78-525: Sir Nigel Ross Playfair (1 July 1874 – 19 August 1934) was an English actor and director, known particularly as actor-manager of the Lyric Theatre , Hammersmith , in the 1920s. After acting as an amateur while practising as a lawyer, he turned professional in 1902 when he was 28. After a time in F. R. Benson's company he made steady professional progress as an actor, but the major change in his career came in 1918, when he became managing director of
156-406: A masque . The masque will feature classical goddesses, Juno , Ceres , and Iris , and will bless and celebrate the betrothal. The masque will also instruct the young couple on marriage, and on the value of chastity until then. The masque is suddenly interrupted when Prospero realises he had forgotten the plot against his life. Once Ferdinand and Miranda are gone, Prospero orders Ariel to deal with
234-540: A nymph , a harpy , and Ceres , acting as the latter in a masque and anti-masque that Prospero creates. Thomas Campbell in 1838 was the first to consider that Prospero was meant to partially represent Shakespeare, but then abandoned that idea when he came to believe that The Tempest was an early play. As it was Shakespeare's last solo play, The Tempest has often been seen as a valedictory for his career, specifically in Prospero's final speech in which he tells
312-412: A combination of the works of Shakespeare , popular melodramas , and new dramas, comedies or musical theatre works. The era of the actor-manager was geared to star performances, such as Irving 's role in the 1871 play The Bells . The system of actor-management waned in the early 20th century, as actor-managers were replaced first by stage managers and later by theatre directors . In addition,
390-452: A drunken Stephano. Another threat is represented by the young couple themselves, who might succumb to each other prematurely. Prospero says: Look though be true. Do not give dalliance Too much the rein. The strongest oaths are straw To th'fire i'th'blood. Be more abstemious Or else good night your vow! Prospero, keenly aware of all this, feels the need to teach Miranda—an intention he first stated in act one. The need to teach Miranda
468-403: A fable of art and creation, with Prospero representing Shakespeare, and Prospero's renunciation of magic signaling Shakespeare's farewell to the stage, to interpretations that consider it an allegory of Europeans colonizing foreign lands. Twelve years before the action of the play, Prospero , formerly Duke of Milan and a gifted sorcerer, had been usurped by his treacherous brother Antonio with
546-460: A large collection of books on the occult, as well as on science and philosophy. It was a dangerous time to philosophize about magic— Giordano Bruno , for example, was burned at the stake in Italy in 1600, just a few years before The Tempest was written. Prospero uses magic grounded in science and reality—the kind that was studied by Agrippa and Dee. Prospero studied and gradually was able to develop
624-476: A lecherous Neapolitan hunchback who corresponds to Caliban; and the clever and beautiful Isabella, whose wealthy and manipulative father, Pantalone , constantly seeks a suitor for her, thus mirroring the relationship between Miranda and Prospero. Gonzalo's description of his ideal society (2.1.148–157, 160–165) thematically and verbally echoes Montaigne 's essay Of the Canibales , translated into English in
702-510: A masque would begin with an "anti-masque", that showed a disordered scene of satyrs , for example, singing and dancing wildly. The anti-masque would then be dramatically dispersed by the spectacular arrival of the masque proper in a demonstration of chaos and vice being swept away by glorious civilisation. In Shakespeare's play, the storm in scene one functions as the anti-masque for the masque proper in act four. The masque in The Tempest
780-456: A mingling of intimacy, brightness, and burlesque – was not applicable to the classics alone". Sharp writes that Playfair gathered "a loyal and happy team of young players, musicians, and designers who, under his genial leadership, not only began to make their reputations and confirm his, but also helped to create a specific Lyric style". During his Hammersmith years Playfair continued to be active in other theatres. He produced As You Like It for
858-433: A page with an error would not be discarded, so pages late in any given press run would be the most accurate, and each of the final printed folios may vary in this regard. This is the common practice at the time. There is also an instance of a letter (a metal sort or a type) being damaged (possibly) during the course of a run and changing the meaning of a word: After the masque Ferdinand says, Let me live here ever! So rare
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#1732786603071936-477: A permanent clientele that flocked to their productions. They could enlarge their audience by going on tour across the country, performing a repertoire of well-known plays, such as Shakespeare. The newspapers, private clubs, pubs and coffee shops rang with lively debates palming the relative merits of the stars of their productions. Henry Irving (1838–1905) was the most successful of the British actor-managers. Irving
