Here Is a Play Fitted exhibition material

This article offers a comprehensive list of each piece included in Here Is a Play Fitted: Four Centuries of Staging Shakespeare, one of the Exhibitions at the Folger.

The Earliest Texts & the Unstable Script (cluster 1)

Roughly half of Shakespeare's plays were printed in individual quarto editions before thirty-six of the plays were printed together in the First Folio in 1623. Several quarto plays vary significantly from the version of the same play printed in the Folio. Many scholars have devoted their careers to determining the relationship between the quarto texts and the First Folio: are they early drafts, acting versions, versions used while touring, or separate works? The earliest versions of the plays in this exhibition—Othello, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream—each reveal a different relationship to the Folio text.

Compare the Romeo and Juliet "potion" scene in the First Folio with the same scene from the first quarto. This first quarto of Romeo and Juliet has been called a "Bad Quarto" because it is nearly 800 lines shorter than the First Folio version. These pages show Juliet’s famous "potion" soliloquy, which is only half as long as the version of the same speech in the Folio. This page also includes the intriguing stage direction, "She falls upon her bed within the curtains," which does not appear in the Folio. The First Folio's version of the same scene runs forty-five lines long.

Early quartos of the four plays examined in this exhibition give us evidence that theater practicioners have always played with and adapted texts.

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Who Changed Shakespeare (cluster 1 wall)

FACSIMILE.

Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Shakespeare: Revision and Adaptation (cluster 2)

Parliament closed the London theaters between 1642 and 1660, during the English civil war and Interregnum. When they reopened at the Restoration of Charles II, Shakespeare’s plays were still popular, but many of the new performance scripts bore little resemblance to the plays Shakespeare wrote. The scripts were cut, altered, and amended to appeal to both theatrical practice and literary taste. In order to suit the actor-managers who ran the playhouses and starred in productions, some scripts were revised to focus more attention on main characters. Other plays were altered to fit the literary demands of “poetic justice,” the neoclassical unities, and decorum.

Colley Cibber (1671–1757) was an actor, playwright, and the manager of Drury Lane Theatre. He heavily adapted Shakespeare’s Richard III in 1699, and placed more emphasis on Richard (the character that Cibber himself played in his production). Cibber kept only a quarter of Shakespeare’s lines, added over a thousand of his own, and included lines from seven other Shakespearean plays. Cibber’s version has an engaging theatrical flow, which made it the standard stage version until the early twentieth century. Cibber's influence can still be seen in Laurence Olivier's version of Richard III.

The Theatre Royal, Smock Alley, in Dublin was one of three Restoration theaters opened when Charles II resumed the throne of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1660. The Smock Alley promptbook of Othello shows the play as it would have been performed in the theaters in the 1670s and 80s. Notice the cuts to the script made on these pages.

Hear curator Denise A. Walen discuss the cuts made to the Smock Alley promptbook.

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David Garrick's Adaptations (cluster 3)

David Garrick (1717–79), was manager of Drury Lane Theatre, a talented playwright,and England’s first celebrity actor. He organized the Shakespeare Jubilee, the first civic celebration of Shakespeare’s life in Stratford-upon-Avon. His dedication helped establish Shakespeare’s reputation as the finest playwright in the English-speaking world. Despite his reverence for the Bard, Garrick also heavily altered Shakespeare’s plays. His adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, in which he cut some of Shakespeare’s text but also added surprisingly to the play, became the standard acting version in England and the United States for a hundred years, from 1750 through the mid 1800s.

David Garrick adapted Romeo and Juliet for Drury Lane in 1748. He wrote in the preface that he wanted to purge the “jingle and quibble” that marred the play. Of Garrick’s many changes, his most significant was an addition to the tomb scene. Rather than dying instantly after drinking poison, Garrick’s Romeo drinks a slow-working poison that allows him a long exchange—nearly sixty lines of dialogue—with Juliet before he dies.

This image shows David Garrick as Romeo with the actress George Anne Bellamy playing Juliet in the final tomb scene from Garrick’s extended version, which allowed Garrick the opportunity to display a wide range of tragic emotion.

Actors Michael Goldsmith and Kate DeBuys explore the differences between the original Shakespeare and the Garrick adaptation in this video.

For more on Garrick's adaptions, read this article.

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An Actress's Life for Me (Wall above cluster 3)

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Romantic Shakespeare: J. P. Kemble and Edmund Kean (cluster 4)

The Romantic movement influenced theater in the early nineteenth century just as it influenced other art forms during that time. The careers of John Philip Kemble (1757–1823) and Edmund Kean (1787–1833) perfectly reflect the changing attitudes that specifically affected Shakespearean productions. Kemble was the consummate patrician hero whose productions were stately examples of spectacle and monarchial grandeur. Kean, in contrast, was the passionate rebel, both on and off the stage, who emphasized the social and political prejudices that oppressed his characters. Kemble retired from the theater as Kean gained prominence in parts such as Othello, which contemporary critics considered Kean's greatest role.

