
The
theatrical roles of Sir Henry Irving
Sir
Henry Irving, a prominent figure in late 19th-century British
theatre, established himself as a pre-eminent stage actor
renowned for his commanding presence and meticulous character
portrayals. His illustrious career spanned decades, marked
by a diverse repertoire of roles encompassing both classical
and contemporary dramas. Irving's remarkable versatility enabled
him to seamlessly transition between genres, captivating audiences
with his compelling performances. Renowned for his nuanced
interpretations and unparalleled stage presence, he embodied
a wide array of characters, ranging from Shakespearean protagonists
to complex antiheroes. His meticulous attention to detail
and dedication to his craft earned him widespread acclaim,
solidifying his status as one of the foremost actors of his
time. Irving's professional partnership with actress Ellen
Terry was also one of the most famous in the history of the
English stage and lasted 24 years. Irving's profound impact
on the theatre extended beyond his individual performances;
he also contributed significantly to the evolution of theatrical
production techniques, pioneering innovative staging methods
and elevating the standards of dramatic performance. He was
knighted by Queen Victoria in 1895, the first actor to receive
such an honour, and this was to give theatre a respectable
status.
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# |
Play |
Role |
29
September 1856 to 13 September 1859: Lyceum Theatre, Sunderland;
Theatre Royal, Edinburgh and Queen's Theatre and Operetta
House, Edinburgh |
|
1 |
The Advocate's Daughter |
Herbert |
|
2 |
All That Glitters IS Not Gold |
Sir Arthur Lassel, Stephen Plum, Jasper Plum |
|
3 |
The Anchor of Hope |
Richard Hargrave |
|
4 |
An Hour at Seville |
Peregrine Pyefinch |
|
5 |
The Artist's Wife |
Lord Welford |
|
6 |
Asmodeus |
Ferdinand, Count Medora |
|
7 |
As You Like It |
Sylvius, Orlando |
|
8 |
The Avalanche |
General Duclos |
|
9 |
The Balance of Comfort |
Mr. Torrington |
|
10 |
Barney the Baron |
Augustus |
|
11 |
The Bashful Irishman |
Pester |
|
12 |
Bathing |
John Beauchamp |
|
13 |
The Battle of the Inch |
M'Kay, M'Intosh |
|
14 |
The Bay of Biscay |
Tom Tunnell |
|
15 |
Betsy Baker |
Mr. Crummy |
|
16 |
The Beulah Spy |
Beauchamp |
|
17 |
The Birthplace of Podgers |
Edmund Earlybird |
|
18 |
Black Eyed Susan |
Seaweed, Lieutenant Pyke, Captain Crosstree |
|
19 |
A Blighted Being |
Ned Spanker |
|
20 |
The Blind Boy |
Prince Rodolph |
|
21 |
The Boarding School |
Lieutenant Varley, Captain Harcourt |
|
22 |
The Bohemians |
Paul Didier |
|
23 |
Book III, Chap. I |
Edmond de Mailly |
|
24 |
The Bonnie Fishwife |
Wildoates Heartycheer |
|
25 |
Boots at the Swan |
Henry Higgins, Frank Friskly |
|
26 |
Born to Good Luck |
Count Manfredi |
|
27 |
The Bottle Imp |
Albert |
|
28 |
The Bride of Lammermoor |
Captain Craigengelt |
|
29 |
A Bright To-Morrow |
Philip |
|
30 |
