women, particularly those without familial support, took to prostitution to support themselves. Attitudes in public life and among the general population to prostitution varied. Evidence about prostitutes' situation also varies. One contemporary study argues that the trade was a short-term stepping stone to a different lifestyle for many women, while another, more recent study argues they were subject to physical abuse, financial exploitation, state persecution, and difficult working conditions. Due to worries about venereal disease , especially among soldiers, women suspected of prostitution were for
2875-584: A vivid, book-length tribute to Irving. Craig's sister was Edith Craig . In 1893 Craig married Helen Mary (May) Gibson, with whom he had five children: Philip Carlisle (born 1894), Rosemary Nell (born 1894), Henry Edward Robin (born 1895), John (born 1896) and Peter (born 1897). He met Elena Meo, a violinist, daughter of artist Gaetano Meo , in 1900, and they had three children together: Ellen (1903–1904), Nell (1904–1975),and Edward (1905–1998). Craig lived with Elena Meo and their two surviving children on and off, in England and Italy. May Craig would not consent to
2990-597: A while.' But at earlier periods in her life, when there were more people around to be offended, she said contradictory things. Terry's son Teddy, later known as Edward Gordon Craig , spent much of his childhood (from 1879, when he was 8, until 1897) indulged by Irving backstage at the Lyceum. Craig, who came to be regarded as something of a visionary for the theatre of the future, wrote an especially vivid, book-length tribute to Irving. ("Let me state at once, in clearest unmistakable terms, that I have never known of, or seen, or heard,
3105-461: A wide range of new inventions. This led Great Britain to become the foremost industrial and trading nation of the time. Historians have characterised the mid-Victorian era (1850–1870) as Britain's 'Golden Years', with national income per person increasing by half. This prosperity was driven by increased industrialisation, especially in textiles and machinery, along with exports to the empire and elsewhere. The positive economic conditions, as well as
3220-569: A wide-ranging change to the electoral system of England and Wales . Definitions that purport a distinct sensibility or politics to the era have also created scepticism about the worth of the label 'Victorian', though there have also been defences of it. Michael Sadleir was insistent that "in truth, the Victorian period is three periods, and not one". He distinguished early Victorianism—the socially and politically unsettled period from 1837 to 1850 —and late Victorianism (from 1880 onwards), with its new waves of aestheticism and imperialism , from
3335-553: Is a statue of him near the National Portrait Gallery in London. That statue, as well as the influence of Irving himself, plays an important part in the Robertson Davies novel World of Wonders . The Irving Memorial Garden was opened on 19 July 1951 by Laurence Olivier . Both on and off the stage, Irving always maintained a high ideal of his profession, and in 1895 he received a knighthood (first offered in 1883),
3450-453: Is as a god, and can do no wrong.' In the considered judgment of one biographer, Stoker's friendship with Irving was 'the most important love relationship of his adult life.'" Irving, however, "… was a self-absorbed and profoundly manipulative man. He enjoyed cultivating rivalries between his followers, and to remain in his circle required constant, careful courting of his notoriously fickle affections." When Stoker began writing Dracula , Irving
3565-588: Is held at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin . The 32-box collection includes Craig's diaries, essays, reviews, notes, manuscripts, financial records, and correspondence. Over 130 personal photographs are present in the archive. The Ransom Center's art holdings including some of Craig's woodblocks from the Cranach Press Hamlet as well as proof prints made during production of
Henry Irving - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-456: Is now called classical music was somewhat undeveloped compared to parts of Europe but did have significant support. Photography became an increasingly accessible and popular part of everyday life. Many sports were introduced or popularised during the Victorian era. They became important to male identity. Examples included cricket , football , rugby , tennis and cycling . The idea of women participating in sport did not fit well with
3795-519: The Church of England . Nonconformists comprised about half of church attendees in England in 1851, and gradually the legal discrimination that had been established against them outside of Scotland was removed. Legal restrictions on Roman Catholics were also largely removed . The number of Catholics grew in Great Britain due to conversions and immigration from Ireland . Secularism and doubts about
3910-781: The Georgian era and preceded the Edwardian era , and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe. Various liberalising political reforms took place in the UK, including expanding the electoral franchise. The Great Famine caused mass death in Ireland early in the period. The British Empire had relatively peaceful relations with the other great powers . It participated in various military conflicts mainly against minor powers. The British Empire expanded during this period and
