Category: The Irvingite

  • The Irving Society Newsletter No 51

    The Irving Society Newsletter No 51

    FOURTEENTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

    Concert Artistes’ Association, 20 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9HP
    Sunday, 7 February, 2010, at 3.00pm
    Report Michael Kilgarriff Photos Sylvia Starshine

    At the Irving Statue a record number of members and guests watched in admiration as Frank Barrie, with a deft twist of the wrist, lobbed our Birthday wreath precisely into place between the bronze feet of the man we all admire so much. A grand tribute from one actor to another across the years.

    Due to the kindness of Glen Hayes, Vice-President of the CAA, we were once again able to hold our AGM at an address which Irving knew well, for the building had once been the home of the Green Room Club as well as providing him with offices after he lost control of the Lyceum Theatre.

    Our Chair, Frances Hughes, opened the proceedings by welcoming members and guests who had come from as far afield as Cardiff, the Wirral, Manchester and Glasgow. Highlights of the Society’s year had included a party to The Winter’s Tale at the Old Vic and the Annual Dinner, held for the first time at the New Cavendish Club, London W1, an evening deemed so successful that a repeat booking for this coming October has already been made. The Hon Secretary, the Hon Treasurer and the Committee were all praised for their work and their commitment.

    The Hon Sec reported that the Society now boasted 111 members, one more than last year. The death of Veronica Hickie was noted with deep regret, and the presence among us of her three daughters who had come to honour their Mother’s devotion to Irving and the Society was acknowledged with heartfelt applause.

    The customary thanks were offered to Hilary Phillips for maintaining her generous tradition of providing the wreath, to Gavin Clarke, archivist of the National Theatre, for providing a committee room, and to Richard Wadhams of Hogben Dunphy for auditing our accounts gratis.

    Raffle prizes this year were a terracotta bust of HI (donated by Brian Manvell), a framed print of HI as Vanderdecken (Alex Bisset) and sundry items of memorabilia including a Louis XI Lyceum programme from Mrs Bateman’s time as manager (Hon Sec). The splendid sum of £106 was raised, making the Hon Treas, Sylvia Starshine, very happy.

    In her report Sylvia pronounced herself content with the state of the Society’s finances, but nevertheless the subs, unchanged for four years, would have to be raised this coming October.

    Sir Donald Sinden displayed a frock coat which he had been given by the wardrobe mistress of the Birmingham Repertory Company; it had been donated by Sir John Martin-Harvey who claimed it had been worn by HI as Dubosc in The Lyons Mail. Further researches on the garment will be undertaken by Sylvia.

    The Society’s officers were re-elected unopposed, and the Committee was also voted in unopposed. A new member on the Committee is Michael Gaunt, replacing Brian Manvell who is retiring. The Chair applauded Brian’s work for and devotion to the Society, to which Brian responded by pleading age (90 this year) and increasing difficulties in travelling from Stratford-upon-Avon for meetings. The meeting showed its appreciation and affection by giving him a rousing ovation.

    Well received also was Michael Gaunt’s Heritage Lecture entitled An Unrequited Profession, in which Prof Gaunt, by outlining the careers of G. F. Cooke, Edmund Kean and Macready, with side references to other major actors of the era – the Kembles, Mrs Siddons, J. B. Booth, Phelps and of course Irving—showed that despite hardships, the nineteenth-century Stage could provide a fulfilling and respected career.

    After his talk Prof Gaunt cut the Birthday Cake; wine was taken and as usual members indulged the final hour in animated conviviality. Altogether an excellent meeting. One of the best.


    FOR SALE

    1. Collection of 180 theatre programmes from Irving to Olivier including : The Merchant of Venice Lyceum 1898, King Henry the Eighth Lyceum 1892 (100th perf.), Madame Sans-Gêne
      Lyceum 17 May 1897, Cymbeline Lyceum 11 November 1896. For a full list contact Bren Bailey on stubren@wanadoo.fr
    2. Although we failed to persuade Royal Mail to issue a commemorative stamp for HI’s centenary in 1905, it is now possible to order bespoke 1st class stamps with a sticker of Irving attached. These ‘Smilers’ are available from me for £1 each. Please enclose an SAE. Or you can generate your own from www.royalmail.com/smilers. After ordering, I was rung by Royal Mail to ask whether we had copyright clearance for the photo, and was it Gregory Peck…?! Ed.

    THE ROSE THEATRE

    2 Rose Alley, London SE1 9AS
    tel: 020 7261 9565
    www.rosetheatre.org.uk

    The first theatre on Bankside was built by Philip Henslowe in 1587. Its stage saw the original performances of plays by Kyd and Marlowe as well as Shakespeare’s Henry VI part 1 and Titus Andronicus, so we can be sure that the establishment of a permanent display area, performance space and educational and historical resource at the site would have had HI’s full support.

    The Rose Theatre Trust needs funds to make this project a reality and to continue excavations. Please consider making a donation or, better still, becoming a Friend.


    ELLEN TERRY FELLOWSHIP

    Report by Brian Manvell

    This year ’s AGM was held on Wednesday, 24 February, in the Ellen Terr y building of Coventry University. Although both the Chair of the Fellowship, Eric Stringer and the Hon Sec, Joyce Stringer, were present they felt unable to perform their official functions owing to temporary indisposition; accordingly, the formalities were presided over with her usual aplomb by our own Chair, Frances Hughes. Tina Gray, President, sent her apologies for absence due to a professional engagement in Edinburgh. However, Ellen Terry Craig and her sister Marie Taylor, E T ’ s great-granddaughters, were among the guests.

    Official matters being concluded, David Brind gave an interesting lecture on the work of Gordon Craig with especial reference to his designs for the Barn Theatre at Smallhythe. Full size reproductions were displayed including one which stretched almost the whole width of the room, this being the size of the Barn’s proscenium.

    Following this a group of second year Performing Arts Faculty students gave an extract from Thornton Wilder’s allegory of mankind The Skin of Our Teeth or, as the auth or himself termed it, ‘The history of the world in comic strip’. Limited as they were by lack of depth in the performing area, the students gave a very creditable account, attacking their roles with enthusiasm and justifying the warm applause which followed.

    Entertainment over, we had time to spare for socialising and coffee.