The British Legion |
Colonel Davenport |
|
31 |
The Cabin Boy |
Vincent |
|
32 |
The Cagot; or, Heart to Heart |
Antoine |
|
33 |
The Carpenter of Rouen |
De Saubigné |
|
34 |
The Castle Spectre |
Earl Percy |
|
35 |
Catching an Heiress |
Captain Killingly, Captain Poodle |
|
36 |
Catherine and Petruchio |
Hortensio, Biondello |
|
37 |
Charles XII |
King Charles |
|
38 |
The Charming Polly |
Nat Nowlan |
|
39 |
Clari, The Maid of Milan |
Duke Vivaldi |
|
40 |
Conrad and Medora (pantomime) |
Yussuf |
|
41 |
The Corsican Brothers |
Alfred Meynard, Baron de Montgiron |
|
42 |
Cramond Brig |
Tarn Maxwell, James Birkie, King James |
|
43 |
The Creole |
Alphonse de Nyon |
|
44 |
The Cricket on the Hearth |
Gruff Tackleton |
|
45 |
The Critic |
Dangle |
|
46 |
The Crown Prince |
Frederick Storke, Francis |
|
47 |
The Custom of the Country |
Frank |
|
48 |
Cymbeline |
Pisanio |
|
49 |
Daddy Hardacre |
Adolphus Jobling |
|
50 |
The Dancing Barber |
Alfred Fitzfrolic, Lord Mincington |
|
51 |
David Copperfield |
David Copperfield |
|
52 |
The Day After the Wedding |
Colonel Freelove, Lord Rivers |
|
53 |
Deaf as a Post |
Captain Templeton |
|
54 |
Diamond Cut Diamond |
Captain Seymour |
|
55 |
Dombey and Son |
Mr. Dombey |
|
56 |
Dominique the Deserter |
Count D'Anville |
|
57 |
Don Caesar de Bazan |
Don José |
|
58 |
Don Giovanni (extravaganza) |
Octavio |
|
59 |
Don't judge by Appearances |
Frank Topham |
|
60 |
Double Dummy |
John Timpkins |
|
61 |
Douglas |
Lord Randolph |
|
62 |
The Drapery Question |
Mr. Ogler |
|
63 |
The Dream at Sea |
Richard Penderell |
|
64 |
Dred |
Clayton |
|
65 |
The Drunkard's Doom |
Rudolphus |
|
66 |
The Dumb Maid of Genoa |
Count Corvenio, Antonio, Strapado |
|
67 |
The Dumb Man of Manchester |
Mr. Palmerston |
|
68 |
Ella Rosenberg |
Colonel Mountfort |
|
69 |
The Enchanted Lake (extravaganza) |
A Cook |
|
70 |
Esmeralda |
Claude Frollo |
|
71 |
The Eton Boy |
Captain Popham |
|
72 |
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining |
Charles Digit |
|
73 |
The Evil Genius |
Walmesley |
|
74 |
Extremes |
Frank Hawthorn |
|
75 |
The Fairy Circle |
Philip Blake |
|
76 |
The Falls of Clyde |
Kenmure |
|
77 |
A Fascinating lndividual |
Captain Thompson |
|
78 |
Fazio |
Philario |
|
79 |
The Fire Raiser |
Piers Talbot |
|
80 |
The Flowers of the Forest |
Linton, Leybourne, Captain Laverock, Alfred, Ishmael |
|
81 |
The Flying Dutchman |
Lieutenant Mowbray, Toby Varnish |
|
82 |
The Fortunes of Nigel |
Lord Dalgarno |
|
83 |
Forty and Fifty |
Altamont |
|
84 |
The Foundling of the Forest |
Baron Longueville |
|
85 |
Frankenstein |
Prince of Piombino |
|
86 |
Fraud and Its Victims |
Count de Valmore, Alfred Seabourne |
|
87 |
Frederick of Prussia |
Captain Niddermannersteinchwanchoingen |
|
88 |
Ici on Parle Français (French Before Breakfast) |
Victor Dubois |
|
89 |
The French Spy |
Didier |
|
90 |
The Gaberlunzie Man |
The Organist |
|
91 |
The Gamester |
Bates |
|
92 |