1014-566: A play, as with just discrimination and due discretion as he did, is illustrative of the closeness of his intimacy with the patriot leaders of the Virginia enterprise." The character of Stephano has been identified with Stephen Hopkins , who later signed the Mayflower Compact . Another Sea Venture survivor, Silvester Jourdain , published his account, A Discovery of The Barmudas dated 13 October 1610; Edmond Malone argues for
1092-520: A play, frequently drawing links between Prospero's art and theatrical illusion. The shipwreck was a spectacle that Ariel performed, while Antonio and Sebastian are cast in a troupe to act. Prospero may even refer to the Globe Theatre when he describes the whole world as an illusion: "the great globe ... shall dissolve ... like this insubstantial pageant". Ariel frequently disguises himself as figures from Classical mythology , for example
1170-416: A responsibility for the entire First Folio. The other two, Compositors C and F, worked full-time and were experienced printers. At the time, spelling and punctuation was not standardized and will vary from page to page, because each compositor had their individual preferences and styles. There is evidence that the press run was stopped at least four times, which allowed proofreading and corrections. However,
1248-564: A treatment criticised by Charlotte Perkin Gilman in The Yellow Wallpaper . Nigel Playfair's paternal uncles included Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair , scientist and politician, and Lambert Playfair , soldier, diplomat and naturalist. His maternal uncle was James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale , industrialist and politician, named after his father, Nigel's grandfather, James Kitson , the pioneering railway engineer. Nigel's cousin
1326-794: A version published by John Florio in 1603. Montaigne praises the society of the Caribbean natives: "It is a nation ... that hath no kinde of traffike, no knowledge of Letters, no intelligence of numbers, no name of magistrate, nor of politike superioritie; no use of service, of riches, or of poverty; no contracts, no successions, no dividences, no occupation but idle; no respect of kinred, but common, no apparrell but natural, no manuring of lands, no use of wine, corne, or mettle. The very words that import lying, falsehood, treason, dissimulation, covetousnes, envie, detraction, and pardon, were never heard of amongst them." A source for Prospero's speech in act five, in which he bids farewell to magic (5.1.33–57)
1404-502: A wedding masque serves as a play-within-a-play , and contributes spectacle, allegory, and elevated language. Although The Tempest is listed in the First Folio as the first of Shakespeare's comedies, it deals with both tragic and comic themes, and modern criticism has created a category of romance for this and others of Shakespeare's late plays . The Tempest has been put to varied interpretations, from those that see it as
1482-546: A wondered father and a wise Makes this place paradise! (4.1.122–124) The word "wise" at the end of line 123 was printed with the traditional long "s" that resembles an "f". But in 1978 it was suggested that during the press run, a small piece of the crossbar on the type had broken off, and the word should be "wife". Modern editors have not come to an agreement—Oxford says "wife", Arden says "wise". Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air; And like
1560-556: Is an invocation by the sorceress Medea found in Ovid's poem Metamorphoses . Medea calls out: Ye airs and winds; ye elves of hills, of brooks, of woods alone, Of standing lakes, and of the night, approach ye every one, Through help of whom (the crooked banks much wondering at the thing) I have compelled streams to run clean backward to their spring. ( Ovid, 7.265–268 ) Shakespeare's Prospero begins his invocation: Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes and groves, And ye that on
1638-803: Is being explored on this model as actors look to provide themselves with an artistic platform which they have the means to control. Examples include Kevin Spacey when he worked as the artistic director of the Old Vic in London , Samuel West when he briefly ran the Sheffield Crucible and Kenneth Branagh in the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company. The Tempest The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare , probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of
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#17327866030711716-500: Is done, he renounces it, setting Ariel free. What Prospero is trying to do with magic is essential to The Tempest; it is the unity of action. It is referred to as Prospero's project in act two when Ariel stops an attempted assassination: My master through his art foresees the danger That you, his friend, are in, and sends me forth— For else his project dies—to keep them living! At the start of act five Prospero says: Prospero seems to know precisely what he wants. Beginning with