    THE STAGE ONLINE ARCHIVE

    Colin Hague

    Members might care to be reminded that The Stage archive is available on the internet at www.thestage.co.uk/archive. Records are available from the first edition in 1880 until 2007. Subs range from £150 for a full year’s unlimited access down to just £5 for 24 hours.


    DAVID F. CHESHIRE

    It was with sadness that we learned of David’s sudden death on 18 March at the age of 74. A member of the Society for many years, he was a former Information Officer at The Theatres Trust and
    Librarian of the Faculty of Art and Design at Middlesex Polytechnic. His publications include numerous articles, bibliographies and studies of the Music Hall as well as a biography of Ellen Terry.


    THE COLLECTED LETTERS OF ELLEN TERRY

    Pickering & Chatto are delighted to announce the publication of Volume 1 in their new series, The Collected Letters of Ellen Terry, edited by Katharine Cockin. This series will cover eight volumes and run until 2017, bringing c. 3000 previously unpublished letters from fifteen archives worldwide into the public domain.

    Although subject to selective destruction, the remaining cache shows Terry’s exuberant prose style and extensive range of correspondents, including W. E. Gladstone, Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll), George Bernard Shaw and Bram Stoker.

    More information can be found at: www.pickeringchatto.com/terry


    EVENTS FOR 2010

    Wednesday, 19 May, at 6.00pm
    Westminster Reference Library
    35 St Martin’s Street
    London WC2H 7HP

    Illustrated talk by Catherine Leonard on the RSC’s Costume Collection including items worn by HI and Ellen Terry. Bookings: Peter Collins 020 7641 5250 Admission Free. Coffee gratis.

    Saturday, 19 June, at 2.00pm
    Kensal Green Cemetery, London

    Conducted tour in conjunction with the STR, concentrating on the graves of Victorian theatrical, literary and artistic figures, eg Macready, Bateman, Toole. £10 inc. light refreshments and a
    specially printed guide. Places limited. Guides only: £4. Bookings: Hon Sec (see below)

    Friday, 22 October
    New Cavendish Club
    44 Great Cumberland Place
    London W1H 7BS
    Annual Dinner

    Details t.b.a.


    All communications to:
    Michael Kilgarriff, Editor/Hon Sec
    The Irving Society
    10 Kings Avenue, London W5 2SH
    tel & fax: 020 8566 8301
    email: secretary@theirvingsociety.org.uk
    www.theirvingsociety.org.uk

  • The Irving Society Newsletter No 50

    The Irving Society Newsletter No 50

    STOKER’S ACCOUNTS BOOK

    Michael K ilgarriff

    As mentioned in TI 49, Bram Stoker’s accounts book for the 188 7-8 tour of England and North America was auctioned on 19 November. The page reproduced here shows Bram’s signature.

    This fascinating record of nineteenth-century theatre finances on both sides of the Atlantic was owned by Stanley Weeden, a theatre production accountant who, perhaps, had been given it by a grateful client. Some years after his death it came into the possession of his daughter, Ann Cooke, who approached the Irving Society for a valuation. Two specialist dealers independently suggested £250; Mrs Cooke, however, decided to put it up for auction with a reserve of £1,000. In the meantime I emailed Dr Jeanne Youngson, one of our New York members, a Stoker enthusiast. She responded instantly, and also informed John Moore, Irish Vice-Chairman of the Bram Stoker Memorial Association, who rang m e offering to fly over from Dublin to pay spot cash.
    Mrs Cooke, however, preferred to honour her commitment to the auctioneer, Charles Hanson of Derby.

    A week or two later I saw that news of the auction had reached The Times, no less, which not only showed an illustration of two of the book’s pages but also declared the value to be between £5,000 and £10 ,000! This proved to be wildly optimistic, for in the event the book was sold to a phone bidder for £1,000. His name? John Moore.


    IS THIS A RUBBER DAGGER WHICH I SEE BEFORE ME?

    Member Ann Rachlin MBE has sent in this photo of the dagger used by HI in The Corsican Brothers. It is made of rubber , presumably to avoid accidents during the heat of performance, and the dedicatee, Dr Darlington, may have been an American medical officer of health. This fascinating prop, mounted in a glass case, was recently gifted to Ann by her cousin, whose mother was Fay Pomerance, the distinguished artist, and whose father, Ben Pomerance, a Sheffield man, was vicechairman of Maple, Waring & Gillow. He was also an Irving fanatic. With the item is a separate citation by Barry Duncan of The Thule Theatre Gallery. It is dated 194 8 and reads a s follows :

    ‘This eight inch rubb er dagger, later in the possession of his son, Laurence Irving, was used by Sir Henry when he produced Boucicault’s version of the drama after Dumas The Corsican Brothers at the Lyceum on Saturday, the18th of September 1880 . Sir Henry played the dual title role and the drama ran for 190 performances until the following April 9th, latterly in a double bill with Tennyson’s The Cup.2 Ten years later he revived the drama also at the Lyceum but it had always been a popular piece with Victorians ever since Charles Kean played it  for the first time at the Princess’s in Oxford Street where the great Frenchman Charles Fechter (who created the original in Paris in 1850) also later took the title role. Sir John Martin Harvey was the last of the great ones to play the part .’

    1. The letterhead reads: The Thule Theatre Gallery. The Thule Press. Barry Duncan 11, Saint Martins Court, London WC2. Tel: Temple Bar 1741.
    2. The Cup only had a comparatively short running time, hence the decision by Irving to double up the Poet Laureate’s somewhat stodgy two-acter with popular rip-roaring melodrama . It must have made for a long evening. – Editor.

     

    LONDON TOWN

    J. B. Booth.

    In his 1929 memoirs this gossipy observer of the London theatrical scene describes rehearsals at the Lyceum.

    ‘A comedian—he has over-acted badly—approaches the Chief for criticism.
    “Splendid, my boy, splendid,” jerks the great man, “ but why not a red- hot poker—eh—eh?”
    A young actress passes him . “Very nice frock—very nice indeed,” he comments. “What’s it for?”
    “I’m going to join a luncheon party after the rehearsal,” she replies nervously.
    “Go at once, my dear,” is the unexpected retort. “Don’t let the rehearsal detain you. But, tomorrow—come in your working clothes— with your mind full of work!”
    But a battle royal has been going on between Terriss, the ideal jeune premier, and Seymour Lucas, the designer of the costumes.
    “What is it?” demands Irving, and it appears that as the portly Henry VIII Terriss is to sacrifice his beautiful figure and be well padded. But Terriss will not have it.
    “Don’t be a fool, Bill,” says Irving shortly. “Henry had a stomach—play him with a stomach!”
    “I’m damned if I will!” explodes Terriss. “It’s more than my reputation is worth!”’