4025-460: The Lyceum Theatre . For 10 years, he went through an arduous training in various stock companies in Scotland and the north of England, taking more than 500 parts. his delineations of the various characters (...) were admirably graphic, and met with repeated rounds of applause. Possessed of a fine voice, which he modulated with great taste and judgment, he was able to mark the depth or frivolity of
4140-557: The Pax Britannica , was a time of relatively peaceful relations between the world's great powers . This is particularly true of Britain's interactions with the others. The only war in which the British Empire fought against another major power was the Crimean War , from 1853 to 1856. There were various revolts and violent conflicts within the British Empire, and Britain participated in wars against minor powers. It also took part in
4255-572: The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 had been deliberately designed to punish them and would remain the basis for welfare provision into the 20th century. While many people were prone to vices, not least alcoholism, historian Bernard A. Cook argues that the main reason for 19th century poverty was that typical wages for much of the population were simply too low. Barely enough to provide a subsistence living in good times, let alone save up for bad. Improvements were made over time to housing along with
4370-601: The Purcell Operatic Society with him to produce them), and Ibsen 's The Vikings at Helgeland , were produced in London . The production of Dido and Aeneas was a considerable success and highly influential in reviving interest in the music of Purcell, then so little known that three copies of The Times review were delivered to the theatre: one addressed to Mr Shaw, one to Mr Craig, and one to Mr Purcell. Craig concentrated on keeping his designs simple, so as to set-off
4485-587: The 'workshop of the world', Britain was uniquely advanced in technology in the mid-19th century. Engineering, having developed into a profession in the 18th century, gained new profile and prestige in this period. The Victorian era saw methods of communication and transportation develop significantly. In 1837, William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone invented the first telegraph system . This system, which used electrical currents to transmit coded messages, quickly spread across Britain, appearing in every town and post office. A worldwide network developed towards
4600-491: The 1880s, sanitation was inadequate in areas such as water supply and disposal of sewage. This all had a negative effect on health, especially that of the impoverished young. For instance, of the babies born in Liverpool in 1851, only 45 per cent survived to age 20. Conditions were particularly bad in London, where the population rose sharply and poorly maintained, overcrowded dwellings became slum housing. Kellow Chesney wrote of
4715-413: The 19th century and germ theory was developed for the first time. Doctors became more specialised and the number of hospitals grew. The overall number of deaths fell by about 20%. The life expectancy of women increased from around 42 to 55 and 40 to 56 for men. In spite of this, the mortality rate fell only marginally, from 20.8 per thousand in 1850 to 18.2 by the end of the century. Urbanisation aided
Henry Irving - Misplaced Pages Continue
4830-536: The 19th century for the first time in history, improved nutrition, and a lower overall mortality rate. Ireland's population shrank significantly, mostly due to emigration and the Great Famine. The professionalisation of scientific study began in parts of Europe following the French Revolution but was slow to reach Britain. William Whewell coined the term 'scientist' in 1833 to refer to those who studied what
4945-450: The Bible. A variety of reading materials grew in popularity during the period, including novels, women's magazines, children's literature, and newspapers. Much literature, including chapbooks , was distributed on the street. Music was also very popular, with genres such as folk music , broadsides , music halls , brass bands , theater music and choral music having mass appeal. What
5060-636: The Bradford Theatre, was seized with syncope just after uttering Becket's dying words 'Into thy hands, O Lord, into thy hands', and though he lived for an hour or so longer he never spoke again." (Thomas Anstey Guthrie. "Long Retrospect") Another witness at the play, Bram Stoker (known for being the author of Dracula ), told reporters later that "We chatted for awhile after the play, and I left him, although not notably strong, not in any way cast down and not more exhausted than had been usual for some time. A little more than three-quarters of an hour afterward I
5175-485: The British Empire, reform included rapid expansion, the complete abolition of slavery in the African possessions and the end of transportation of convicts to Australia . Restrictions on colonial trade were loosened and responsible (i.e. semi-autonomous) government was introduced in some territories. Throughout most of the 19th century Britain was the most powerful country in the world. The period from 1815 to 1914 , known as