1794-471: Is not an actual masque; rather, it is an analogous scene intended to mimic and evoke a masque, while serving the narrative of the drama that contains it. The masque is a culmination of the primary action in The Tempest: Prospero's intention to not only seek revenge on his usurpers, but to regain his rightful position as Duke of Milan. Most important to his plot to regain his power and position
1872-417: Is restored. Ariel fetches the sailors from the ship, and then Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano. Caliban, seemingly filled with regret, promises to be good. Stephano and Trinculo are ridiculed and sent away in shame by Prospero. Before the reunited group (all the noble characters with the addition of Miranda and Prospero) leave the island, Ariel is instructed to provide good weather to guide the king's ship back to
1950-467: Is significant, and critics disagree regarding what it means: Jan Kott considers it a disillusionment for both Prospero and for the author. E. M. W. Tillyard plays it down as a minor disappointment. Some critics consider Sebastian and Antonio clownish and not a real threat. Stephen Orgel blames Prospero for causing the problem by forgetting about Sebastian and Antonio, which may introduce a theme of Prospero's encroaching dotage. David Hirst suggests that
2028-459: Is the first play in the publication. It was proofread and printed with special care; it is the most well-printed and the cleanest text of the thirty-six plays. To do the work of setting the type in the printing press, three compositors were used for The Tempest . In the 1960s, a landmark bibliographic study of the First Folio was accomplished by Charlton Hinman . Based on distinctive quirks in
2106-500: Is to educate and prepare the couple is next. But then his plans begin to go off the tracks when the masque is interrupted. Next Prospero confronts those who usurped him. He demands his dukedom and a "brave new world" by the merging of Milan and Naples through the marriage of Ferdinand and Miranda. Prospero's magic has not worked on Sebastian and Antonio, who are not penitent. Prospero then deals with Antonio, not with magic, but with something more mundane—blackmail. This failure of magic
2184-487: Is to marry Miranda to Ferdinand, heir to the King of Naples. This marriage will secure Prospero's position by securing his legacy. The chastity of the bride is considered essential and greatly valued in royal lineages. This is true not only in Prospero's plot, but also notably in the court of the virgin queen, Elizabeth. Sir Walter Raleigh had in fact named one of the new world colonies "Virginia" after his monarch's chastity. It
2262-485: Is what inspires Prospero in act four to create the masque, and the "value of chastity" is a primary lesson being taught by the masque along with having a happy marriage. It is not known for certain exactly when The Tempest was written, but evidence supports the idea that it was probably composed sometime between late 1610 to mid-1611. It is considered one of the last plays that Shakespeare wrote alone. Evidence supports composition perhaps occurring before, after, or at
2340-469: The Sea Venture in 1609 on the island of Bermuda while sailing toward Virginia , may be considered a primary source for the opening scene, as well as a few other references in the play to conspiracies and retributions. Although not published until 1625, Strachey's report was first recounted in his "Letter to an Excellent Lady", a private letter describing the incident and the earliest account of all;
2418-832: The Old Stagers and the Windsor Strollers, before giving up the law for the stage. Playfair's first professional appearance was in Arthur Bourchier 's company at the Garrick Theatre , London, in July 1902, playing Mr Melrose in a curtain-raiser, A Pair of Knickerbockers . In 1903 he played his first professional Shakespeare role, Dr Caius in Herbert Beerbohm Tree 's production of The Merry Wives of Windsor at His Majesty's Theatre . At
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2496-843: The Playhouse Theatre and The Green Hat at the Adelphi (both 1925), The Duchess of Elba at the Arts (1927), The Lady of the Camellias at the Garrick (1930). and Vile Bodies at the Arts (1931). Playfair was prominent in fund-raising for London voluntary hospitals and was a member of the committee of King Edward's Hospital Fund . He was knighted in 1928. After a short illness and an unsuccessful operation Playfair died at King's College Hospital , London on 19 August 1934, aged 60. He
2574-405: The "real world", which is what cost him his dukedom, for example, in the first place. In the end, Prospero is learning the value of being human. Romance : Shakespeare's romantic narrative appears in the characters themselves and the island setting. Often, romances involve exotic and remote locations like this island in The Tempest . The environment is the home for Prospero and Miranda. It is also
2652-704: The 1610–11 date on the account by Jourdain and the Virginia Council of London 's A True Declaration of the Estate of the Colonie in Virginia dated 8 November 1610. Michel de Montaigne's essay "Of the Caniballes" is considered a source for Gonzalo's utopian speculations in Act II, scene 1, and possibly for other lines that refer to differences between cultures. A poem entitled Pimlyco; or, Runne Red-Cap