    Submitted by Richard Briers


     

    THE DEATH OF IRVING

    Richard Mangan’s piece in last month’s First Knight on the Irving Centenary celebrations of 193 8 included the following:

    The impresario Percy Burton…and Bram Stoker hurried to the Midland Hotel. ‘We found Sir Henry propped up in one of the hall chairs,’ said Burton. ‘He seemed to be unconscious. Stoker and I lifted him from the chair and laid him on the floor. It should have been done when he collapsed to allow him to breathe more freely. When the doctor arrived he listened just for one moment with his stethoscope and said “He has been dead two minutes.” Stoker and I carried Irving upstairs on a blanket.’

    But Stoker himself, in his Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (1906, vol II, pp356-8) describes the scene quite differently:

    In the hall were some twenty men grouped round Irving who lay at full length on the floor. One of the doctors, there were three of them there then, told me quietly that he was dead. He had died just two minutes b efore…Then w e carried him upstairs to his room and laid him on his bed.

    Laurence Irving, in his Henry Irving (1951, p 671) gives yet another version:

    As he entered the hotel he stumbled, but Shepherd (sic) caught him and helped him to the inner hall. ‘That chair…!’ he gasped, pointing to the nearest one. He sat down to rest for a moment. His tired heart no longer sustained the fight for breath. Losing consciousness, he slipped from the chair to the ground. A country doctor, who had been at the play and had missed his train, was having a drink in the manager’ s private room. Hearing someone call for a doctor, he went at once into the hall. An old gentleman, whom he did not recognise, lay unconscious on the floor; his head was supported b y a frail little fellow who was quietly weeping.

    Laurence Irving describes ‘Shepherd’ as Loveday’s assistant and messenger; Stoker says that Mr Sheppard was ‘ one of my personal assistants who always attended to Irving’s private matters.’ The ‘frail little fellow’ was Walter Collinson, HI’s long-serving dresser. See FK vol 9 no. 2 (December 2005) for further information on Irving’s death in articles by Sir Michael Davies and Donald Walker.


     

    THE TIMES

    31 January, 1938

    In an article to celebrate the centenary of Irving’s birth Sir John Martin-Harvey recalls HI’s comment to William Gillette who, despite being fifty, announced that he would play Hamlet for the first time. ‘Good God!’ said HI. ‘How do you know you won’t do yourself a grievous physical injury?’ Sir John continues:

    ‘I think there must have been something other than irony in his apparently caustic comment. If it had not possessed that “not analysable” quality of complicity, I doubt whether children would have been drawn to him as they undoubtedly were. A humorous instance occurred when he was playing the part of Mephistopheles. He was wont, in loitering about the market place with Faust, to approach a woman carrying a baby in her arms. The mother, when the devil offered to caress the child, was instructed to snatch her aside, while the child was to shrink in horror at the touch of the evil one. And indeed there seemed enough evil in the baleful eye of Mephistopheles to terrify any innocent. Not at all. The child st retched out her arms to him. So persistent was this display of affection that the business had to be cut out. Satan’s allures, however, still held the little one, and one night, when at the end of the act Irving stood in the centre of the stage acknowledging the applause of the audience, she escaped from her mother’s hands and, trotting forth from the wings , threw her podgy arms affectionately round the satanic knees and held on, not to be dislodged even when Mephistopheles patted her head with a whispered “ Little devil”!’


    OSCHOLARS

    This online organisation plans to publish articles and theses on all aspects of fin de siécle theatre under the title Upstage. Contributions are invited . For details contact www.oscholars.com


     

    EVENTS FOR 2010

    Sunday, 7 February

    Irving Statue, Charing Cross Road
    Laying of Birthday Wreath…….2.30pm
    Concert Artistes’ Association
    20 Bedford Street, London

    Annual General Meeting………..3.00pm

    Chitty-McKee Lecture……………4.00pm

    Speaker: Michael G aunt
    An Unrequited Profession

    May – details t.b.a.

    Westminster Reference Library

    Illustrated talk by Catherine Leonard on the RSC’s Costume Collection including costumes worn by H I and Ellen Terry.

    Saturday, 19 June, at 2.00pm

    Kensal Green Cemetery, London – Conducted tour in conjunction with the Society for Theatre Research. £7 (including light refreshments) + £3 for a specially printed guide.


    All communications to:
    Michael Kilgarriff, Editor/Hon Sec
    The Irving Society
    10 Kings Avenue, London W5 2SH
    tel & fax: 020 8566 8301
    email: secretary@theirvingsociety.org.uk
    www.theirvingsociety.org.uk  

  • The Irving Society Newsletter No 49

    The Irving Society Newsletter No 49

    ELEVENTH ANNUAL DINNER

    New Cavendish Club
    44 Great Cumberland Place, London W1 7BS
    Friday, 23 October, 2009

    On an unseasonably mild late-October evening we assembled in the bar of this elegant late-Georgian building, undaunted by problems on the Circle Line – Patron Sir Donald Sinden had been obliged to walk up the lengthy non-functioning escalator at Marble Arch. Another of our Patrons, Ellen Terry Craig, was escorted by her son, Ashley, representing yet another generation of ET descendants. Our third Patron, John H B Irving, sent best wishes for a happy evening.

    And so it turned out. The food was of superior standard as was the service and the cosiness of the ambience. In her welcoming speech our Chair, Frances Hughes, wittily managed to find a connection between the Club’s address, Great Cumberland Place, and Henry Irving, for in 1866 did not the actor take rooms in Old Quebec Street, just around the corner?