The Gentle Shepherd |
Sir William Worthey |
|
93 |
Gilderoy |
Carbine, Sergeant Musqueton, Gilderoy |
|
94 |
The Gipsy Farmer |
Luke Hatfield |
|
95 |
Giralda |
Don Manuel |
|
96 |
Good for Nothing |
Charley, Young Mr. Simpson, Harry Collier |
|
97 |
The Governor's Wife |
The Governor of Surinam |
|
98 |
Grandfather Whitehead |
Langley |
|
99 |
The Green Bushes |
Ned Keogh, George O'Kennedy |
|
100 |
The Green Hills of the Far West |
Marston |
|
101 |
Guy Mannering |
Henry Bertram, Dirk Hatterick, Colonel Mannering |
|
102 |
Gwynneth Vaughan |
Evan Pritchard |
|
103 |
Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh |
Cyril Baliol |
|
104 |
Hamlet |
Guildenstern, Horatio, Claudius The Priest, The Ghost, Osric,
Laertes |
|
105 |
The Happiest Day of My Life |
Charles |
|
106 |
A Hard Struggle |
Fergus Graham |
|
107 |
Handy Andy |
Mr. Furlong |
|
108 |
The Heart of Midlothian |
Black Frank, Duke of Argyll, Reuben Butler |
|
109 |
Helping Hands |
Lord Quaverley |
|
110 |
High Life Below Stairs |
Philip |
|
111 |
His Last Legs |
Charles |
|
112 |
Honesty is the Best Policy |
Captain Lejoyeux |
|
113 |
The Honeymoon |
Lampedo, Lopez |
|
114 |
The Hunchback |
Lord Tinsel, Sir Thomas Clifford |
|
115 |
The Hunter of the Alps |
Marco |
|
116 |
Hunting a Turtle |
Smatter |
|
117 |
Ida May |
Kelly |
|
118 |
The Idiot Witness |
Earl of Sussex |
|
119 |
Ingomar |
Lykon, Myron |
|
120 |
The Invincibles |
Captain Florville |
|
121 |
Ireland As It Was |
Connor, M. Voyage |
|
122 |
Irish-A-Honey |
Malden |
|
123 |
Irish Assurance |
Captain Herbert |
|
124 |
The Irish Emigrant |
Henry Travers |
|
125 |
The Irish Lion |
Mackenzie, Captain Dixon |
|
126 |
The Irish Post |
George Lane |
|
127 |
The Irish Tiger |
Sir Charles Lavender |
|
128 |
The Irish Tutor |
Charles |
|
129 |
The Iron Chest |
Armstrong, Orson |
|
130 |
Isabelle |
Coquin |
|
131 |
Ivanhoe |
Sir Reginald Frondebouef |
|
132 |
Jack Robinson and His Monkey |
José Rimiero |
|
133 |
The Jacobite |
Sir Richard Wroughton |
|
134 |
Jane Shore |
Belmont |
|
135 |
Janet Pride |
George Heriot, Counsel for the prosecution |
|
136 |
The Jersey Girl |
Dumouchard |
|
136 |
Jessy Vere |
Sigismund Fanshawe |
|
138 |
Joan of Arc |
Florine |
|
139 |
John Overy |
Baron Fitzjeffrey, Mayfly |
|
140 |
Kenilworth (burlesque) |
Wayland Smith |
|
141 |
King Henry VIII |
Earl of Surrey |
|
142 |
King John |
Philip Faulconbridge, King of France |
|
143 |
King Lear |
Curan |
|
144 |
The King of the Peacocks (extravaganza) |
Franquille |
|
145 |
King Rene' s Daughter |
Sir Almeric |
|
146 |
The King's Musketeers |
Athos |
|
147 |
The King's Wager |
Colonel Vane |
|
148 |
The Knight of Arva |
Due de Charbonnes |
|
149 |
The Ladies' Battle |
Gustave de Grignon |
|
150 |
The Ladies' Club |
Sir Charles Lavender, Mr. Bookly |
|
151 |
The Lady of Lyons |
Second Officer, Gervais, Beauseant, Claude Melnotte |
|
152 |
The Lady of the Lake |
Malcolm Graeme |
|
153 |
The Lamplighter |
Philip Arnold |