2730-407: The 19th century, the negative reputation of actors was largely reversed, and acting became an honored, popular profession and art. The rise of the actor as celebrity provided the transition, as audiences flocked to their favorite "stars." A new role emerged for the actor-managers who formed their own companies and controlled the actors, the production, and the financing. When successful, they built up
2808-509: The Hill as "perhaps his best, a country-house murder mystery in which he played the murderer. Actor-manager An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the business , sometimes taking over a theatre to perform select plays in which they usually star. It is a method of theatrical production used consistently since the 16th century, particularly common in 19th-century Britain and
2886-463: The Lyric, a run-down theatre on the fringe of central London. He transformed the theatre's fortunes, with a mix of popular musical shows and classic comedies, some in radically innovative productions, which divided opinion at the time but which have subsequently been seen as introducing a modern style of staging. Playfair was born in the parish of St George Hanover Square , Westminster , on 1 July 1874,
2964-1032: The United States. The first actor-managers, such as Robert Browne , appeared in the late 16th century, to be followed by another Robert Browne (no relation) and George Jolly in the 17th century. In the 18th century, actor-managers such as Colley Cibber and David Garrick gained prominence. The system of actor-management generally produced high standards of performance, as demonstrated by such 19th-century actors as William Macready , Charles Wyndham , Henry Irving , Frank Benson and Herbert Beerbohm Tree , by husband-wife teams such as Squire Bancroft and Effie Bancroft , Frank Wyatt and Violet Melnotte , William Hunter Kendal and Madge Robertson Kendal and Thomas and Priscilla German Reed , and by women stars, such as Lucia Elizabeth Vestris , Lucy Escott , Selina Dolaro , Evelyn Millard , Sarah Bernhardt , Sarah Thorne , Gertrude Kingston , Emily Soldene , Laura Keene and Lydia Thompson , among many others. In
3042-430: The aid of Alonso, King of Naples . Escaping by boat with his infant daughter Miranda , Prospero flees to a remote island where he has been living ever since, using his magic to force the island's only inhabitant, Caliban , to protect him and Miranda. He also frees the spirit Ariel and binds them into servitude. When a ship carrying his brother Antonio passes nearby, Prospero conjures up a storm with help from Ariel and
3120-444: The audience "Let your indulgence set me free", asking to be released from the stage one last time before retiring. Prospero is a magician, whose magic is a beneficial "white magic". Prospero learned his magic by studying in his books about nature, and he uses magic to achieve what he considers positive outcomes. Shakespeare uses Caliban to indicate the opposite—evil black magic. Caliban's mother, Sycorax, who does not appear, represents
3198-429: The author Arnold Bennett , who had been active in the theatre before the war, resumed his theatrical interest. He became chairman, with Playfair as managing director, of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith . A biographer of Playfair writes that the Lyric was "a derelict playhouse in what was then little more than a slum … this theatre seemed the last place in the world where high-class entertainment could possibly succeed". But
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3276-436: The baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. Prospero , Act 4, Scene 1. The Tempest is explicitly concerned with its own nature as
3354-511: The eighteenth century, researchers have suggested passages from "Naufragium" ("The Shipwreck"), one of the colloquies in Erasmus's Colloquia Familiaria (1518), and Richard Eden 's 1555 translation of Peter Martyr's De orbo novo (1530). William Strachey 's A True Reportory of the Wracke and Redemption of Sir Thomas Gates, Knight , an eyewitness report of the real-life shipwreck of
3432-465: The end of World War II a combination of social, financial and technological factors, combined with the rising popularity of film and radio, lead to the diminishing of the actor-manager system, with its last two great exponents being Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Laurence Olivier , both of whom were actively working within a (by then) old fashioned framework. Though no longer the standard practice, modern actor-managers do exist and increasingly fringe work
3510-473: The failure of Prospero's magic may have a deeper explanation: He suggests that Prospero's magic has had no effect at all on certain things (like Caliban), that Prospero is idealistic and not realistic, and that his magic makes Prospero like a god, but it also makes him other than human, which explains why Prospero seems impatient and ill-suited to deal with his daughter, for example, when issues call on his humanity, not his magic. It explains his dissatisfaction with