    At coffee it was my pleasant office to introduce our Guest of Honour, Peter Baldwin, whom I had first met in pantomime at Colchester in 1957. Peter’s entertaining and humorous reminiscences concentrated on his early stage work, only giving a glancing mention of his decades in Coronation Street as Derek Wilton. Instead we learnt of his early years in provincial rep and in particular of his incident-packed tours with Franco Zefirelli which included appearances at the legendary Teatro La Fenice in Venice. He also mentioned his deep interest in Victorian toy theatre and his association with Pollock’s Toy Shop in Covent Garden, of which he is co-owner. On sitting down, Peter was vigorously and warmly applauded.

    It was another congenial and buzzy event for the Society, and I shouldn’t be at all surprised if we find ourselves dining at the New Cavendish again in a year’s time. Editor.


    FOR SALE

    Mr Stephen Wells wishes to sell this framed letter drafted by Bram Stoker and signed by Irving. The le tterhead gives the itinerary of the Lyceum tour of North America 1895-6 and is dated 5 December 1896. The text is as follows:

    ‘My Dear Sir,
    I regret that it will not be in my power to meet the wishes of the Contemporary Club as to an appearance as in January I will be in the South. Indeed my plans are complete for the remainder of the tour.

    Believe me, Faithfully Yours, Henry Irving
    T. Cookwordin (?)’

    The Contemporary Club of Philadelphia had been addressed by Irving on 20 December, 1887, the title of his address being ‘The Lives and Genius of Burbage, Betterton, Garrick and Kean’, a talk first given at the University of Oxford on 26 June, 1886. The tour list is particularly interesting as it show the immense distances travelled; in the smaller towns visited only one or two performances would be given. (See First Knight December 2003 for details of the 1899-1900 tour.)

    The photograph of HI was taken c1890. Size of the glazed frame 12″ high x 13″ wide. Guide price £60 + P&P (Mr Wells lives in Croxley Green, Hertfordshire). If you wish to make a bid email the vendor on stephen.wells37@ntlworld.com or contact the Editor.


    THE WINTER’S TALE

    Old Vic, Wednesday 8 July, 2009

    This was the Society’s first theatre outing, and Sam Mendes’ production for the Bridge Theatre project was in all respects a treat for the eye, the ear, and the intellect. Far more knowledgeable pens than mine reviewed the play when it opened here last May, but for the record I will stress how much we enjoyed the excellence of the trans-Atlantic troupe, including Simon Russell Beale, Sinead Cusack, Ethan Hawke, and Rebecca Hall. On behalf of those of us who met before the matinee for luncheon at the Union Jack Club I’d like to thank Keith Hutton for arranging a most convivial preliminary to a most stimulating afternoon. Editor


    A RELIC TO BE SNEEZED AT

    In his 1943 autobiography, Seeking Bubbles, Esmond Knight recounts this story of appearing with Tom Heslewood in The Acts of Rahere in 1930.

    ‘Tom Heslewood, a wonderful character, who in his early days had been a designer for Irving, played Henry I. Tom was unmistakably one of the old school, and as we waited in the cold stone passages for our cue he would keep us all entranced with superb stories about the ‘Old Man’. It is strange how all actors of that period seemed to have evolved such a very definite type: the thin, lanky figure with long nose and lantern jaw. Tom looked magnificent in his Henry I robes, which, he told us, Irving had worn in such-and-such a production. One damp evening he sneezed, having a severe and running cold. “Damn, I’ve left my handkerchief in the dressing-room ,” he said, and automatically thrust his hand deep into one of the pockets concealed in the robes. “By Jove, here is one!” and he produced it, flattened out like a biscuit after many years in the shop which Tom once kept in Maiden Lane. He shook it out and peered at a name, faintly marked in the corner. “Good lord, one of the Old Man’s” he remarked casually, and with a loud blast, which echoed through the vaults, proceeded to blow his nose.’

    NB: Heslewood did not in fact design for HI, though he may have designed for H B Irving. Editor.


    ACCIDENT TO MR. HENRY IRVING

    Illustrated Police News, 21 May, 1887

    ‘Mr. Irving, the most popular actor of our time, was riding in a hansom cab one day last week when the vehicle collided with a brewer’s dray while turning the corner of Garrick street, and was immediately overturned . Mr. Irving had to crawl out on his hands and knees. He was bruised, but not seriously so, and w as able to perform on the same night. How the driver escaped is a mystery. He may think himself very fortunate.’ Submitted by Colin Hague


    EUGENE ARAM

    Review in The Penny Illustrated
    Saturday, 26 April, 1873

    ‘On Saturday Charles I gave place at the Lyceum to the morbid theme which Hood and Lord Lytton had, we thought, exhausted. Eugene Aram stalked the stage again at the bidding of Mr. W. G. W ills. Partly dropping Lord Lytton’s fictitious ad ditions, M r. Wills weaves with the traditional facts of Aram’s later life a thread of love story of the slenderest descriptions. In fact no mere dramatic idyll could well be simpler than the substance of his plot as it stands. [Then follows the customary detailed description of the action .] Mr. Henry Irving acting as Eugene Aram is, of course, very powerful, abounding with that intellectual play of features and weird characterisation which all London playgoers are now familiar with, and, equally of course, the Ruth of Miss Isabel Bateman is an extremely graceful assumption; but the gloomy nature of the subject will, we are afraid, sadly counterbalance the great merits of the acting.’


    MORE FOR SALE

    1. 3 pcs of HI (2 as Becket and 1 as Wolsey) valued at £2 each, and a Souvenir of Becket, published for the original 1893 Lyceum production, but purchased at TR Drury Lane. 23.5cm x 16.5. Twelve ills. by Partridge, Telbin, Harker and Craven. Cast list and breakdown of scenes for May 1904 production are pasted in the front. Also some loose press cuttings of Irving’s death. Condition poor with the inner pages separated fro m the hard covers. Guide price £6 incl. p&p. If you are interested contact the Editor.
    2. An exceptionally interesting item which recently came to light is a pocket-sized handwritten account book in which Bram Stoker kept details of income and expenditure for the 1887-8 Lyceum Company tour of the United States, preceded by a three week tour of the UK. The book is to be auctioned at the Mackworth Hotel, Derby, on 19 November. The event will be viewable online: for details contact www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk

    FINAL PERFORMANCE

    Ruth Silvestre
    Troubador Publishing (Matador)
    ISBN 98 184876 3 445 pb £ 7.99 4 ills.
    Reviewed by Frances Hughes

    Final Performance: A True Story of Love, Jealousy, Murder and Hypocrisy is a fictionalised account, based very carefully on fact, of William Terriss and his mistress, Jessie Millward, in whose arms he died after being stabbed nine days before Christmas 1897. This is a book for readers who delight in backstage and onstage re-creation s of the late 19th century British theatre and, therefore, may be of especial interest to Irving Society members. It says much for HI’s reputation that he escorted Jessie to Brompton Cemetery so that she was able to attend the funeral of the man she loved. Women we re not usually participants at Victorian funerals but, as she went under Irving’s protection, gossip was kept at bay. HI had brought Terriss and Jessie together in Much Ado as Hero and Don Pedro, and he supported her to the end. The four photos of the protagonists inside the book look a little faded, but Breezy Bill and Fessie come to life far more clearly through the telling of a story which is truly ‘theatrical’.


