John Philip Kemble
Encyclopedia
John Philip Kemble was an English
actor
. He was born into a theatrical family as the eldest son of Roger Kemble
, actor-manager
of a touring troupe. His elder sister Sarah Siddons
achieved fame with him on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
. His other siblings Charles Kemble
, Stephen Kemble
, Ann Hatton
and Elizabeth Whitlock
also enjoyed success on the stage.
– the manager of the travelling theatre company the Warwickshire Company of Comedians
– he was born at Prescot
, Lancashire
. His mother being a Roman Catholic, he was educated at Sedgley Park Catholic seminary, near Wolverhampton
, and the English college at Douai
, with a view to becoming a priest. At the end of the four years' course, he still felt no vocation for the priesthood, and returning to England he joined the theatrical company of Crump & Chamberlain, his first appearance being as Theodosius in Nathaniel Lee
's tragedy
of that name at Wolverhampton on 8 January 1776.
In 1778, Kemble joined the York company of Tate Wilkinson
, appearing at Wakefield
as Captain Plume in George Farquhar
's The Recruiting Officer; in Hull for the first time as Macbeth
on 30 October, and in York
as Orestes in Ambrose Philips
's Distresset Mother. In 1781 he obtained a "star" engagement at Dublin making his first appearance there on 2 November as Hamlet
. He also achieved great success as Raymond in The Count of Narbonne, a play taken from Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto.
, where he made his first appearance on 30 September 1783 as Hamlet. In this role he awakened interest and discussion among the critics such as Harriet Evans Martin
rather than the enthusiastic approval of the public. As Macbeth
on 31 March 1785 he shared in the enthusiasm aroused by Sarah Siddons
, and established a reputation among living actors second only to hers. Brother and sister had first appeared together at Drury Lane on 22 November 1783, as Beverley and Mrs Beverley in Edward Moore's The Gamester, and as King John and Constance in Shakespeare
's tragedy.
In the following year they played Montgomerie and Matilda in Richard Cumberland
's The Carmelite, and in 1785 Adorni and Camiola in Kemble's adaptation of Philip Massinger
's A Maid of Honor, and Othello
and Desdemona
. Between 1785 and 1787 Kemble appeared in a variety of roles, his Mentevole in Robert Jephson
's Julia producing an overwhelming impression.
In December 1787 he married Priscilla Hopkins Brereton, the widow of an actor and herself an actress. Kemble's appointment as manager of the Drury Lane theatre in 1788 gave him full opportunity to dress the characters less according to tradition than in harmony with his own conception of what was suitable. He was also able to experiment with whatever parts might strike his fancy, and of this privilege he took advantage with greater courage than discretion.
He played a huge number of parts, including a large number of Shakespearean characters and also a great many in plays now forgotten, in his own version of Coriolanus
, which was revived during his first season, the character of the "noble Roman" was so exactly suited to his powers that he not only played it with a perfection that has never been approached, but, it is said, unconsciously allowed its influence to colour his private manner and modes of speech. His tall and imposing person, noble countenance, and solemn and grave demeanour were uniquely adapted for the Roman characters in Shakespeare's plays; and, when in addition had to depict the gradual growth and development of one absorbing passion, his representation gathered a momentum and majestic force that were irresistible.
In 1785 the well-known actor, John Henderson, asked his friend, the critic Richard "Conversation" Sharp
, to go and see the newcomer, Kemble, and to report back to him. Sharp later wrote to Henderson with the following insightful description of what he had found ,
"I went, as I promised, to see the new ‘Hamlet’, whose provincial
fame had excited your curiosity as well as mine. There has not
been such a first appearance since yours: yet Nature, though she
has been bountiful to him in figure and feature, has denied him
voice; of course he could not exemplify his own direction for the
players to ‘speak the speech trippingly on the tongue’, and now
and then he was as deliberate in his delivery as if he had been
reading prayers, and had waited for the response.
He is a very handsome man, almost tall and almost large, with
features of a sensible but fixed and tragic cast; his action is
graceful, though somewhat formal, which you will find it hard to
believe, yet it is true. Very careful study appears in all he says and
all he does; but there is more singularity and ingenuity, than
simplicity and fire. Upon the whole he strikes me rather as a
finished French performer, than as a varied and vigorous English
actor, and it is plain he will succeed better in heroic, than in
natural and passionate tragedy. Excepting in serious parts, I
suppose he will never put on the sock.
You have been so long without a ‘brother near the throne’ that it
will perhaps be serviceable to you to be obliged to bestir yourself
in Hamlet, Macbeth, Lord Townley and Maskwell; but in Lear,
Richard, Falstaff and Benedict you have nothing to fear..."