Actor John Philip Kemble is shown in this portrait as Richard III which he played as a darkly handsome royal figure rather than a deformed villain. In fact, Sir Walter Scott said Kemble was too "eminently fine" a man to play Richard; that he could never “seem constitutionally villainous” and "could never look the part." Kemble believed that, as a prince, Richard should not be presented as calculating, cruel, or vulgar, which must have made many of his lines difficult to deliver.

Edmund Kean’s performances of Othello were unusual in that he consistently overshadowed any co-star’s portrayal of Iago. It was a perfect role for him as it reflected his inner passion and fury, qualities that made his finest roles seem both dangerous and exciting. Samuel Taylor Coleridge said, "To see him act is like reading Shakespeare by flashes of lightning." Unfortunately, heavy drinking and the effects of venereal disease often made him unfit for performance during the last ten years of his life. His last role was at Covent Garden Theatre where he played Othello opposite his son Charles as Iago in 1833. This promptbook notes the spot in the play where Edmund Kean "sank on the neck of his son and was carried off the stage."

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Cluster 4

  • W. Sheldrick. Mr. Kean as Othello Dawn by E.F. Lambert. [Great Britain? : s.n., mid-19th century?]. Colored lithograph. Call number: ART File K24.4 no.59 (size S) and LUNA Digital Image.
  • Elizabeth Cavendish. Autograph letters signed and unsigned from Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, London, to Edmund Kean. Manuscript, 1818 October 14, 20. Call number: Y.c.1427 (1–2) and LUNA Digital Image.
  • George Keating. Mr. Kemble in the character of King Richard the Third, from the original picture in the possesion [sic] of John Pybus, Esq. [England]: John & Josiah Boydell, 1788. Mezzotint. Call number: ART File K31.4 no.52 copy 1 (size M) and LUNA Digital Image.
  • William Shakespeare. King Richard the Third. Promptbook marked by John Philip Kemble for Covent Garden (1811). Call number: PROMPT Rich.III 14 and LUNA Digital Image.
  • William Shakespeare. Othello, the Moor of Venice, a tragedy, revised by J. P. Kemble. London: for T. N. Longman and O. Rees, 1804. Call number: PROMPT Oth. 20; displayed p. 49.
  • John Philip Kemble. Richard III. Autograph manuscript of Kemble's parts in 34 plays in the hand of John Philip Kemble Manuscript, 1783–1805. 34 v. Call number: T.a.13 and LUNA Digital Image.

Playbills: What's on Stage? (Wall above cluster 4)

  • Manchester, Theatre-Royal. King Richard III (Mainpiece), The Lying Valet (Afterpiece). [John Philip Kemble as Richard III]. Playbill. 29 May 1798. Call number: Craven playbills: 242062 ART and LUNA Digital Image.
  • London, Covent Garden. The Tragedy of Othello (Mainpiece), A Nabob For an Hour (Afterpiece), and Masaniello (Ballet). [Edmund Kean as Othello]. Playbill. 25 March 1833. Call number: Bill Box G2 C85 1832–33; (image).
  • William Hamilton. John Philip Kemble as Richard IIIOil on panel, ca. 1787. Call number: FPb24 and LUNA Digital Image.

Instructive Shakespeare: William Charles Macready (cluster 5)

By the mid-nineteenth century, Shakespeare productions were seen as an opportunity to educate large audiences through popular culture. William Charles Macready believed that Shakespeare productions should offer audiences the "best illustrated editions" of Shakespeare's plays in order to enhance their instructive purpose. However, the emphasis on scenic effects and the time required to change the scenery meant that scripts were heavily cut and scenes were sometimes rearranged. These productions were typically based on Shakespeare's texts and not on the adaptations that had dominated the theater since the time of the Restoration.

One promptbook book contains seven scenic drawings for Macready's production of Othello. The image for act 2, scene 1 is the Citadel of Famagusta on the isle of Cyprus. It consists of three layers: the first panel shows the castle wall and cannons pointing out to sea; the middle panel, a half panel on the left, portrays a castle turret; while the back panel runs the length of the stage and shows the view across the harbor.

During his career, Macready performed the roles of both Iago and Othello. He played Iago less often, but was more successful in that role. No mere stage villain, his Iago was an intellectual fascinated with the diabolic. As Othello, he portrayed a loving husband beset by a scheming but appealing villain. For Victorians like Macready, Iago destroyed the very foundation of culture when he destroyed Othello's domestic harmony.

Also included is the costume design for Emilia from a Macready production of Othello. The design demonstrates Macready's attention to the artistic harmony of the production and its symbolism. The black gown with its vibrant red underskirt calls to mind the black and red robes the senators wore in act 2, but the scarlet also suggests Emilia's easy virtue and earthiness.