|
154 |
The Last Man |
Henry Wentworth |
|
155 |
The Laughing Hyena |
Simon Hornblower |
|
156 |
Like and Unlike |
Louis |
|
157 |
Little Bo-Peep (pantomime) |
Scruncher (The Wolf) |
|
158 |
Little Dorrit |
Sparkler |
|
159 |
The Little Treasure |
Sir Charles Howard, Captain Waiter Maydenblush |
|
160 |
The Loan of a Lover |
Captain Amersfort |
|
161 |
London Assurance |
Charles Courtly, Dazzle |
|
162 |
The Lonely Man of the Ocean |
Wyndham Bowyer |
|
163 |
Lord Darnley |
Lord Darnley, Earl Lumley, Will Eliott |
|
164 |
The Lost Husband |
Lorain |
|
165 |
The Lost Ship |
Ned Martin |
|
166 |
The Lottery Ticket |
Charles |
|
167 |
Louis XI |
Tristan, Coitier |
|
168 |
Love |
Ulrick |
|
169 |
The Love Chase |
Neville, Master Waller |
|
170 |
Lucille |
André |
|
171 |
Luke the Labourer |
Squire Chase, Charles Maydew |
|
172 |
Macbeth |
Seyton, Rosse, Banquo, Macduff |
|
173 |
The Maid and the Magpie (burlesque) |
Fernando, Villabella |
|
174 |
The Maid With the Milking Pail |
Algernon |
|
175 |
The Man of the World |
Egerton |
|
176 |
The Man With the Carpet Bag |
Wrangle |
|
177 |
The Man With the Iron Mask |
D'Aubigné |
|
178 |
Marianne the Vivandière |
Gaston de Montclar |
|
179 |
Marie Antoinette |
Count de Provence |
|
180 |
Marie Ducange |
Markland |
|
181 |
The Marble Heart |
Frederick de Courcy |
|
182 |
Marriage A Lottery |
Herbert Manifest |
|
183 |
Married Life |
Frederick Younghusband, Lionel Lynx |
|
184 |
Mary, Queen of Scots |
Lord Lyndsay, Jasper Drysdale |
|
185 |
Masaniello (burlesque) |
Selva |
|
186 |
Masks and Faces |
Snarl, Soaper |
|
187 |
Matteo Falcone |
Brozzo, Gianetto, Sampiero |
|
188 |
The May Queen |
Secretary Sampson |
|
189 |
Medea |
Jason |
|
190 |
Memoirs of the Devil |
De Ferney |
|
191 |
Memorandums in the Red Book |
Count de Cerny |
|
192 |
Mephistopheles (extravaganza) |
Marquis de Brancador |
|
193 |
The Merchant of Venice |
Salarino, Bassanio |
|
194 |
Michel Erle |
Phillip D'Arville |
|
195 |
Midas (burlesque) |
Jupiter |
|
196 |
The Middle Temple |
Briefless |
|
197 |
The Middy Ashore |
Mr. Tonnish |
|
198 |
The Midnight Watch |
Antoine Deval |
|
199 |
The Miller of Whetstone |
Fabian Leslie |
|
200 |
The Miller's Maid |
George |
|
201 |
The Milliners' Holiday |
Lieutenant Bowling |
|
202 |
Mind Your Own Business |
Mowbray |
|
203 |
Mischief Making |
Henri Desgrais |
|
204 |
The Momentous Question |
James Greenfield |
|
205 |
Money |
Captain Dudley Smooth |
|
206 |
Mother and Child are Doing Well |
Maxwell |
|
207 |
Mr. and Mrs. Pringle |
John Brush |
|
208 |
The Muleteer of Toledo |
Don Pedro |
|
209 |
Music Hath Charms |
Adrien |
|
210 |
My Aunt's Husband |
Captain Touchwood |
|
211 |
My Poll and My Partner Joe |
Oakheart |
|
212 |
My Precious Betsy |
Langford |
|
213 |
The Mysterious Stranger |
Captain Gasconade |
|
214 |
My Wife's Mother |
Edward Waverley |
|
215 |
The Nervous Man |
Captain Burnish |
|
216 |
Nicholas Nickleby |
Nicholas, Mantellini |
|
217 |