His defect was in flexibility, variety, rapidity; the characteristic of his style was method, regularity, precision, elaboration even of the minutest details, founded on a thorough psychological study of the special personality he had to represent. His elocutionary art, his fine sense of rhythm and emphasis, enabled him to excel in declamation, but physically he was incapable of giving expression to impetuous vehemence and searching pathos. In Coriolanus and Cato he was beyond praise, and possibly he may have been superior to both Garrick
and Kean
in Macbeth, although it must be remembered that in it part of his inspiration must have been caught from Mrs Siddons.
In all the other great Shakespearean characters he was, according to the best critics, inferior to them, least so in Lear
(though he never played Shakespeare's tragic Lear, preferring the happy ending
History of King Lear
as adapted by Nahum Tate
), Hamlet and Wolsey, and most so in Shylock and Richard III. His production of Cymbeline
was staged regularly from 1801 on. On account of the eccentricities of Sheridan
, the proprietor of Drury Lane, Kemble withdrew from the management, and, although he resumed his duties at the beginning of the season 1800-1801, he at the close of 1802 finally resigned connection with it.
In 1803 he became manager of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, in which he had acquired a sixth share for 23,000. The theatre was burned down on 20 September 1808, and the raising of the prices after the opening of the new theatre, in 1809, led to the Old Price Riots
, which practically suspended the performances for three months. Kemble had been nearly ruined by the fire, and was only saved by a generous loan, afterwards converted into a gift, of £10,000 from the Duke of Northumberland
. Kemble took his final leave of the stage in the part of Coriolanus on 23 June 1817.
In 1807 he appears at the theatre in Warwick as Falstaff.
His retirement was probably hastened by the rising popularity of Edmund Kean. The remaining years of his life were spent chiefly abroad, and he died at Lausanne
on 26 February 1823.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He was born into a theatrical family as the eldest son of Roger Kemble
Roger Kemble
Roger Kemble was an English theatre manager, strolling player and actor. In 1753, he married actress Sarah "Sally" Ward at Cirencester, Gloucester, and they had twelve children, who formed the great Kemble family of 19th-century actors and actresses.Roger Kemble was born in Hereford...
, actor-manager
Actor-manager
An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the company's business and financial arrangements, sometimes taking over the management of a theatre, to perform plays of their own choice and in which they will usually star...
of a touring troupe. His elder sister Sarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was the elder sister of John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton and Elizabeth Whitlock, and the aunt of Fanny Kemble. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character,...
achieved fame with him on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
. His other siblings Charles Kemble
Charles Kemble
Charles Kemble was a British actor.-Life:The youngest son of Roger Kemble, and younger brother of John Philip Kemble, Stephen Kemble and Sarah Siddons, he was born at Brecon, South Wales. Like John Philip, he was educated at Douai...
, Stephen Kemble
Stephen Kemble
George Stephen Kemble was a successful theatre manager, British actor, writer, and a member of the famous Kemble family....
, Ann Hatton
Ann Hatton
Ann Julia Hatton , was a popular novelist in Britain in the early 19th century.-Biography:...
and Elizabeth Whitlock
Elizabeth Whitlock
Elizabeth Whitlock was a British actress.A member of the Kemble family of actors, she made her first appearance on the stage in 1783 at Drury Lane as Portia. In 1785 she married Charles E. Whitlock, went with him to America, and played with much success there...
also enjoyed success on the stage.
Early life
The second child of Roger KembleRoger Kemble
Roger Kemble was an English theatre manager, strolling player and actor. In 1753, he married actress Sarah "Sally" Ward at Cirencester, Gloucester, and they had twelve children, who formed the great Kemble family of 19th-century actors and actresses.Roger Kemble was born in Hereford...
– the manager of the travelling theatre company the Warwickshire Company of Comedians
Warwickshire Company of Comedians
The Warwickshire Company of Comedians, also known as Mr Ward's Company of Comedians and after 1767 as Mr Kemble's Company of Comedians, was a theatre company established by John Ward in Birmingham, England in the 1740s, touring throughout the West Midlands region and surrounding counties over...
– he was born at Prescot
Prescot
Prescot is a town and civil parish, within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It is 8 miles to the east of Liverpool city centre and lies within the historic boundaries of Lancashire. At the 2001 Census, the population was 11,184 .Prescot marks the beginning of the...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. His mother being a Roman Catholic, he was educated at Sedgley Park Catholic seminary, near Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, and the English college at Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
, with a view to becoming a priest. At the end of the four years' course, he still felt no vocation for the priesthood, and returning to England he joined the theatrical company of Crump & Chamberlain, his first appearance being as Theodosius in Nathaniel Lee
Nathaniel Lee
Nathaniel Lee was an English dramatist.He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth...
's tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
of that name at Wolverhampton on 8 January 1776.
In 1778, Kemble joined the York company of Tate Wilkinson
Tate Wilkinson
Tate Wilkinson , English actor and manager, was the son of a clergyman.His first attempts at acting were badly received, and it was to his wonderful gift of mimicry that he owed his success. His imitations, however, naturally gave offence to the important actors and managers whose peculiarities he...
, appearing at Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
as Captain Plume in George Farquhar
George Farquhar
George Farquhar was an Irish dramatist. He is noted for his contributions to late Restoration comedy, particularly for his plays The Recruiting Officer and The Beaux' Stratagem .-Early life:...
's The Recruiting Officer; in Hull for the first time as Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
on 30 October, and in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
as Orestes in Ambrose Philips
Ambrose Philips
-Life:He was born in Shropshire of a Leicestershire family. He was educated at Shrewsbury School and St John's College, Cambridge, of which he became a fellow in 1699. He seems to have lived chiefly at Cambridge until he resigned his fellowship in 1708, and his pastorals were probably written in...
's Distresset Mother. In 1781 he obtained a "star" engagement at Dublin making his first appearance there on 2 November as Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. He also achieved great success as Raymond in The Count of Narbonne, a play taken from Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto.
Drury Lane
Gradually he won for himself a high reputation as a careful and finished actor, and this, combined with the greater fame of his sister, Sarah, led to an engagement at the Theatre Royal, Drury LaneTheatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
, where he made his first appearance on 30 September 1783 as Hamlet. In this role he awakened interest and discussion among the critics such as Harriet Evans Martin
Harriet Evans Martin
Harriet Evans Martin, Anglo-Irish novelist, died 1846.Born Harriet Evans, she was the daughter of Hugh Evans, senior surgeon of the 5th Dragoon Guards. George Evans, 4th Baron Carbery may have been a paternal relative, as she dedicated one of her books to him....
rather than the enthusiastic approval of the public. As Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
on 31 March 1785 he shared in the enthusiasm aroused by Sarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was the elder sister of John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton and Elizabeth Whitlock, and the aunt of Fanny Kemble. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character,...
, and established a reputation among living actors second only to hers. Brother and sister had first appeared together at Drury Lane on 22 November 1783, as Beverley and Mrs Beverley in Edward Moore's The Gamester, and as King John and Constance in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's tragedy.
In the following year they played Montgomerie and Matilda in Richard Cumberland
Richard Cumberland (dramatist)
Richard Cumberland was a British dramatist and civil servant. In 1771 his hit play The West Indian was first staged. During the American War of Independence he acted as a secret negotiator with Spain in an effort to secure a peace agreement between the two nations. He also edited a short-lived...
's The Carmelite, and in 1785 Adorni and Camiola in Kemble's adaptation of Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
's A Maid of Honor, and Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
and Desdemona
Desdemona (Othello)
Desdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's play Othello . Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a man several years her senior. When her husband is deployed to Cyprus in the service of the...
. Between 1785 and 1787 Kemble appeared in a variety of roles, his Mentevole in Robert Jephson
Robert Jephson
Robert Jephson was an Irish dramatist and politician.He was born in Ireland. After serving for some years in the British army, he retired with the rank of captain, and lived in England where he was the friend of David Garrick, Joshua Reynolds, Oliver Goldsmith, Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke,...
's Julia producing an overwhelming impression.
In December 1787 he married Priscilla Hopkins Brereton, the widow of an actor and herself an actress. Kemble's appointment as manager of the Drury Lane theatre in 1788 gave him full opportunity to dress the characters less according to tradition than in harmony with his own conception of what was suitable. He was also able to experiment with whatever parts might strike his fancy, and of this privilege he took advantage with greater courage than discretion.
He played a huge number of parts, including a large number of Shakespearean characters and also a great many in plays now forgotten, in his own version of Coriolanus
Coriolanus (play)
Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus.-Characters:*Caius Martius, later surnamed Coriolanus...
, which was revived during his first season, the character of the "noble Roman" was so exactly suited to his powers that he not only played it with a perfection that has never been approached, but, it is said, unconsciously allowed its influence to colour his private manner and modes of speech. His tall and imposing person, noble countenance, and solemn and grave demeanour were uniquely adapted for the Roman characters in Shakespeare's plays; and, when in addition had to depict the gradual growth and development of one absorbing passion, his representation gathered a momentum and majestic force that were irresistible.
In 1785 the well-known actor, John Henderson, asked his friend, the critic Richard "Conversation" Sharp
Richard Sharp (politician)
Richard Sharp, FRS, FSA , also known as "Conversation" Sharp, was a hat-maker, banker, merchant, poet, critic, British politician, but above all - doyen of the conversationalists.-Family background:...