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  • William Shakespeare. A midsummer-night's dream. [London: for F. C. and J. Rivington; J. Johnson; R. Baldwin; H. L. Gardner, etc., 1805]. Call number: PROMPT M.N.D. 13; displayed p. 376–384 and LUNA Digital Image.
  • J. Moore. Miss Julia Harland and Miss Conquest as Oberon and Puck. From a daguerreotype by Paine of Islington. London; New York: John Tallis & company, [mid-19th century] Engraving. Call number: ART File H826 no.1 (size XS) and LUNA Digital Image.
  • Mr. Macready as Iago. London: London Printing and Publishing Company, [19th century?]. Call number: ART File M174.4 no.16 (size S) and LUNA Digital Image.
  • Mr. Macready as Othello. From the original painting by Tracey. London and New York: John Tallis & Company [n.d.] Call number: ART 254958 (size S) and LUNA Digital Image.
  • William Shakespeare. Othello, the Moor of Venice. A tragedy .... [London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., 1838]. A transcription of Macready’s Drury Lane book. Call number: PROMPT Oth. 13; displayed p. 15 and LUNA Digital Image.
  • William Shakespeare. Othello scenery. [n.d.] 7 watercolors. Interleaved. Scene designs for a Macready production. Call number: PROMPT Oth. 14 and LUNA Digital Image.
  • William Shakespeare. Costume of Othello. [n.d.] 13 watercolors. Probably drawn and painted by George Ellis. Call number: PROMPT Oth. 15 and LUNA Digital Image.
  • Small notebook containing 25 half-length oval paintings of Fanny Kemble as Beatrice, Juliet, Portia, etc. [S.l.: s.n., mid-18th century to early 19th century] Watercolor on mica. Call number: ART Vol. c88 and LUNA Digital Image.
  • Edward Wedlake Brayley. Historical and descriptive accounts of the theatres of London. London: for J. Taylor, 1826. Illustrated by Daniel Havell. Call number: PN2596 L6 B8; displayed images of Covent Garden and Drury Lane after p. 92: plate XV.

Antiquarian Shakespeare: Charles Kean (cluster 6)

Charles Kean was the son of the actor Edmund Kean, but inherited few of his father's fiery traits. In 1850, Charles Kean acquired London's Princess's Theatre, which he managed for nine years. There he staged gorgeous Shakespearean productions that were meticulous in their historical accuracy. Kean's goal in staging these plays was to strive for authenticity in the visual elements. He researched every aspect of the productions so that sets, costumes, and properties correctly reflected the period in which the action was set. While many critics applauded Kean's antiquarian spectacles, the writers at Punch humorously called him the "upholsterer" rather than the "upholder" of Shakespeare.

One of Charles Kean's (1811-68) first great theatrical successes was in 1838 at Drury Lane in the role of Richard III. As a young actor, he followed the stylized form of his father, Edmund Kean, but later developed a more realistic style devoid of obvious stage conventions such as signaling emotions with hand gestures. He researched his characters for realism and presented uniquely individual, complex characters. his lavish production of Richard III included nineteen changes of scenery.

This promptbook records Charles Kean's 1854 production of Richard III, in which he used Colley Cibber's adaptation. The stage direction on the top of the right-hand page notes that on his line "Who's there," Kean "starting back, staggers to wing," that is, he staggers over to the first exit on the left-hand side of the stage. This was a moment that critics and audiences acclaimed because of the emotion Kean displayed. This page also shows the growing military presence of both Richard and Richmond's armies in preparation for Kean's spectacular battle at Bosworth Field.

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Cluster 6

  • Mr. C. Kean as Richard 3rd. London: A. Park, [between 1835 and 1863]. Call number: ART 242665s and LUNA Digital Image.
  • Charles John Kean. Note by Charles John Kean of theatrical costumes worn ca. 1850–1859. Manuscript, 19th century. Call number: W.a.10 and LUNA Digital Image.
  • Charles John Kean. Cues, properties and stage directions for 19 plays of Charles John Kean. Manuscript, ca. 1855. Call number: T.b.15; displayed p. 22.
  • Incidental music for Richard III. Manuscript, 1860s? Call number: Y.d.688 (3) and LUNA Digital Copy.
  • William Shakespeare. King Richard the Third. A tragedy. Adapted by Colley Cibber. Final or souvenir promptbook for Charles Kean 1854 production. Call number: PROMPT Rich III 10; displayed p. 62 and LUNA Digital Image.
  • Charles Hamilton Smith. A collection of watercolor drawings and tracings of theatrical costume, arms, banners, shields, etc., drawn especially for Charles Kean's productions at the Princess's and Haymarket theatres. [S.l.: s.n., 19th century]. Call number: ART Vol. d3 and LUNA Digital Image.

Set Designs for Richard III (Cluster 6 wall)

  • Princess's Theatre. Charles Kean. : the original water color drawings from which the scenery used by Charles Kean in his Shakespearian and other productions was executed. Watercolor, 19th century. Call number: ART Vol. d16 and LUNA Digital Image.

Four Juliets and a Romeo (Cluster 7 wall)

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Pictorial Shakespeare: Henry Irving and Herbert Beerbohm Tree (cluster 7)

Shakespeare in the United States: Edwin Booth and Augustin Daly (cluster 8)