5290-464: The Irving business all through supper. He sank so low down in his chair that his chin was almost on a level with the table, and twice he kicked Carrie under the table, upset his wine, and flashed a knife uncomfortably near Gowing's face." In T. S. Eliot 's poem, " Gus: The Theatre Cat " ( c. 1939 ), the title character's old age and theatrical distinction are expressed in the couplet: For he once
5405-472: The Lyceum during Irving's term as sole manager (at the beginning of 1899 the theatre passed into the hands of a limited-liability company) were Arthur Conan Doyle 's Waterloo (1894); J. Comyns Carr 's King Arthur in 1895; Cymbeline , in which Irving played Iachimo, in 1896; Sardou 's Madame Sans-Gene in 1897; and Peter the Great , a play by Laurence Irving, the actor's second son, in 1898. Irving received
5520-574: The Lyceum, Terry had fled her first marriage and conceived two out-of-wedlock children with architect-designer Edward William Godwin , but regardless of how much and how often her behavior defied the strict morality expected by her Victorian audiences, she somehow remained popular. It could be said that Irving found his family in his professional company, which included his ardent supporter and manager Bram Stoker and Terry's two illegitimate children, Teddy and Edy . Whether Irving's long, spectacularly successful relationship with leading lady Ellen Terry
5635-549: The Origin of Species (1859), which sought to explain biological evolution by natural selection, gained a high profile in the public consciousness. Simplified (and at times inaccurate) popular science was increasingly distributed through a variety of publications which caused tension with the professionals. There were significant advances in various fields of research, including statistics , elasticity , refrigeration , natural history , electromagnetism , and logic . Known as
5750-605: The Russian Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar, that "he could imitate Irving". In the 1995 film A Midwinter's Tale by Kenneth Branagh , two actors discuss Irving, and one of them, Richard Briers does an imitation of his speech. In the play The Woman in Black , set in the Victorian era, the actor playing Kipps tells Kipps 'We'll make an Irving of you yet,' in Act 1, as Kipps is not a very good actor due to his inexperience. In
5865-465: The Victorian era covers the duration of Victoria's reign as Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , from her accession on 20 June 1837—after the death of her uncle, William IV —until her death on 22 January 1901, after which she was succeeded by her eldest son, Edward VII . Her reign lasted 63 years and seven months, a longer period than any of her predecessors. The term 'Victorian'
SECTION 50
#17330850695125980-420: The Victorian heyday: mid-Victorianism, 1851 to 1879. He saw the latter period as characterised by a distinctive mixture of prosperity, domestic prudery , and complacency —what G. M. Trevelyan called the 'mid-Victorian decades of quiet politics and roaring prosperity'. The Reform Act , which made various changes to the electoral system including expanding the franchise, had been passed in 1832. The franchise
6095-631: The Victorian view of femininity, but their involvement did increase as the period progressed. For the middle classes, many leisure activities such as table games could be done in the home while domestic holidays to rural locations such as the Lake District and Scottish Highlands were increasingly practical. The working classes had their own culture separate from that of their richer counterparts, various cheaper forms of entertainment and recreational activities provided by philanthropy . Trips to resorts such as Blackpool were increasingly popular towards
6210-447: The West." The rapid growth in the urban population included the new industrial and manufacturing cities, as well as service centres such as Edinburgh and London. Private renting from housing landlords was the dominant tenure. P. Kemp says this was usually of advantage to tenants. Overcrowding was a major problem with seven or eight people frequently sleeping in a single room. Until at least
6325-497: The accuracy of the Old Testament grew among people with higher levels of education. Northern English and Scottish academics tended to be more religiously conservative, whilst agnosticism and even atheism (though its promotion was illegal) gained appeal among academics in the south. Historians refer to a 'Victorian Crisis of Faith', a period when religious views had to readjust to accommodate new scientific knowledge and criticism of
6440-484: The audience, providing two separate exits for every section of the audience, improved stage construction including a smoke flue, and fire-resistant construction throughout. The first theatre built to these principles was the rebuilt New Theatre Royal in Exeter. From 1878, Bram Stoker worked for Irving as a business manager at the Lyceum. Stoker idolised Irving to the point that "As one contemporary remarked, 'To Bram, Irving
