John
Philip Kemble
John
Philip Kemble as Hamlet 1801.
Engraving George Adcock from a painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769 -
1830), published by Fisher in 1844. This
image is in the public domain because the copyright has expired.
The
original painting is in the collection of the Tate Gallery.
When on
display in September 2004 the following caption was displayed:
John
Philip Kemble as Hamlet 1801, Oil on canvas
support: 3061 x 1981 mm,
painting. Presented by King William IV 1836. 'Kemble was the leading tragic actor on the English stage. This
painting, exhibited at the Academy in 1801, is the most famous of four
huge canvases which Lawrence painted showing Kemble in various dramatic
roles.
It shows the importance of size as a means of dominating
the Academy’s exhibitions. Portraits like this would be shown ‘above
the line’, that is with their frames resting on a moulding eight foot
(2.4 m) from the floor. This meant they could be seen above the heads
of the crowds. . . .
Kemble's appointment as manager of the Drury Lane theatre, in 1788, gave
him the opportunity to introduce changes in costume, informed by his own
sense rather than theatrical tradition and to experiment with a variety of
roles. During this period he played many parts, including many Shakespearean
characters and numerous minor 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 Sharp, to go and see the newcomer, Kemble, and to report
back to him. Sharp described 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 a 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...'
Various writers commented on Kemble's style. Kemble was lacking 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 this role 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.
[(This page incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica,
Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.]
Top
John Phillip Kemble
in the role of Cato in Addison's Cato, at Covent Garden
in 1816.
Kemble at Covent Garden
John Phillip Kemble
in the role of Cato in Addison's Cato, at Covent Garden
in 1816. Engraved by Kirkwood after a drawing by George
Cruikshank engraved 1822 and published as an illustration in the 1822 printing
of Joseph Addison's play 'Cato', published by T. Hughes,
London. This
image is in the public domain because the copyright has expired.
As the older son in an acting family, he spent his childhood on stage, making his first adult appearance on the stage in 1776. After several years in the provinces, he played Hamlet in Dublin in November 1781 and made his London debut in the same role in Drury Lane in September 1783 with mixed results. It was, however, his performance in Macbeth in March 1785, opposite his sister, Sarah, that established him as a popular favourite.
Gradually, Kemble had gained 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 Lane Here, he made his
first appearance in 1783 as Hamlet. His performance was well received
by the critics but public approval was muted. However, his status as a
leading player was confirmed when he appeared as Macbeth in 1785. His
first appearances at Drury Lane with his sister Sarah was in 1783, when
they played the roles of Mr 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
Honour, and Othello and Desdemona.
As actor and manager of the Drury Lane Theatre and Covent Garden his reforms improved the status of the theatrical profession. He played heavy dramatic roles in the artificial and statuesque style then in vogue. His most famous roles were Brutus in Julius Caesar and the title roles in Hamlet and, above all, Coriolanus. He excelled in declamation but could not express strong or subtle emotions.
Kemble was appointed manager of Drury Lane Theatre in 1788. He made important reforms in costumes, scenery and management, introducing live animals and aquatic effects to the stage for the first time. As an actor, Kemble's tall and imposing figure, impressive countenance and grave and solemn demeanour made him uniquely suited for the Roman characters in Shakespeare's plays.
Kemble's appointment as manager of the Drury Lane theatre, in 1788, gave
him the opportunity to introduce changes in costume, informed by his own
sense rather than theatrical tradition and to experiment with a variety
of roles. During this period he played many parts, including many
Shakespearean characters and numerous minor plays, now forgotten.
After difficulties with Sheridan, the proprietor of Drury Lane, Kemble
withdrew from the management and, at the close of 1802, resigned his connection
with the Theatre.
In 1803 he acquired a sixth share of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden
and became company manager. The theatre was destroyed by fire in September
1808. The rebuilt theatre opened in 1809 but the increased prices
led to the 'Old Price Riots' and performances were suspended
for three months. Kemble was almost 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.
He retired to the continent after his last performance as Coriolanus on June 23rd 1817.
[This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh
Edition, a publication now in the public domain.]