John Barrymore, Shakespearean Actor

by Michael A. Morrison

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. 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. "This young artist, profiting by the lessons of tradition...casts it boldly aside and emerges into the rarefied atmosphere of a new art, greater because it is new, stronger because it is built upon an old foundation." Brooklyn Times, March 9, 1920

Genres: Nonfiction

418 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 1997

Reviews

[Steve Shilstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed look at Barrymore's early '20s Hamlet and Richard lll on Broadway. London run in '24, too. Thorough and fascinating. Best tidbit - Barrymore's voice coach was John Huston's aunt, Walter Huston's sister.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always been fasinated by John Barrymore and if I could go back in time it would be to see him on stage doing Hamlet. When I bought this book I was afraid it was going to be textbook like and probably boring but it was anything but. The research is astounding and I was surprised to learn of he efforts to revive Hamlet on stage and in film when Barrymore was clearly too old at that point but damn, I wish it had happened. I also never knew that in the 20s, the actors would take bows after each act, no wonder the play was so long