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Xerox UnfversHy Microfilms 300 North Zaeb Road Ann Artx>r, Michigan 48106 74-24,297 BASEHART, John Richard, 1936- THE DEVELOPMENT OF HENRY IRVING'S SHAKESPEAREAN STAGING DURING HIS EARLY YEARS AT THE LYCEUM THEATRE. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1974 Theater I University Microfilms, A XERWCompany, Ann Arbor. Michigan 0 1974 JOHN RICHARD BASEHART ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED. THE DEVELOPMENT OF HENRY IRVING'S SHAKESPEAREAN STAGING DURING HIS EARLY YEARS AT THE LYCEUM THEATRE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By John Richard Basehart, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1974 Reading Committee: Approved by Professor John C. Morrow Professor Roy H. Bowen Professor Alan Woods Adviser Department of Theatre ACKNOWLEDGMENTS For providing a microfilm of one of the prompt­ books used in this study and for permission to use illus­ trations from it, I wish to thank Dr. Levi Fox, Director of The Shakespeare Centre, Ctratford-upon-Avon. Also, I thank Dr. Jeanne Newlin and Ms. Martha R. Mahard for per­ mission to examine the 1874 Hamlet promptbook and other material at the Harvard Theatre Collection. Also, I appreciate the efforts of the curator of The Ellen Terry Memorial Museum at Smallhythe in providing material for me. In addition, I would like to thank Mr. William E. Miller for his kind assistance when I visited the Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library at the University of Pennsylvania. I am also indebted to The Ohio State University Theatre Research Institute for their help in acquiring additional material, and to the Graduate Committee of the Department of Theatre for providing funds for travel expenses encountered in the research. I owe special thanks to Dr. Alan Woods for his patience and guidance in the development of this disserta­ tion, and to Dr. John C. Morrow and Dr. Roy H. Bowen for their help and encouragement with this study and through­ out ny years of graduate work at The Ohio State University. ii VITA November 25, 1936 B o m - Newcomers town, Ohio 1962........... B.A., Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 1962-1963 .... Director of Family Plays, Division of Theatre, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 1963-1966 .... Teaching Associate, Department of Theatre, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1965........... M.A., Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 1966-1968 .... Instructor of Speech and Theatre, Wagner College, Staten Island, New York 1968-1969 .... Teaching Associate, Department of Theatre, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1969-1973 .... Academic Advisor, University College, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1973-1974 .... Assistant to the College Secretary, University College, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Theatre Theatre History and Criticism. Professors John H. McDowell and John C. Morrow Dramatic Literature. Professor John C. Morrow vita (Continued) Theatre Production. Professor Roy H. Bowen Rhetoric. Professor Harold P. Harding Speech-Communication. Professor Franklin H. Knower XV t a b l e of c o n t e n t s Page acknowledgments .......................... ii VITA............................................. iii LIST OF TABLES. ............................ vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS........................... viii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION............................ 1 The Research Topic and Purpose Methodology A Review of Previous Research The Research Documents II. THE HAMLET PRODUCTION OF 1874 ........... 14 Introduction An Analysis of the Directorial Aspects Summary III. THE MACBETH PRODUCTION OF 1875........... 114 Introduction An Analysis of the Directorial Aspects Summary IV. THE RICHARD III PRODUCTION OF 1877....... 142 Introduction An Analysis of the Directorial Aspects Summary 4% Table of Contents (Continued) Chapter Page V. THE HRiNILET PRODUCTION OF 1878............ 171 Introduction An Analysis of the Directorial Aspects Summary VI. CONCLUSIONS............................... 233 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................... 257 VI LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Comparison of Scene Length of the Standard Text of Hamlet and Irving's Version. 89 2 List of Scenes Showing Groove Placement. 104 3 Comparison of Scene Length of the Standard Text of Macbeth and Irving's Version . 121 4 Comparison of Scene Length of the Standard Text of Richard III and Irving's Version . 152 5 Comparison of Scene Length of the Standard Text of Hamlet and Irving's 1874 and 1878 Acting Versions .................. 221 V I 1 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Plate Page I Floorplan of Entrance and Groove Locations of the Lyceum Theatre Stage. .........27 II Setting for Hamlet (1874), Act I, Scene ii . 33 III Sketch of Floorplan for Hamlet (1874), Act I, Scene ii. .................. 39 IV Setting for Hamlet (1874), Act II, Scene ii. 53 V Sketch of Floorplan for Hamlet (1874), Act III, Scene i ....................... 57 VI Hamlet with Torch, Act III, Scene ii .... 66 VII Sketch of Floorplan for Hamlet (1874), Act III, Scene i i i ..................... 69 VIII Sketch of Floorplan for Hamlet (1874), Act V, Scene i ......................... 78 IX Sketch of Floorplan for Hamlet (1874), Act V, Scene i i i ....................... 83 X Irving as Macbeth, Act I I I ................ 138 XI Floorplan for Hamlet (1878), Act I, Scene i i .............................. 185 XII Setting for Forbes-Robertson's Hamlet (1913) , Act I, Scene i i i ............... 187 XIII Drawing of Ghost, Act I, Scene v .......... 194 XIV Sketch of Floorplan for Hamlet (1874), Act II, Scene i i .............. .200 XV Floorplan for Hamlet (1878), Act II, Scene i i .............................. 202 XVI Floorplan for Hamlet (1878), Act III, Scene i ................................ 206 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Research Topic and Purpose The importance of Henry Irving, who for more than twenty years was one of the most prominent figures in the English theatre, is well established. He was the first of his profession to be honored with knighthood; the inno­ vator of many creative interpretations of Shakespearean roles; the culminator of the nineteenth century trend in scenic embellishment of Shake spe are an plays; and, the actor-manager who stood at the threshold of the develop­ ment of the modem stage director. The achievements of Henry Irving are well known, and are fairly well recorded in the history of theatre. His work as an actor from his early days in the provinces to his farewell tours is the subject of several biographies and other works: the stag­ ing of Irving's magnificent productions of the 1880's and later has also received recognition. Very little, however, is known of his early years as a director of plays before he assumed the management of the Lyceum Theatre. The purpose of this inquiry is to examine Irving's eaurly years as a director of Shakespearean plays. Speci­ fically, this study examines Irving's first Shakespearean production under the management of Hezekiah Bateman and concludes with his first production under his own manage­ ment. The productions examined are Hamlet (1874), Macbeth (1875), Richard III (1877), and Hamlet ( 1 8 7 8 ) By exam­ ining these productions, this study is intended to estab­ lish an understanding of the nature of Irving’s development as a director of Shakespearean plays, a hitherto unexamined subject. An appreciation of his early work, before he fully developed his style of Shake spe are an production for which he is remembered, will provide a foundation for tracing Irving's later development; and, perhaps help to answer such questions as what effect the Meiningen player's performances at the Drury Lane Theatre in 1881 may have had on Irving's productions? The rise of the actor-manager was a phenomenon of the nineteenth century theatre, and Irving's development 4rhe only Shakespearean play produced during this period that is not treated in this study is the 1876 pro­ duction of Othello. This play is omitted because of the lack of research material— specifically, no promptbooks have survived, and the press took comparatively little notice of it. In addition, the production only had a limited run.