John Barrymore, Shakespearean Actor

John Barrymore’s Richard III and Hamlet, first seen in New York during the 1919–20 and 1922–23 seasons, stand as high-water marks of twentieth-century Shakespearean interpretation. Many of the conventions of modern practice can be traced to Barrymore’s performances: he was the first actor to bring the vocal and physical manner of a post-War gentleman to Shakespeare’s tragic protagonists; he was the first to reinterpret time-honored roles in light of modern psychological theory. Michael Morrison reconstructs these historic performances through analysis of the production preparation, audience response, reviews, and memoirs. Tracing the Victorian and Edwardian antecedents of Shakespearean performance, this book situates Barrymore’s distinctive contribution in light of past and ensuing tradition. As well, it provides a biographical sketch of one of the most revered and tragic actors of the twentieth century.