Sir Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving, stage name of John Henry Brodribb (1838-1905). British actor and theatre manager. He be-came associated with the Lyceum Theatre in 1871 and in 1878 became its manager. His productions at the Lyceum, especially those in which he played Shakespearean roles, dominated the London stage until his death. Among his famous performances were his portrayal of Hamlet and his sympathetic interpretation of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. He was the first actor to be knighted (1895) for his services to the theatre.
“His Hamlet was not Shakespeare’s Hamlet, nor his Lear Shakespeare’s Lear… he had no power of adapting himself to an author’s conceptions: his conceptions were his own and they were all Irving. George Bernard Shaw, Pen Portraits and Reviews”