    All communications to:
    Michael Kilgarriff, Editor/Hon Sec
    The Irving Society
    10 Kings Avenue, London W5 2SH
    tel: 020 8566 8301
    email: secretary@theirvingsociety.org.uk
    www.theirvingsociety.org.uk

  • The Irving Society Newsletter No 48

    The Irving Society Newsletter No 48

    ELLEN TERRY & EDITH CRAIG CONFERENCE

    University of Hull
    Saturday, 6 June 2009
    Report by Ellen Terry Craig

    This one-day conference marked the completion of an online database of some 20,000 letters and other documents archived at Smallhythe Place and owned by the National Trust.

    The technical design of this database was the work of the first speaker, Julian Halliwell. There followed a series of interesting papers by contributors from around the world on a variety of subjects centered on the Terry/Craig dynasty.

    The two keynote speakers were Sir Michael Holroyd and Professor Nina Auerbach from the University of Pennsylvania who spoke of Ellen Terry’s ‘lost lives’. Sir Michael quoted from his recent book A Strange Eventful History, highlighting the relationship between Edward Gordon Craig and his mother. His research has led him to the conclusion that the real loves of ET’s life were the men she didn’t marry; the others were just passing friendships.

    Other topics dealt with included:

    • Photographic records of ET’s performances.
    • The connection between the theatre and Edith’s involvement with the suffrage movement.
    • Craig’s publication The Mask and ET ’s memoirs The Story of My Life.
    • The influence of Lewis Carroll in introducing young women to the stage.
    • Bram Stoker and the Lyceum Theatre
    • Edith’s staging of Claudel in the European context of art theatre.
    • ET’s stage costumes.
    • The contribution of writer and thespian Velona Pilcher to the English studio theatre scene.

    Speakers and delegates met the previous evening to enjoy a cordial cocktail party in the University arts gallery and dinner afterwards. See www.ellenterryarchive.hull.ac.uk


    THE KNIGHT FROM NOWHERE

    Illustrated talk by Frances Hughes
    Westminster Reference Library
    Friday, 15 May, 2009 at 6.00pm

    Max Beerbohm’s affectionate description of HI was the title of a talk given by our chair, and very entertaining it was too. Swiftly and fluently running through Johnny Brodribb’s parentage and childhood, Frances pinned down those key episodes which fuelled his fierce ambition and led to a theatrical career of unparallelled lustre. To those Irvingites present much of the story was familiar, but, like an inspiring sermon, it is always comforting to have one’s predilections confirmed.—Ed.


    TWO ANTIQUE CARDINALS

    Colin Hague

    Earlier this year BBCTV’s Antiques Roadshow came from Southwell in Nottinghamshire. One of the items up for evaluation was a portrait (reproduced left) of Cardinal Wolsey painted during 1910 by Francis Owen Salisbury (1874-1962).* Intriguingly, the scarlet silk robe worn by the model for the picture was that worn by HI for his 1892 portrayal of the Cardinal in Henry VIII (reproduced right). Lent to the artist by Edith Craig, its origins may be read on p542 of Laurence Irving’s Henry Irving: an Actor and his World.

    WolseyThe canvas is actually a detail from a larger work, displayed at Westminster in the east corridor between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. This depicts the artist’s interpretation of the divorce of King Henry from Katherine of Aragon in 1529, Wolsey having been appointed one of the Papal legates. Those with internet access will find the larger canvas (together with a movie/audio clip) at: www.explore-parliament.net/nssMovies/01/0169/0169_.htm

    There are other versions of the Wolsey detail. The one shown on Antiques Roadshow is the property of the Dean and Chapter of Southwell Minster, and was submitted was valued at £10,000. Another is held at St Albans Museum.

    Nigel McMurray, biographer of Salisbury, says that although it seems unlikely that the artist ever met HI the archive file for this canvas contains photographs of the
    original Lyceum production, with newspaper cuttings and details of actors’ positions on the stage.

    The robe itself is in store at Ellen Terry’s home, Smallhythe Place, and is now in poor condition. The inventory description states that the cape is of red ribbed silk and weighted with lead. Some of the silk covered buttons are missing. The remains of the lining have now separated from the cape.

    With thanks to: Nigel McMu rray (author of Frank O Salisbury: Painter Laureate), Paul Meredith (Manager of Smallhythe Place), + George, Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham, Museum of St Albans. * cf Orson Welles as Wolsey in th e film A Man for All Seasons!—Ed.


    THEATRE & PERFORMANCE AT THE V&A

    Visited by Michael Kilgarriff

    Now housed in its parental bosom at the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington, the Theatre Museum has a choice selection of treasures on display in a series of spacious high-ceilinged galleries shaped, in the words of Geoffrey Marsh, its enthusiastic director, like a square doughnut.

    Much angst was caused by the closure of the Covent Garden premises two years ago, with the entire arts world inveighing noisily against this official disdain of one of our cultural glories, but truth be told the TM was never very inviting, with its subterranean rooms claustrophobic and uninvolving. After nearly twenty years of existence, attendances did not justify its budget, and the lease was not renewed. Whatever replaces the museum on the site must have some arts connotation, or so we are told. The last I heard was it was to be a restaurant run by the two charming chaps who have made such a success of the Wolseley in Piccadilly.