6555-548: The book. The center's library holds over 300 books from Craig's personal collection. In addition to the archive of Edward Gordon Craig, the Ransom Center holds important holdings relating to Craig's mother Ellen Terry , as well as the archive of his son Edward Carrick . A play by David Hare , to premiere in 2025 and starring Ralph Fiennes as Henry Irving, Grace Pervades , explores the life of Irving, Terry, Craig and his sister Edith. The Society of Theatre Research offers
6670-650: The character he was representing with remarkable facility. He gained recognition by degrees, and in 1866 Ruth Herbert engaged him as her leading man and sometime stage director at the St. James's Theatre , London, where she first played Doricourt in The Belle's Stratagem . One piece that he directed there was W. S. Gilbert 's first successful solo play, Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack (1866) The next year he joined
6785-639: The characters of Wolsey in Henry VIII and of the title character in King Lear were followed in 1893 by a performance of Becket in Tennyson 's play of the same name . During these years, too, Irving, with the whole Lyceum company, paid several successful visits to the United States and Canada, which were repeated in succeeding years. As Terry aged, there seemed to be fewer opportunities for her in his company; that
6900-489: The children in school; in 1840 only about 20 per cent of the children in London had any schooling. By the 1850s, around half of the children in England and Wales were in school (not including Sunday school ). From the 1833 Factory Act onwards, attempts were made to get child labourers into part time education, though this was often difficult to achieve. Only in the 1870s and 1880s did children begin to be compelled into school. Work continued to inhibit children's schooling into
7015-539: The company of the newly opened Queen's Theatre, where he acted with Charles Wyndham , J. L. Toole , Lionel Brough, John Clayton , Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Wigan , Ellen Terry and Nellie Farren . This was followed by short engagements at the Haymarket Theatre , Drury Lane, and the Gaiety Theatre . In the spring of 1869, Irving was one of the original twelve members of The Lambs of London —assembled by John Hare as
SECTION 60
#17330850695127130-429: The craft of the director – a theatre where action, words, colour and rhythm combine in dynamic dramatic form. All of his life, Craig sought to capture "pure emotion" or "arrested development" in the plays on which he worked. Even during the years when he was not producing plays, Craig continued to make models, to conceive stage designs and to work on directorial plans that were never to reach performance. He believed that
7245-774: The diplomatic struggles of the Great Game and the Scramble for Africa . In 1840, Queen Victoria married her German cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . The couple had nine children, who themselves married into various royal families, and the queen thus became known as the 'grandmother of Europe'. In 1861, Albert died. Victoria went into mourning and withdrew from public life for ten years. In 1871, with republican sentiments growing in Britain, she began to return to public life. In her later years, her popularity soared as she became
7360-457: The director who seeks to interpret drama truly, and commits to training in all aspects of dramatic art, can restore the "Art of the Theatre." Maintaining that the director should seek a faithful interpretation of the text, Craig argues that audiences go to the theatre to see, rather than to hear, plays. The design elements may transcend reality and function as symbols, he thought, thereby communicating
7475-465: The early 20th century. 19th-century Britain saw a huge population increase accompanied by rapid urbanisation stimulated by the Industrial Revolution. In the 1901 census , more than three out of every four people were classified as living in an urban area, compared to one in five a century earlier. Historian Richard A. Soloway wrote that "Great Britain had become the most urbanized country in
7590-424: The end of period. Initially the industrial revolution increased working hours, but over the course of the 19th century a variety of political and economic changes caused them to fall back down to and in some cases below pre-industrial levels, creating more time for leisure. Before the Industrial Revolution, daily life had changed little for hundreds of years. The 19th century saw rapid technological development with
7705-453: The end of the century. Private education for wealthier children, boys and more gradually girls, became more formalised over the course of the century. The growing middle class and strong evangelical movement placed great emphasis on a respectable and moral code of behaviour. This included features such as charity, personal responsibility, controlled habits, child discipline and self-criticism. As well as personal improvement, importance
7820-470: The end of the century. In 1876, an American patented the telephone . A little over a decade later, 26,000 telephones were in service in Britain. Multiple switchboards were installed in every major town and city. Guglielmo Marconi developed early radio broadcasting at the end of the period. The railways were important economically in the Victorian era, allowing goods, raw materials, and people to be moved around, stimulating trade and industry. They were also
