Key Figures
This actor-manager popularized the box set and realistic acting in London theatres.
Charles Fletcher
Charles Fechter’s Hamlet had sets that looked like actual rooms rather than traditional stage settings. This helped popularize what?
A more realistic acting style
This playwright wrote Society and Caste, forming the foundation of domestic realism.
T.W. Robertson
This theatre became the foremost London theatre under Irving.
Lyceum Theatre
The first fully electric theatre
Savoy Theatre in 1881
She co-managed the Prince of Wales’s Theatre with her husband and promoted domestic realism.
Mrs. Bancroft (Marie Wilton)
Dion Boucicault introduced this practice, performing plays in the provinces before London premieres.
Out-of-town tryouts/auditions
Wrote 150 plays, best known for Our Boys (1875) – record-breaking run.
Henry J. Byron
The Bancrofts standardized which type of set that reinforced the 4th wall?
Box set
This type of trap allowed actors to appear to sink into the floor.
Vampire Trap
This actor-manager dominated the Lyceum Theatre from 1878 to 1898.
Henry Irving
Fechter revived interest in this type of stage setting, which allowed for realistic interiors.
The box set
Revived poetic drama (esp. Shakespeare) when most theatres focused on popular entertainment.
Samuel Phelps
Theatres became smaller and more intimate, seating around...
600-1500
Irving was one of the first English producers to make this an art on stage, using colored lights and darkened the auditorium.
Stage Lighting
She was Henry Irving’s leading lady and brought vitality to roles such as Beatrice and Portia. Later managed the Imperial Theatre.
Ellen Terry
The Bancrofts abandoned this traditional actor payment practice in favor of run-of-the-play contracts.
Traditional Benefit Performances
Which genre did the Bancrofts focus on that emphasized ensemble acting and everyday life?
Contemporary drama / domestic realism
The Bancrofts helped establish this type of theatre bill, dropping the curtain-raiser and afterpiece.
Single-play bill
How many stagehands did Irving hire to make his elaborate stage traps possible?
135
This playwright worked closely with the Bancrofts to create the domestic realism style of plays
T.W. Robertson
Irving adopted this stage technique, which allowed flexible placement of scenery.
"Free plantation"
Irving’s most successful role was in this play
Mathias in The Bells
This architect designed about forty theatres in England and improved sight lines and balcony design.
C.J. Phipps
What type of staging allows for flexible scenery movement?
"Free Plantation"