    Items in Theatre & Performance, as the V&A exhibition is called, are arranged not in chronological order nor by genre, but by what might be called aspects of showbiz, i.e. Production, Rehearsal, Design, Music, Lighting & Sound, Promotion, and so on. This unconventional arrangement struck me as a happy one, since the visitor is kept in a state of heightened anticipation, not knowing what the eye will light upon next, whether it be an eighteenth century costume or a twentieth century dressing-room (Kylie Minogue’s, since you ask).

    Thus in one case can be seen Billy Dainty’s panto dame costume, Mick Jagger’s jump suit (I first keyed this in, appropriately enough, as Mick Jagger’s hump suit) and Margot Fonteyn’s Odette tutu; in another an oil painting of Richard Burton as Henry V hangs above a book containing some of the hundreds of congratulatory letters and telegrams sent to HI on his knighthood. The only other Irving-related exhibit is a copy of the cartoon At the Play by Alfred Bryan which adorns the cover of our journal First Knight—HI as Hamlet on the opening night of his Lyceum management.

    Although the emphasis is on Drama all the performing arts—Ballet, Opera, Circus, Pop Music, Variety, Puppetry—are represented; video screens show interviews with notable actors and directors as well as brief extracts from celebrated productions, and there are an old-style thunder race and a wind machine for energetic visitors to work themselves. This is a lively and attractive exhibition, though the explanatory cards could be in larger point and samples of theatrical argot painted on a wall urgently need to be expanded. Stage L and R are explained but not PS and OP. And what about DLP? Tormentors? Corpsing? Walter Plinge? But admission is free, and when your feet start hurting you can always rest up at the legendary Ace Caff.


    ANNUAL DINNER

    This year’s dinner will be at the New Cavendish Club, 44 Great Cumberland Place, London W1 (near Marble Arch), on Friday, 23 October. £40 a head. Numbers 30 max. Details to follow.


    MISSING IRVING PORTRAIT

    Dear Mr Kilgarriff,

    I am trying to trace the whereabouts of a portrait of Henry Irving painted by the artist Edwin A. Ward (d. 1927). My interest arises because of my role as the Honorary Archivist of the Reform Club. Ward says in his autobiography, The Recollections of a Savage, 1923, that his Irving portrait was in the Reform Club.

    I can find no reference in the Club records to the portrait after 1902, when the General Committee welcomed Mr H. W. Lucy’s promise to bequeath to the Club his collection of political portraits.
    It is clear from the Ward autobiography that this collection included the Irving portrait.

    Although the Club does have a portrait of Irving, this is not the one done by Ward, and only one of the portraits in the Lucy bequest is still in the Club.

    I wonder whether you or any of your members knows of this portrait.

    Peter Urbach pmurbach@aol.com


     

    PERFORMANCE ON STAGE & SCREEN:

    Book Paper & Visuals Fair
    Royal National Theatre
    Olivier Stalls Foyer
    Sat 10 October 2009. 10.30am-7.15pm


     

    All communications to:

    Michael Kilgarriff, Editor/Hon Sec
    The Irving Society
    10 Kings Avenue, London W5 2SH
    tel: 020 8566 8301
    email: secretary@theirvingsociety.org.uk
    www.theirvingsociety.org.uk

  • The Irving Society Newsletter No 47

    The Irving Society Newsletter No 47

    THIRTEENTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

    Lecture Theatre, National Portrait Gallery
    Sunday, 1 February, 2009 at 15.00

    At two-thirty or thereabouts, Richard Morley raised a wreath-laden broomstick to the Guvnor’s feet, an unorthodox but effective way of laying our annual Birthday tribute. The day was bright but very cold; nevertheless, three warm cheers were raised in Irving’s memory, momentarily drowning out the Chinese New Year celebrations resounding around us. The broom was returned with thanks to the local Art Shop, and we all repaired to the National Portrait Gallery for the AGM. The NPG is immediately behind the Irving statue (see photo), so it wasn’t an arduous walk.

    In the comfort and panelled splendour of the Lecture Theatre, the Society’s chair, Frances Hughes, opened the meeting by declaring the past year to have been a very successful one. Last June there was an enjoyable tour of the Old Vic, followed in the afternoon by an extremely interesting talk by Gavin Clarke, archivist of the National Theatre, at The Studio, Waterloo. The guest speaker at the Annual Dinner was Andrew Sachs, who spoke amusingly and affectingly of his early years in pre-war Berlin and his experiences in Fawlty Towers. Hilary Phillips was th anked for yet again sup plying the birthday wreath, Sylvia Starshine for her devotion to duty—the office of Hon Treasurer being the least desirable of all—and Michael Kilgarriff for his hard work both as Hon Sec and as Editor of The Irvingite and First Knight.

    In his report Michael Kilgarriff declared his work for the Society to be a labour of love, and that his fascination with and respect for Irving remain undimmed. It is his pleasure to sit, as it were, in the centre of a clearing house of information, answering queries and offering advice concerning Irving ephemera and avenues of research, and putting people in touch with like-minded enthusiasts. Michael Kilgarriff, Frances Hughes, Sylvia Starshine at the NPG’s Lecture Hall. There has been a slight increase in membership from 102 to 109, including Gavin Clarke who provides the Committee with a meeting room at The Studio without charge and has thus been made an Honorary Member. W e also have our first Group Member, the Bonnington Group.

    The Hon Treasurer Sylvia Starshine reported a satisfactory financial state of affairs, reminding the meeting that the Society’s financial year runs from 1 October to 30 September, and not January to December. With yet another increase in postage it may be necessary to increase subscription rates next October. Again Richard Wadhams of Hogbens Dunphy was thanked for auditing the accounts gratis.

    The following officers and committee members were re-elected unopposed: Frances Hughes (Chair), Alex Bisset (Vice-Chair), Michael Kilgarriff (Hon Sec ), Sylvia Starshine (Hon Treas), Brian Manvell, Mike Ostler, Hilary Phillips, Nicholas Smith, and Michael Sharvell-Martin.

    In the absence of Barry Cryer who was laid low with ’flu, Prof Jeffrey Richards gamely took up some of the slack by outlining his long-term project on the history of Victorian pantomime 1837-190 1. His STR lecture John Ruskin and the British Pantomime will be given at the Art Workers Guild o n 19 February.