7935-522: The expression of his ideas. Irving's idiosyncratic style of acting and its effect on amateur players was mildly satirised in The Diary of a Nobody . Mr Pooter's son brings Mr Burwin-Fosselton of the Holloway Comedians to supper, a young man who entirely monopolised the conversation, and: "...who not only looked rather like Mr Irving but seemed to imagine he was the celebrated actor... he began doing
8050-516: The family, and the idea that marriage should be based on romantic love gained popularity. A clear separation was established between the home and the workplace, which had often not been the case before. The home was seen as a private environment, where housewives provided their husbands with a respite from the troubles of the outside world. Within this ideal, women were expected to focus on domestic matters and to rely on men as breadwinners. Women had limited legal rights in most areas of life, and
8165-533: The first actor to be awarded a knighthood , indicating full acceptance into the higher circles of British society. Irving was born to a working-class family in Keinton Mandeville in the county of Somerset . W.H. Davies , the poet, was a cousin. Irving spent his childhood living with his aunt, Mrs Penberthy, at Halsetown in Cornwall . He competed in a recitation contest at a local Methodist chapel where he
8280-579: The first ever accorded an actor. He was also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Dublin ( LL.D 1892), Cambridge ( Litt.D 1898), and Glasgow ( LL.D 1899). He also received the Komthur Cross, 2nd class, of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Saxe-Meiningen . His acting divided critics; opinions differed as to the extent to which his mannerisms of voice and deportment interfered with or assisted
8395-414: The first time. Whilst some attempts were made to improve living conditions, slum housing and disease remained a severe problem. The period saw significant scientific and technological development. Britain was advanced in industry and engineering in particular, but somewhat undeveloped in art and education. Great Britain's population increased rapidly, while Ireland's fell sharply. In the strictest sense,
8510-656: The founder of the Moscow Art Theatre , who invited him to direct their famous production of Hamlet with the company, which opened in December 1911. After settling in Italy , Craig created a school of theatrical design with support from Lord Howard de Walden , the Arena Goldoni in Florence. During World War I, he wrote a cycle of puppet plays, the Drama for Fools and published a little theatre magazine, The Marionnette (1918). Craig
8625-525: The house were at a low ebb when the tide was turned by Irving's sudden success as Mathias in The Bells , a version of Erckmann-Chatrian 's Le Juif polonais by Leopold Lewis , a property which Irving had found for himself. The play ran for 150 nights, established Irving at the forefront of the British drama, and would prove a popular vehicle for Irving for the rest of his professional life. With Bateman, Irving
8740-534: The life of Irving, Terry and Terry's children, Edith Craig and Edward Gordon Craig . In 1906, Bram Stoker published a two-volume biography about Irving called Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving . Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire , the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria , from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed
8855-420: The management of sewage and water eventually giving the UK the most advanced system of public health protection anywhere in the world. The quality and safety of household lighting improved over the period with oil lamps becoming the norm in the early 1860s, gas lighting in the 1890s and electric lights beginning to appear in the homes of the richest by the end of the period. Medicine advanced rapidly during
8970-406: The manager for the company. In 1878, Irving entered into a partnership with actress Ellen Terry and re-opened the Lyceum under his own management. With Terry as Ophelia and Portia, he revived Hamlet and produced The Merchant of Venice (1879). His Shylock was as much discussed as his Hamlet had been, the dignity with which he invested the vengeful Jewish merchant marking a departure from
9085-444: The middle of the 19th century to 'diminished cruelty to animals, criminals, lunatics, and children (in that order)'. Legal restrictions were placed on cruelty to animals. Restrictions were placed on the working hours of child labourers in the 1830s and 1840s. Further interventions took place throughout the century to increase the level of child protection. Use of the death penalty also decreased. Crime rates fell significantly in
9200-487: The middle- and working-classes a role in politics. However, all women and a large minority of men remained outside the system into the early 20th century. Cities were given greater political autonomy and the labour movement was legalised. From 1845 to 1852, the Potato Famine caused mass starvation, disease and death in Ireland, sparking large-scale emigration. The Corn Laws were repealed in response to this. Across
