Henry Irving: Outstanding 19th Century British Actor. Concerning the Issue of the Genre of the Stage

Abstract

The article is devoted to the English actor and theatrical producer of the Victorian Age, Henry Irving (John Henry Broddrib). During the course of his entire life on stage Irving aspired towards recognition of himself as a tragic actor. At the same time his natural gift revealed itself with full force in the genre of the melodrama and in characteristic roles. The article presents an analysis of the roles that disclose in the most precise and bright way the issue of the theater genre in the activities of Henry Irving. The production of the play “The Bells” by Leopold Lewis would become the indisputable theatrical victory of Irving as an actor and producer. The characteristic image of the respectable burgomaster and the repentant murderer Matthias acquires tragic features. William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” would be perceived in an ambivalent manner by the audiences and professional critics. The tragic prince of Denmark would present himself before the public as a live person with his passions, pain and turmoil. The tragedies in Irving’s productions differed cardinally from the traditional interpretations of that time, and the Victorian public was not prepared to accept at once such directional solutions. Notwithstanding this, the Lyceum Theater under his direction became the theatrical center of Victorian London. Matthias, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear and Richard III were the roles that disclosed the tragic duality of Henry Irving’s theatrical gift. Keywords: Henry Irving, theater of the Victorian Age, English theater, Shakespeare, melodrama, tragedy.