3588-592: The horrors that were stirring at this time in England and elsewhere regarding witchcraft and black magic. Magic was taken seriously and studied by serious philosophers, notably the German Henricus Cornelius Agrippa , who in 1533 published in three volumes his De Occulta Philosophia , which summarized work done by Italian scholars on the topic of magic. Agrippa's work influenced John Dee (1527–1608), an Englishman, who, like Prospero, had
3666-689: The house. The remodelling had cost twice as much as anticipated, and proved a drain on his finances in the wake of the failure of his light opera Midsummer Madness . Playfair would hold rehearsals for Midsummer Madness in the garden of Thurloe Lodge. The family moved from the house in late 1924 or early 1925. Playfair was the author of the English acting versions of Karel Čapek 's R.U.R. and (with Clifford Bax ) The Insect Play (both 1923), and he appeared in, and produced, many pieces outside his own theatre, including appearances in Prisoners of War at
3744-497: The kind of power represented by Ariel, which extended his abilities. Sycorax's magic was not capable of something like Ariel: "Ariel is a spirit too delicate to act her earthy and abhored commands." Prospero's rational goodness enables him to control Ariel, where Sycorax can only trap him in a tree. Sycorax's magic is described as destructive and terrible, where Prospero's is said to be wondrous and beautiful. Prospero seeks to set things right in his world through his magic, and once that
3822-482: The last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, the rest of the story is set on a remote island, where Prospero , a wizard, lives with his daughter Miranda , and his two servants: Caliban , a savage monster figure, and Ariel , an airy spirit. The play contains music and songs that evoke the spirit of enchantment on the island. It explores many themes, including magic , betrayal, revenge, and family. In Act IV,
3900-554: The letter was dated 15 July 1610, and it is thought that Shakespeare may have seen the original sometime during that year. E. K. Chambers identified the True Reportory as Shakespeare's "main authority" for The Tempest , despite the fact that it was published in 1625. Regarding the influence of Strachey in the play, Kenneth Muir says that although "[t]here is little doubt that Shakespeare had read ... William Strachey's True Reportory " and other accounts, "[t]he extent of
3978-470: The nobles' plot. Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano are then chased off into the swamps by goblins in the shape of hounds. Prospero vows that once he achieves his goals, he will set Ariel free, and abandon his magic, saying: I'll break my staff, Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, And deeper than did ever plummet sound I'll drown my book. Ariel brings on Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian. Prospero forgives all three. Prospero's former title, Duke of Milan,
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#17327866030714056-609: The opening of the Shakespeare Festival at Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1919, and brought it to the Lyric in April 1920. He played Touchstone, in a production with set and costumes by Claud Lovat Fraser . It was a radical departure, inspired by the innovative ballet company the Ballets Russes . At the time, the text was usually heavily cut, but Playfair gave it almost complete. The scholar David Crystal describes
4134-515: The printed words on the page, the study was able to individuate the compositors, and reveal that three compositors worked on The Tempest , who are known as Compositor B, C, and F. Compositor B worked on The Tempest ' s first page as well as six other pages. He was an experienced journeyman in Jaggard's printshop, who occasionally could be careless. He also was fond of dashes and colons, where modern editions use commas. In his role, he may have had
4212-529: The production as "bright, dynamic and musical, with young actors". At the time, some theatre-goers resented it, but Crystal comments that many critics now call it the first modern production of the play. In 1922 Playfair bought a long lease on Thurloe Lodge in South Kensington. Playfair and his family had previously lived at 26 Pelham Crescent. He bought the cottages with the proceeds from The Beggar's Opera . Playfair engaged Darcy Braddell to remodel
4290-792: The role of Hodson in Bernard Shaw 's John Bull's Other Island at the Court Theatre . In 1905 he married the actress Annie Mabel Platts (1875–1948), the daughter of a senior officer in the Indian Imperial Police ; her stage name was May Martyn. They had three sons. In 1907 at His Majesty's, Playfair played Stephano in The Tempest , Clown in The Winter's Tale and First Gravedigger in Hamlet , and in 1910 at
4368-840: The role of Ralph in The Knight of the Burning Pestle . Over the next twelve years he produced and acted in a wide range of plays. Classics included The Way of the World (1924), The Duenna (1924), The Rivals (1925), The Beaux' Stratagem (1927) She Stoops to Conquer (1928) and The Critic (1928). Playfair interspersed the classics with new musical shows with scores by Dennis Arundell , Thomas Dunhill and Alfred Reynolds and words by himself, A. P. Herbert and others: Riverside Nights (1926), Tantivy Towers (1931) and Derby Day (1932). The Times commented that these shows demonstrated that Playfair's "special method –