9315-548: The movements of the actors and of light, and introduced the idea of a "unified stage picture" that covered all the elements of design. After finding little financial success in Britain, Craig set out for Germany in 1904. While there, he wrote one of his most famous works, the essay The Art of the Theatre (later reprinted with the title On the Art of the Theatre ). In 1908, Isadora Duncan introduced Craig to Konstantin Stanislavski ,
9430-470: The night, and chose never to see her again. He maintained a discreet distance from his children as well, but became closer to them as they grew older. Florence Irving never divorced Irving, and once he had been knighted she styled herself "Lady Irving"; Irving never remarried. His elder son, Harry Brodribb Irving (1870–1919), usually known as "H B Irving", became a famous actor and later a theatre manager. His younger son, Laurence Irving (1871–1914), became
9545-537: The play are "O Lord, into thy hands," but, as a correspondent noted, "Then the curtain falls, and within a very short time, having just reached his hotel, the great actor breathed his last." The chair that he was sitting in before he died is now at the Garrick Club . He was cremated and his ashes buried in Westminster Abbey , thereby becoming the first person to be cremated prior to interment at Westminster. There
9660-449: The point that the figure of Dracula—which Stoker began to write notes for in 1890—was inspired by Henry Irving himself. … Stoker's numerous descriptions of Irving correspond so closely to his rendering of the fictional count that contemporaries commented on the resemblance. … But Bram Stoker also internalized the fear and animosity his employer inspired in him, making them the foundations of his gothic fiction. The chief remaining novelties at
9775-619: The political sitcom Yes, Prime Minister (sequel to Yes Minister ), in the episode "The Patron of the Arts", first aired on 14 January 1988, the Prime Minister is asked what was the last play he'd seen, and replies "Hamlet." When asked "Whose?" – specifically, who played Hamlet, not who wrote it – he is unable to remember and is prompted with the suggestion "Henry Irving?" to audience laughter. A play by David Hare , to premiere in 2025 and starring Ralph Fiennes as Irving, Grace Pervades , explores
9890-409: The relief fund for survivors and orphans, sending £100. The fire caused Irving to become involved in ensuring better safety for theatres, and he developed the "Irving Safety Theatre" principles, working with eminent architect Alfred Darbyshire . These principles included making the theatre site isolated, dividing the auditorium from the back of house, a minimum height above street level for any part of
10005-420: The rest. He married Florence O'Callaghan on 15 July 1869 at St. Marylebone, London, but his personal life took second place to his professional life. On opening night of The Bells , 25 November 1871, Florence, who was pregnant with their second child, criticised his profession: "Are you going on making a fool of yourself like this all your life?" Irving exited their carriage at Hyde Park Corner , walked off into
10120-405: The second half of the 19th century. Sociologist Christie Davies linked this change to attempts to morally educate the population, especially at Sunday schools . Contrary to popular belief, Victorian society understood that both men and women enjoyed copulation . Chastity was expected of women, whilst attitudes to male sexual behaviour were more relaxed. The development of police forces led to
10235-471: The situation: Hideous slums, some of them acres wide, some no more than crannies of obscure misery, make up a substantial part of the metropolis... In big, once handsome houses, thirty or more people of all ages may inhabit a single room Hunger and poor diet was a common aspect of life across the UK in the Victorian period, especially in the 1840s, but the mass starvation seen in the Great Famine in Ireland
10350-491: The soul of the dramatic poet, and who has ever served as the true and loyal interpreter of the poet," he proclaimed, and "this is the marionette." On the Art of the Theatre (1911) is written as a dialogue between a Playgoer and a Stage Director, who examine the problems of the nature of stage directing. Craig argues that it was not dramatists, but rather performers who made the first works of drama , using action, words, line, colour and rhythm. Craig goes on to contend that only
10465-402: The spread of diseases and squalid living conditions in many places exacerbated the problem. The population of England, Scotland and Wales grew rapidly during the 19th century. Various factors are considered contributary to this, including a rising fertility rate (though it was falling by the end of the period), the lack of a catastrophic pandemic or famine in the island of Great Britain during