No. 1 Round the Corner |
Flipper |
|
218 |
Norah Creina |
Ned O'Grady |
|
219 |
Not A Bad Judge |
Marquis de Treval |
|
220 |
Not To Be Done |
Jonas Downeywag |
|
221 |
Nothing Venture, Nothing Win |
Duke of Vendome |
|
222 |
An Object of Interest |
Sydenham Simmerton |
|
223 |
The Ocean of Life |
Hal Harsfield |
|
224 |
The Old Gentleman |
Charles Benedict |
|
225 |
Old Joe and Young Joe |
Frederick |
|
226 |
Oliver Twist |
Monks, Leeford |
|
227 |
The Orphan of Glencoe |
Colonel Campbell |
|
228 |
Othello |
Messenger, Montana, Cassio |
|
229 |
Our Gal |
Henry Seymour |
|
230 |
Our Mary Anne |
Colonel Albert |
|
231 |
Our Wife |
The Marquis de Ligny |
|
232 |
Paddy Miles' s Boy |
Henry |
|
233 |
The Padlock |
Leander |
|
234 |
The Patrician's Daughter |
Lister |
|
235 |
Paul Pry |
Harry Stanley |
|
236 |
Perdita; or, The Royal Milkmaid (burlesque) |
Camillo |
|
237 |
Perfection |
Charles Paragon |
|
238 |
Perourou, The Bellows Mender |
Felix Raymond |
|
239 |
Peter Bell, The Waggoner |
Dubois |
|
240 |
The Pilot |
Lieutenant Griffiths, Captain Manson, The Pilot |
|
241 |
A Pleasant Neighbour |
Sir George |
|
242 |
Plot and Passion |
Berthier, M. de Cevennes |
|
243 |
Pluto and Proserpine (burlesque) |
Minos |
|
244 |
A Poor Girl's Temptation |
Walter Warren |
|
245 |
The Porter's Knot |
Augustus Burr |
|
246 |
P.P.; or The Man and the Tiger |
Lieutenant Fusile, Mr. Somerhill |
|
247 |
Prince Charles Edward Stuart |
Prince Charles |
|
248 |
A Prince for an Hour |
Colonel Pazzi |
|
249 |
Puss in Boots (pantomime) |
An Ogre, A Demon |
|
250 |
Quake, Shake and Simon |
Bolding |
|
251 |
Queen Mary's Bower |
Lieutenant Wentworth |
|
252 |
Raby Rattler |
Frank Floss |
|
253 |
The Ragpicker of Paris |
Count St. Fruilan, Baron Hoffman |
|
254 |
Raymond and Agnes |
Raymond, Jacques |
|
255 |
The Rendezvous |
Bolding |
|
256 |
The Rent Day |
Toby Heywood |
|
257 |
The Revenge |
Carlos |
|
258 |
The Review |
Captain Beaugard |
|
259 |
Richard III |
Catesby, Henry VI, Richmond |
|
260 |
Richelieu |
Due d'Orléans, Louis XIII |
|
261 |
The Rifle Brigade |
Captain Nugent |
|
262 |
The Rival Pages |
Marquis de Preville |
|
263 |
The Rivals |
Fag, Faulkland, Captain Absolute |
|
264 |
Robert Macaire |
Charles Dumont |
|
265 |
Robert The Bruce |
Comyn |
|
266 |
Robinson Crusoe |
Jack Wind |
|
267 |
Rob Roy |
Francis Osbaldiston, Rashleigh Osbaldiston, Rob Roy |
|
268 |
A Roland for an Oliver |
The Gamekeeper, Alfred Highflyer |
|
269 |
Romeo and Juliet |
Paris, Tybalt |
|
270 |
Rory O'More |
De Lacy |
|
271 |
Rule a Wife, and Have a Wife |
Alonzo, The Duke |
|
272 |
Rural Felicity |
Unit |
|
273 |
Saint Clair of the Isles |
Roskelyn |
|
274 |
St. Mary's Eve |
Robert Vaughan |
|
275 |
St. Patrick's Eve |
Francis, Baron Trenck |
|
276 |
Samuel in Search of Himself |
Samuel |
|
277 |
Sandy McDonald |
Harry Frampton |
|
278 |
The Scholar |
Frederick |
|
279 |
The School for Scandal |
Careless |
|
280 |
The Secret |
Dupuis |
|
281 |