4446-533: The royal fleet and then to Naples, where Ferdinand and Miranda will be married. After this, Ariel is set free. In an epilogue, Prospero requests that the audience set him free — with their applause. The Tempest begins with the spectacle of a storm-tossed ship at sea, and later there is a second spectacle—the masque. A masque in Renaissance England was a festive courtly entertainment that offered music, dance, elaborate sets, costumes, and drama. Often
4524-802: The same theatre played the Host in The Merry Wives of Windsor . His roles between then and the First World War included Flawner Bannel in Fanny's First Play (1911), Steward in The Winter's Tale (1912), Sir Benjamin Backbite in The School for Scandal (1913) and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1914). During the war he appeared in light plays, fashionable at that time. in 1918
4602-490: The same time as The Winter's Tale . Edward Blount entered The Tempest into the Stationers' Register on 8 November 1623. It was one of 16 Shakespeare plays that Blount registered on that date. There is no obvious single origin for the plot of The Tempest ; it appears to have been created with several sources contributing, chiefly William Strachey's "Letter to an Excellent Lady". Since source scholarship began in
4680-602: The same time his first play, a one-act piece called Amelia was staged as a curtain-raiser at the Garrick. The Era called it "a satire on cheap gentility which would have delighted Thackeray . Playfair joined F. R. Benson's company touring in the West Indies, chiefly in comic Shakespearian parts. Back in London, in 1904, he first played his favourite role, Ralph, in The Knight of the Burning Pestle , and created
4758-571: The sands with printless foot Do chase the ebbing Neptune, and do fly him When he comes back ... (5.1.33–36) The Tempest first appeared in print in 1623 in the collection of 36 of Shakespeare's plays entitled, Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies; Published according to the True and Original Copies , which is known as the First Folio . The plays, including The Tempest , were gathered and edited by John Heminges and Henry Condell . A handwritten manuscript of The Tempest
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#17327866030714836-523: The ship is destroyed. Antonio is shipwrecked, along with Alonso, Ferdinand (Alonso's son and heir to the throne), Sebastian (Alonso's brother), Gonzalo (Prospero's trustworthy minister), Adrian, and other court members. Prospero enacts a sophisticated plan to take revenge on his usurpers and regain his dukedom. Using magic, he separates the shipwreck survivors into groups on the island: Prospero intends that Miranda, now aged 15, will marry Ferdinand, and he instructs Ariel to bring some other spirits and produce
4914-404: The shipwreck is blended with memories of Saint Paul 's—in which too not a hair perished—and with Erasmus' colloquy." Shakespeare almost certainly read Strachey's account from the original source, according to Charles Mills Gayley . Gayley posits that Shakespeare had access to Strachey's original "Letter to an Excellent Lady", brought to England by Sir Thomas Gates the summer of 1610: "The letter
4992-483: The system of actor-management was adversely affected by factors such as the increasing cost of mounting theatrical productions, more corporate ownership of theatres, such as by the Theatrical Syndicate , Edward Laurillard and The Shubert Organization , a trend toward ensemble-style acting, and a move towards the financial security offered by long runs rather than rotating plays for a short period. After
5070-432: The tempest at the top of the play, his project is laid out in a series of steps. "Bountiful fortune" has given him a chance to affect his destiny, and that of his county and family. His plan is to do all he can to reverse what was done twelve years ago when he was usurped: First he will use a tempest to cause certain persons to fear his great powers, then when all survived unscathed, he will separate those who lived through
5148-419: The tempest into different groups. These separations will let him deal with each group differently. Then Prospero's plan is to lead Ferdinand to Miranda, having prepared them both for their meeting. What is beyond his magical powers is to cause them to fall in love—but yet they do. The next stages for the couple will be a testing. To help things along he magically makes the others fall into a sleep. The masque which
5226-584: The theatre prospered. Among the productions were Abraham Lincoln by John Drinkwater , and The Beggar's Opera , which, in Frank Swinnerton 's phrase, "caught different moods of the post-war spirit", and ran for 466 and 1,463 performances respectively. In The Oxford Companion to the Theatre (1967) Phyllis Hartnoll comments that the Lyric became "one of the most popular and stimulating centres of theatrical activity". In 1920 Playfair returned to