10580-792: The traditional interpretation of the role. After the production of Tennyson's The Cup and revivals of Othello (in which Irving played Iago to Edwin Booth 's title character) and Romeo and Juliet , there began a period at the Lyceum which had a potent effect on the English stage. Much Ado about Nothing (1882) was followed by Twelfth Night (1884); an adaptation of Goldsmith 's Vicar of Wakefield by W. G. Wills (1885); Faust (1885); Macbeth (1888, with incidental music by Arthur Sullivan ); The Dead Heart , by Watts Phillips (1889); Ravenswood by Herman, and Merivales' dramatic version of Scott 's Bride of Lammermoor (1890). Portrayals in 1892 of
10695-402: The war effort, and the evangelical movement's push for moral improvement. There is evidence that the expected standards of moral behaviour were reflected in action as well as rhetoric across all classes of society. For instance, an analysis suggested that less than 5% of working class couples cohabited before marriage. Historian Harold Perkin argued that the change in moral standards led by
10810-448: Was "a gentleman who is believed to subsist on an exclusive diet of the famous Bath Oliver Biscuit". Craig's idea of using neutral, mobile, non-representational screens as a staging device is probably his most famous scenographic concept. In 1910 Craig filed a patent which described in considerable technical detail a system of hinged and fixed flats that could be quickly arranged to cater for both internal and external scenes. He presented
10925-508: Was a Star of the highest degree-- He has acted with Irving, he's acted with Tree . These verses appear in the lyrics of the homonymous song in Andrew Lloyd Webber 's 1981 musical Cats . In the 1963 West End musical comedy Half a Sixpence the actor Chitterlow does an impression of Irving in The Bells . Percy French 's burlesque heroic poem " Abdul Abulbul Amir " lists among the mock-heroic attributes of Abdul's adversary,
11040-500: Was advised to submit the letter to the Home Office to ensure Prince's continued incarceration, which Irving declined to do. In 1898 Irving was Rede Lecturer at the University of Cambridge . The new regime at the Lyceum was signalled by the production of Sardou's Robespierre in 1899, in which Irving reappeared after a serious illness, and in 1901 by an elaborate revival of Coriolanus . Irving's only subsequent production in London
11155-479: Was an English modernist theatre practitioner ; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer , as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings. Craig was the son of actress Dame Ellen Terry . The Gordon Craig Theatre , built in Stevenage (the town of his birth), was named in his honour in 1975. The illegitimate son of the architect Edward Godwin and the actress Ellen Terry , Craig
11270-583: Was as Sardou's Dante (1903) at the Drury Lane. On 13 October 1905, at 67 years old, Irving had completed a performance and suffered a stroke after returning to his lodging at the lobby of the Midland Hotel, Bradford , where he died before medical attention could arrive. A more dramatic, but untrue story, would later be written by Thomas Anstey Guthrie in his 'Long Retrospect': "Within three months, on 13 October 1905, Henry Irving, when appearing as Becket at
11385-506: Was beaten by William Curnow , later the editor of The Sydney Morning Herald . He attended City Commercial School for two years before going to work in the office of a law firm at age 13. When he saw Samuel Phelps play Hamlet soon after this, he sought lessons, letters of introduction, and work in the Lyceum Theatre in Sunderland in 1856, labouring against great odds until his 1871 success in The Bells in London set him apart from all
11500-597: Was born Edward Godwin on 16 January 1872 in Railway Street, Stevenage , in Hertfordshire , England, and baptised at age 16 as Edward Henry Gordon. He attended Bradfield College in Berkshire from May 1886 to July 1887. He took the surname Craig by deed poll at age 21. Craig spent much of his childhood backstage at the Lyceum Theatre , where his mother was the leading lady to actor Sir Henry Irving . Craig later wrote
11615-421: Was considered extremely difficult to work with and ultimately refused to direct or design any project over which he did not have complete artistic control. This led to his withdrawal from practical theatre production. His later career is remarkable for how little he achieved after the age of forty, during a long period of over fifty years. In 1929, Craig produced a remarkable series of woodcuts as illustrations for
11730-526: Was expanded again by the Second Reform Act in 1867. The Third Reform Act in 1884 introduced a general principle of one vote per household. All these acts and others simplified the electoral system and reduced corruption. Historian Bruce L Kinzer describes these reforms as putting the United Kingdom on the path towards becoming a democracy. The traditional aristocratic ruling class attempted to maintain as much influence as possible while gradually allowing
11845-478: Was generally then known as natural philosophy, but it took a while to catch on. Having been previously dominated by amateurs with a separate income, the Royal Society admitted only professionals from 1847 onwards. The British biologist Thomas Henry Huxley indicated in 1852 that it remained difficult to earn a living as a scientist alone. Scientific knowledge and debates such as that about Charles Darwin 's On