Self Accusation |
Luke Brandon |
|
282 |
The Sentinel |
Prince |
|
283 |
The Serious Family |
Frank Vincent |
|
284 |
She Stoops to Conquer |
Jeremy |
|
285 |
Shocking Events |
Captain Spoff |
|
286 |
The Siamese Twins |
Captain Vivid |
|
287 |
Simpson and Co. |
Mr. Bromley |
|
288 |
Single Life |
Charles Chester, Narcissus Boss |
|
289 |
Sixteen String Jack |
Horace Mordaunt |
|
290 |
The Slave |
Somerdyke |
|
291 |
The Sleeping Beauty (pantomime) |
Venoma [a female part] |
|
292 |
The Soldier's Daughter |
Young Malfort, Frank Heartall |
|
293 |
Somebody Else |
Hans Moritz |
|
294 |
La Somnambula (burlesque) |
Count Rodolpho |
|
295 |
The Somnambulist |
M. de Rosembert |
|
296 |
The Son of the Night |
Count D'Orbani |
|
297 |
The Spectre Bridegroom |
Captain Vauntington, Mr. Nicodemus |
|
298 |
The Spitalfields Weaver |
Darville |
|
299 |
The Spitfire |
Captain Shortcut |
|
300 |
The Spoiled Child |
Tagg |
|
301 |
Spring Gardens |
Lord Lovel |
|
302 |
State Secrets |
Calverton Hall |
|
303 |
Still Waters Run Deep |
Dunbilk |
|
304 |
The Stranger |
Count Wintersen, Francis |
|
305 |
Susan Hopley |
Andrew Hopley |
|
306 |
Sweethearts and Wives |
Sandford, Charles Franklin |
|
307 |
The Taming of the Shrew |
Hortensio, Biondello, Petruchio |
|
308 |
Teddy the Tiler |
Henry |
|
309 |
Therese; or, The Orphan of Geneva |
Fontaine |
|
310 |
Time Tries All |
Charles Clinton, Matthew Bates |
|
311 |
Tom Cringle |
Alfred, Mat Ironhand |
|
312 |
The Toodles |
George Acorn, Fenton |
|
313 |
The Trumpeter's Daughter |
Philliput |
|
314 |
'Twas I |
Delorme |
|
315 |
The Two Gregories |
John Bull |
|
316 |
The Vagrant |
Maillard |
|
317 |
Victims |
Herbert Fitzherbert |
|
318 |
Victorine |
Macaire |
|
319 |
The Virginia Mummy |
Charles |
|
320 |
Virginius |
Appius Claudius, Soldier |
|
321 |
Wallace: The Hero of Scotland |
Monteith |
|
322 |
The Wandering Boys |
Gregoire, Comte de Croissy, Roland |
|
323 |
Wanted 1,000 Milliners |
Tom Tipton |
|
324 |
Warlock of the Glen |
Clanronald |
|
325 |
The Water Witches |
Charles Chester |
|
326 |
Where There's a Will |
Don Lopez, Don Scipio |
|
327 |
The Widow's Victim |
Mr. Twitter |
|
328 |
The Wife: A Tale of Mantua |
Count Florio, Leonardo Gonzago |
|
329 |
William Tell |
Michael, Gessler |
|
330 |
The Winter's Tale |
Cleomenes, The Third Gentleman, Florizel |
|
331 |
The Woman Hater |
Frederick |
|
332 |
The Wonder |
Frederick |
|
333 |
The Wraith of the Lake |
Charles Alison |
|
334 |
The Wreck Ashore |
Walter Barnard |
|
335 |
The Writing on the Wall |
Sir Philip Eaton, Richard Oliver |
|
336 |
The Young Mother |
Frank Melrose |
|
337 |
The Young Scamp |
Arthur |
|
338 |
Your Life's in Danger |
Krakwitz |
 |
|
Sources:
1. A. Brereton. The Life of Henry Irving, vols. 1-2.
London, etc.: Longman's, Green and Co., 1908.
2. L. Irving. Henry Irving: The Actor and His World.
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1952.
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