    After expressing gratitude to Jeffrey for his impromptu but informative and entertaining address, Frances drew the raffle, for which there were two prizes. A small framed watercolour of HI as Dr Primrose donated by Frances was won by Tina Gray, and a profusely illustrated history of the Theatre Royal Glasgow, donated by Elizabeth Sutter, was won by Hal Sinden. £35.50 was raised.


    MEMBERS’ THEATRE OUTING

    Though Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale was never seen at the Lyceum under HI’s management, Ellen Terry played Mamillius for Charles Kean and Hermione for Tree, and in his years of provincial struggle Irving played Florizel, Cleomenes and Third Gentleman.

    Join us at the Old Vic for a new production of the play on Wednesday, 8 July, at 2.30pm. Cast includes Simon Russell Beale and Sinead Cusack. Sam Mendes directs. Ticke ts: £18 . Send your cheque (payable to the Irving Society) and an SAE to the Hon Sec at the address below. Please indicate whether you require luncheon.


    WILLIAM TERRISS MEMORIAL

    The Royal National Lifeboat Institution Boat-House in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was erected as a memorial to the murdered ‘Breezy Bill’, an actor (and exsailor) for whom HI had the greatest
    affection. Photo s by Sylvia Starshine.


    CAN YOU HELP?

    Mark Macdonald of the Daguerreian Society hopes we can identify this image which dates from around 1850. Charles Kean as King John h as been suggested; the actor illustrated is certainly about the right height (Kean was 5′ 7″) but is he too handsome? If you have any thoughts please contact the Editor or email the enquirer direct on macdonald@rabyplace.com.


    UNIVERSITY OF HULL CONFERENCE: REMINDER

    Dr Katharine Cockin, as Principal Investigator of the Ellen Terry and Edith Craig Database, is holding a conference on the project on Saturday 6 June, 2009. Should you wish to attend or to submit a paper on any related topic please contact her on k.m.cockin@hull.ac.uk


    BARDIC ‘HALL OF FAME’

    As part of a new exhibition opening on St  George’s Day, the Shakespeare Birthday Trust will display pictures of ‘a dozen Shakespearean heroes’. The all-time champions selected so far are: Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Leonard DiCaprio , Charles Dickens, David Garrick, Ben Jonson, Akira Kurosawa, Laurence Olivier, Patrick Stewart, Paul Robeson, Ellen Terry, and Sam Wanamaker.

    Since, according to the Trust’s Paul Edmondson, who rejoices (languishes?) in the title Head of Learning, the minimum number of actors required to mount a Shakespeare play is thirteen , one place in his cheesily-named ‘Hall of Fame’ has yet to be filled. Despite this dubious contention, voting for the final Bardic hero was from yet another pre-selected list:

    Peggy Ashcroft, Sarah Bernhardt, Peter Brook, John Gielgud, Goethe, Boris Pasternak, George Bernard Shaw, Sarah Siddons, David Tennant, and Virginia Woolf.

    At least Gielgud made the cut onto the B list, with Henry Irving screamingly conspicuous by his absence. Members can doubtless think of many other jawdropping omissions. Voting for the thirteenth honorand was confined to readers of The Guardian, whose choice was as follows: Ashcroft 1.1%, Bernhardt 1.3%, Brook 3.2%, Gielgud 12.3%, Goethe 0.9%, Pasternak 15%, Shaw 0.6%, Siddons 0.2%, Tennant 65%, Woolf 0.6%. So David Tennant joins the immortals in the SBT’s egregious Hall of Fame.


    SPRINGFIELD HOUSE

    Halsetown, Nr St Ives, Cornwall

    This is the house in which HI lived with his Penberthy cousins from 1852-58. Now modernised with all mod. cons. and available to let for self-catering holidays. Sleeps up to 10 + cot. For brochure giving full details contact Editor.


    THE REAL HENRY IRVING

    Here, a harbinger of spring enlivening my front garden, is an unimpeachably genuine Henry Irving Daffodil.

    All communications to:

    Michael Kilgarriff, Editor/Hon Sec
    The Irving S ociety
    10 Kings Avenue, London W5 2SH
    tel: 020 8566 8301
    email: secretary@theirvingsociety.org.uk
    www.theirvingsociety.org.uk

  • The Irving Society Newsletter No 46

    The Irving Society Newsletter No 46

    ELLEN TERRY AND EDITH CRAIG DATABASE

    Major New Research Facility

    In 2006 the Arts and Humanities Research Council awarded Dr Katharine Cockin a Resource Enhancement Grant of £85,000 to complete the guide to the papers of Ellen Terry and her daughter Edith Craig held at Smallhythe Place, Tenterden, Kent. Smallhythe was the home of Ellen Terry, established as a memorial to Terry by her daughter Edith Craig, and given to the National Trust in 1939.

    The online database provides descriptions of over 18,000 documents, including a large number of press cuttings and photographs of Henry Irving, and may now be visited on: www.ellenterryarchive.hull.ac.uk

    The papers will be available for consultation by researchers in 2009, either at Smallhythe Place or the British Library. Each record in the database is marked SMA (Smallhythe Place) or BL (British Library) to indicate its location. Earlier stages of the project were funded by the University of Hull and the Society for Theatre Research (2001- 2005). Dr Cockin would also like to thank delegates to the Henry Irving International Conference at Leicester University in 2005 , including members of the Irving Society, who expressed their support.

    A conference is to be held at the University of Hull on Saturday 6 June, 2009, to celebrate the project and to bring together researchers working on Ellen Terry, Edith Craig and their circle. A report will be delivered by the Principal Investigator, Dr Katharine Cockin, together with a paper by the IT consultant for the database, Julian Halliwell of simplicityweb.

    Other speakers (provisionally) include Sir Michael Holroyd CBE, Professor Nina Auerbach, Professor Richard Foulkes, Pro fessor Kate Kelly, Professor Denis S alter, Dr G ail Marsh all and Dr Susan Croft.

    Papers are sought on Ellen Terry, Edith Craig, Edward Gordon Craig, Henry Irving, Christopher St John, Clare Atwood and any other related individual or topic. Please submit a 200 word abstract of your proposed paper by 1 February, 2009, to Dr Cockin by email on k.m.cockin@hull.ac.uk.