5304-420: The time The Tempest was written. The Tempest may take its overall structure from traditional Italian commedia dell'arte , which sometimes featured a magus and his daughter, their supernatural attendants, and a number of rustics. The commedia often featured a clown known as Arlecchino (or his predecessor, Zanni ) and his partner Brighella , who bear a striking resemblance to Stephano and Trinculo;
5382-467: The verbal echoes of [the Bermuda] pamphlets has, I think, been exaggerated. There is hardly a shipwreck in history or fiction which does not mention splitting, in which the ship is not lightened of its cargo, in which the passengers do not give themselves up for lost, in which north winds are not sharp, and in which no one gets to shore by clinging to wreckage", and goes on to say that "Strachey's account of
5460-467: The younger son of the five children of the obstetric physician William Smoult Playfair (1835–1903), and his wife, Emily, née Kitson (1841–1916). The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says that the doctor is notable nowadays for "his unintended contribution to medical ethics" by breaching the confidentiality of one of his patients, and for popularising the Weir Mitchell " rest-cure ",
5538-663: Was Robert Hawthorn Kitson , a painter who settled in Taormina, Sicily. He was educated at Winchester , Harrow , and University College, Oxford , where he took a third-class honours degree in modern history (1896). At university he was a member of the Oxford University Dramatic Society . Destined for a career as a lawyer he was called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1900, performing in his spare time with two well-known amateur societies,
5616-520: Was also understood by James, king when The Tempest was first produced, as he arranged political marriages for his grandchildren. What could possibly go wrong with Prospero's plans for his daughter is nature: the fact that Miranda is a young woman who has just arrived at a time in her life when natural attractions among young people become powerful. One threat is the 24-year-old Caliban, who has spoken of his desire to rape Miranda, and "people this isle with Calibans", and who has also offered Miranda's body to
5694-732: Was cremated and his ashes were buried in the Playfair family vault in St Andrews . Fortnum & Masons sell a rich, bitter marmalade, made for Sir Nigel since the 1920s and named in memory of him. In 1965, London County Council erected a blue plaque commemorating Playfair at his former home, 26 Pelham Crescent , South Kensington. Playfair wrote two volumes of memoirs about the Lyric: Playfair appeared in some films. He made several silents, and what his biographer Robert Sharp calls "four indifferent talkies": Sharp rates Crime on
5772-561: Was entrusted by this lady to certain members of the [Virginia Company] council, and one of them, probably Sir Edwin Sandys , incorporated from it such portions as were fitting for the True Declaration issued to the public....The letter was always in the keeping of those vitally concerned until Purchas got hold of it [and published it fifteen years later]. That Shakespeare was allowed to read it and to use certain of its materials for
5850-425: Was fond of joining words with hyphens, and using elisions with apostrophes, for example by changing "with the king" to read: "w'th' King". The elaborate stage directions in The Tempest may have been due to Crane; they provide evidence regarding how the play was staged by the King's Company. The entire First Folio project was delivered to the blind printer, William Jaggard , and printing began in 1622. The Tempest
5928-419: Was prepared by Ralph Crane , a scrivener employed by the King's Men. (A scrivener is one who has a talent and is practiced at using a quill pen and ink to create legible manuscripts.) Crane probably copied from Shakespeare's rough draft, and based his style on Ben Jonson's Folio of 1616. Crane is thought to have neatened texts, edited the divisions of acts and scenes, and sometimes added his own improvements. He
6006-559: Was published as a pamphlet in 1609. It was written in praise of a tavern in Hoxton . The poem includes extensive quotations of an earlier (1568) poem, The Tunning of Elynor Rymming , by John Skelton . The pamphlet contains a pastoral story of a voyage to an island. There is no evidence that Shakespeare read this pamphlet, was aware of it, or had used it. However, the poem may be useful as a source to researchers regarding how such themes and stories were being interpreted and told in London near to
6084-489: Was renowned for his Shakespearean roles, and for such innovations as turning out the house lights so that attention could focus more on the stage and less on the audience. His company toured across Britain, as well as Europe and the United States, demonstrating the power of star actors and celebrated roles to attract enthusiastic audiences. His knighthood in 1895 indicated full acceptance into the higher circles of British society. The 19th-century repertoire usually consisted of
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