11960-448: Was given to social reform. Utilitarianism was another philosophy that saw itself as based on science rather than on morality, but also emphasised social progress. An alliance formed between these two ideological strands. The reformers emphasised causes such as improving the conditions of women and children, giving police reform priority over harsh punishment to prevent crime, religious equality, and political reform in order to establish
12075-467: Was in contemporaneous usage to describe the era. The era can also be understood in a more extensive sense—the 'long Victorian era'—as a period that possessed sensibilities and characteristics distinct from the periods adjacent to it, in which case it is sometimes dated to begin before Victoria's accession—typically from the passage of or agitation for (during the 1830s) the Reform Act 1832 , which introduced
12190-401: Was low, punishments severe, work was dangerous and disrupted children's development (often leaving them too tired to play even in their free time). Early labour could do lifelong harm; even in the 1960s and '70s, the elderly people of industrial towns were noted for their often unusually short stature, deformed physiques, and diseases associated with unhealthy working conditions. Reformers wanted
12305-557: Was one reason she eventually left, moving on into less steady but nonetheless beloved stage work, including solo performances of Shakespeare's women. In 1887, the Exeter Theatre Royal fire claimed the lives of 186 people, injuring dozens more, during a performance of The Romany Rye being staged by fellow actor-manager Wilson Barrett at the Theatre Royal, Exeter . Irving was one of the first high-profile people to donate to
12420-435: Was romantic as well as professional has been the subject of much historical speculation. Most of their correspondence was lost or burned by her descendants. According to Michael Holroyd 's book about Irving and Terry, A Strange Eventful History : Years later, when Irving was dead, Marguerite Steen asked Ellen whether she really had been Irving's lover, and she promptly answered: 'Of course I was. We were terribly in love for
12535-934: Was seen in W. G. Wills ' Charles I and Eugene Aram , in Richelieu , and in 1874 in Hamlet . The unconventionality of this last performance, during a run of 200 nights, aroused keen discussion and singled him out as the most interesting English actor of his day. In 1875, again with Bateman, he was seen as the title character in Macbeth ; in 1876 as Othello , and as Philip in Alfred Lord Tennyson 's Queen Mary ; in 1877 in Richard III ; and in The Lyons Mail . During this time he became lifelong friends with Bram Stoker, who praised him in his review of Hamlet and thereafter joined Irving as
12650-481: Was sent for by the man who attended Sir Henry from the theatre, who told me that he had fainted or collapsed on entering the Midland Hotel. Hurrying down, I found Sir Henry lying in the passage— dead." Stoker added, "Had he died on the stage, as might have happened, it would have given shock and bitter memory to many tender hearts." Guthrie's confusion may have come from the fact that the character Becket's last words in
12765-471: Was the beginning of a productive collaboration between the two prominent theater directors, who introduced each other's theoretical writings to foreign readers. Craig's archive was purchased by Hans Posse on instructions from Adolf Hitler , for Hitler's planned Führermuseum in Linz, Austria. The purchase price was nearly 2.4 million French francs. One of the largest collections of Edward Gordon Craig's papers
12880-514: Was the chief inspiration for the title character . In his 2002 paper for The American Historical Review , "Buffalo Bill Meets Dracula: William F. Cody, Bram Stoker, and the Frontiers of Racial Decay", historian Louis S. Warren writes: Scholars have long agreed that keys to the Dracula tale's origin and meaning lie in the manager's relationship with Irving in the 1880s. … There is virtual unanimity on
12995-461: Was the predominant power in the world. Victorian society valued a high standard of personal conduct across all sections of society. The emphasis on morality gave impetus to social reform but also placed restrictions on certain groups' liberty. Prosperity rose during the period, but debilitating undernutrition persisted. Literacy and childhood education became near universal in Great Britain for
13110-448: Was unique. Levels of poverty fell significantly during the 19th century from as much as two thirds of the population in 1800 to less than a third by 1901. However, 1890s studies suggested that almost 10% of the urban population lived in a state of desperation lacking the food necessary to maintain basic physical functions. Attitudes towards the poor were often unsympathetic and they were frequently blamed for their situation. In that spirit,
13225-432: Was well developed, education and the arts were mediocre. Wage rates continued to improve in the later 19th century: real wages (after taking inflation into account) were 65 per cent higher in 1901 compared to 1871. Much of the money was saved, as the number of depositors in savings banks rose from 430,000 in 1831 to 5.2 million in 1887, and their deposits from £14 million to over £90 million. Children had always played
#511488