    Dr Katharine Cockin
    Reader in English
    English Department,
    University of Hull,
    Cottingham Road
    Hull HU6 7RX . UK
    tel: (01482) 465611
    fax: (01482) 465641


    ODDS & ENDS

    The engagement is announced between member Hal Sinden, grandson of Sir Donald, and Miss Beth Ryan. Every best wish is extended to them both.

    ‘SIR HENRY IRVING prefers Ogden’s Guinea Gold Cigarettes to all others. The bon-ton smoke of the day-pure and mild.’ – Ad in New Zealand West Coast Times, 9 August 1900.

    Paul Campion recommends a visit to Cawdor Castle near Inverness, describing it as ‘most lovely and interesting, with beautiful gardens’. It was visited by HI and ET in 1887 prior to the Lyceum Macbeth. On display is Birnam Wood, a small painting by Keeley Halswelle who designed the sets for the production. See FK vol 9 no 1.

    If you change your email address don’t forget to inform the Hon Sec.


    THE COTERIE OF NEWARK

    This b&w tin lapel pin (1”x¾”) is in the possession of Claire Logan of Pennsylvania. It was handed down from her g-g -grandfather, a police officer in Newark, New Jersey, who had an interest in music and the theatre. Who or what the Coterie of Newark was remains unknown, despite energetic research efforts.

    Newark Police Museum think the pin had some kind of connection with HI, but further information is required. If you can shed any light on this item please email Claire on calogan@gmail.com or contact the Editor.


     

    THIRTY YEARS IN THE MAKING

    In 1976 film-maker Michael R. Hurwitz began a project that became a journey of thirty years. In an effort to save the Great Southern Theater, located in the heart of Columbus, Ohio, and representing one of the finest examples of Victorian theatrical architecture, Hurwitz roamed the theatre with a film crew capturing every aspect of the structure. From the auditorium to the grid and rafters, from the trapdoors under the stage to the fly gallery, Hurwitz filmed every nook and cranny.

    The initial four hours of film footage has been digitally re-mastered and integrated with arch rival film, still photographs and new footage to tell the story of not only the Great Southern Theater but that of the American theatre at the turn of the twentieth century. Every prominent actor and actress played the house, from Lillian Russell and the Barrymores to Henry Irving and Ellen Terry. Even W. C. Fields juggled on its stage.


    A CURRENT HI LOOK-ALIKE

    Not a recently discovered colour photo of HI, but Guy Henry as creepy Mr Collins in ITV’s hugely entertaining Lost in Austen.  Richard Briers & Sir Michael Holroyd at the Cottesloe Theatre


    MATHIAS IN BRONZE

    Henry Irving StatuetteThis commemorative figure by Irena Sedlecka of Henry Irving as Mathias in The Bells was commissioned by the Society for the Irving Centenary in 2005. The edition is strictly limited to fifty numbered and signed copies.

    The resin bronze figures are individually cast from moulds made by David Perrott, Miss Sedlecka’s longtime assistant. The figure weighs 12lbs (approx) and stands 12½” high on a base 7” x 8½”. After fifty castings the mould will be destroyed, thus ensuring the value and exclusivity of this superb reproduction of Irving in the role by which he is still best remembered.

    To acquire a copy please send a cheque for £325 payable to The Irving Society to Sylvia Starshine, Hon Treasurer, The Irving Society, Flat 7, 23 Stanhope Road, London N6 5AW, together with your postal address, phone number and email address. Delivery costs vary according to your location. If you wish to see a statuette contact the Editor for a viewing.


     

    HOLROYD ON THE PLATFORM

    Cottesloe Theatre, South Bank 25 November, 2008, at 6.00pm 

    Briefly but shrewdly introduced by Richard Briers, Sir Michael Holroyd was his usual relaxed and humorous self as he outlined the background to his latest book, A Strange and Eventful History. What was intended as a twenty-page outline of Ellen Terry, a minor figure in his biography of Shaw, became more and more extended, first of all as the mighty figure of Irving forced himself centre stage, and then as their respective children clamoured for inclusion.

    Thus did a casual feuilleton turn into a seven year labour, interrupted by illness. When asked whether he thought he would have liked Irving, Sir Michael carefully replied that he thought he would have admired him (laughter). But the real villain – and all good stories must have a villain – of the narrative is ET’s son, Edward Gordon Craig, a man touched with genius but deeply flawed as an individual. A sold-out house responded warmly to both speakers.


    Irving by Histed
    Irving by Histed

    ERNEST WALTER HISTED

    1862-1947

    Although Ernest Walter Histed was born in Brighton, he made his reputation as a photographer in Chicago and later in Pittsburgh. He returned to England to set up a studio first in New Bond Street and then in Baker Street. In 1898 he made portraits of, amongst others, the Empress of Germany, Pope Pius X, and Sir Henry Irving, a client list which could hardly be more distinguished. The firm continued as Histed and Company when he returned to New York to operate a studio on Fifth Avenue. He moved to Palm Beach, Florida and continued to work until 1934, thirteen years before his death.


    THEATRE PARTY

    Though Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale was never seen at the Lyceum under HI’s management, Ellen Terry played Mamillius for Charles Kean and Hermione for Tree.

    A block booking at the Old Vic (in the Lilian Baylis circle) has been made for a new production of this play on Wednesday, 8 July, 2009, at 2.30pm. The cost is £18. The cast includes Simon Russell Beale and Sinead Cusack. Directed by Sam Mendes. If you wish to join the party send your cheque, payable to the Irving Society, to the Hon Sec at the address below.


    PERFORMING ARTS BOOK FAIR

    Saturday, 18 April, 2009
    10.30-19.15

    NT Olivier Stalls Foyer
    Visit Michael Sharvell-Martin at the Irving Stall


    ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – NOTE CHANGE OF DATE & VENUE

    Sunday, 1 February, 2009

    Irving Statue , Charing Cross Road
    Laying of the Birthday Wreath 14.30
    Lecture Theatre,
    National Portrait Gallery
    Annual General Meeting 15.00
    Guest Speaker:
    BARRY CRYER OBE 16.00
    Admission for Non-Members: £3


     

    Michael Kilgarriff, Editor/Hon Sec
    The Irving Society
    10 Kings Avenue
    London W5 2SH
    tel: 020 8566 8301
    secretary@theirvingsociety.org.uk