, to go and see the newcomer, Kemble, and to report back to him. Sharp later wrote to Henderson with the following insightful description of what he had found ,
"I went, as I promised, to see the new ‘Hamlet’, whose provincial
fame had excited your curiosity as well as mine. There has not
been such a first appearance since yours: yet Nature, though she
has been bountiful to him in figure and feature, has denied him
voice; of course he could not exemplify his own direction for the
players to ‘speak the speech trippingly on the tongue’, and now
and then he was as deliberate in his delivery as if he had been
reading prayers, and had waited for the response.
He is a very handsome man, almost tall and almost large, with
features of a sensible but fixed and tragic cast; his action is
graceful, though somewhat formal, which you will find it hard to
believe, yet it is true. Very careful study appears in all he says and
all he does; but there is more singularity and ingenuity, than
simplicity and fire. Upon the whole he strikes me rather as a
finished French performer, than as a varied and vigorous English
actor, and it is plain he will succeed better in heroic, than in
natural and passionate tragedy. Excepting in serious parts, I
suppose he will never put on the sock.
You have been so long without a ‘brother near the throne’ that it
will perhaps be serviceable to you to be obliged to bestir yourself
in Hamlet, Macbeth, Lord Townley and Maskwell; but in Lear,
Richard, Falstaff and Benedict you have nothing to fear..."
His defect was in flexibility, variety, rapidity; the characteristic of his style was method, regularity, precision, elaboration even of the minutest details, founded on a thorough psychological study of the special personality he had to represent. His elocutionary art, his fine sense of rhythm and emphasis, enabled him to excel in declamation, but physically he was incapable of giving expression to impetuous vehemence and searching pathos. In Coriolanus and Cato he was beyond praise, and possibly he may have been superior to both Garrick
David Garrick
David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
and Kean
Edmund Kean
Edmund Kean was an English actor, regarded in his time as the greatest ever.-Early life:Kean was born in London. His father was probably Edmund Kean, an architect’s clerk, and his mother was an actress, Anne Carey, daughter of the 18th century composer and playwright Henry Carey...
in Macbeth, although it must be remembered that in it part of his inspiration must have been caught from Mrs Siddons.
In all the other great Shakespearean characters he was, according to the best critics, inferior to them, least so in Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
(though he never played Shakespeare's tragic Lear, preferring the happy ending
Happy ending
A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the protagonists, their sidekicks, and almost everyone except the villains....
History of King Lear
The History of King Lear
The History of King Lear is an adaptation by Nahum Tate of William Shakespeare's King Lear. It first appeared in 1681, some seventy-five years after Shakespeare's version, and is believed to have replaced Shakespeare's version on the English stage in whole or in part until 1838.Unlike Shakespeare's...
as adapted by Nahum Tate
Nahum Tate
Nahum Tate was an Irish poet, hymnist, and lyricist, who became England's poet laureate in 1692.-Life:Nahum Teate came from a family of Puritan clergymen...
), Hamlet and Wolsey, and most so in Shylock and Richard III. His production of Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
was staged regularly from 1801 on. On account of the eccentricities of Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
, the proprietor of Drury Lane, Kemble withdrew from the management, and, although he resumed his duties at the beginning of the season 1800-1801, he at the close of 1802 finally resigned connection with it.
Covent Garden
Old Price Riots, 1809
The Old Price Riots of 1809 were caused by rising prices at the new Theatre at Covent Garden, London, after the previous one had been destroyed by fire. Covent Garden was one of two “patent” theatres in London in the nineteenth century, along with Drury Lane...
, which practically suspended the performances for three months. Kemble had been nearly ruined by the fire, and was only saved by a generous loan, afterwards converted into a gift, of £10,000 from the Duke of Northumberland
Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland
Admiral Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland KG, PC, FRS , styled Lord Algernon Percy until 1816 and known as The Lord Prudhoe between 1816 and 1847, was a British naval commander, explorer and Conservative politician.-Background:Northumberland was the younger son of General Hugh Percy, 2nd...
. Kemble took his final leave of the stage in the part of Coriolanus on 23 June 1817.
In 1807 he appears at the theatre in Warwick as Falstaff.
His retirement was probably hastened by the rising popularity of Edmund Kean. The remaining years of his life were spent chiefly abroad, and he died at Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
on 26 February 1823.
Further reading
- James BoadenJames Boaden-Life:He was the son of William Boaden, a merchant in the Russia trade. He was born at Whitehaven, Cumberland, on 23 May 1762, and at an early age came with his parents to London, where he was educated for commerce...
, Life of John Philip Kemble (1825) - Fitzgerald, The Kembles (1871)
External links
- Building History - The former theatre in Warwick where Kemble played in 1807